Leesburg, Va. — Heritage High School senior Aaron Maisus has made a commitment to continue his football career at Old Dominion University starting in the 2018-2019 school year.
“After visiting Old Dominion I realized it was the perfect fit. They have great coaches, facilities and offer the highest level of college football,” the 6-foot-2 Maisus said. “The whole recruiting process was very stressful, with its ups and downs, so now that it’s over with, it feels great.”
[adrotate banner=”19″]Maisus’ stressful recruiting journey came to a happy ending after meeting with the coaching staff at Old Dominion. Led by eleventh-year head coach Bobby Wilder, the Division I Monarchs – including Broad Run graduate Travis Fulgham (2014) – finished their 2017 season at 5-7 overall and 3-5 in Conference USA.
“I think I’ll add depth at the safety position,” said Maisus, who plans to redshirt his first year at Old Dominion. “I also think I’ll help add range to their secondary. I’ll be redshirting to put some weight on.”
Committing to play safety at ODU, Maisus grew up playing quarterback in the Central Loudoun Youth Football League. However, during his first season at Heritage, head coach Reed Prosser transitioned Maisus to the defensive secondary where he has flourished.
“Coach Prosser saw potential in me from the very start. After my freshman year, he told me to hit the weights, and I’d have a shot to start as a sophomore,” Maisus said. “Using that as motivation, I was able to start for three years at free safety and two years at receiver. All three years we had winning records and were able to get the first playoff win in the program’s history. Growing the program and being a part of history was quite an experience.”
During his time with the Pride, Maisus earned all-district honors three times, all-region honors once and was twice named an All-LoCo performer. In 2017, Maisus led the Pride to a 7-3 record, including a marquee win over Woodgrove on October 20.
Maisus’ time at Heritage only helped reinforce his love for the game, which he started playing more than a decade ago.
“I like that I can always get better at something, and I love seeing my hard work pay off,” Maisus said. “Being the underdog always keeps me motivated since I can always find someone better than me.”