Fontana preparing for Hurricane Gustav

It was an emotional ride for New Orleans, Louisiana offensive lineman Joey Fontana when he was surrounded by the intensity of his recruiting process. Over the last year, the three-star prospect visited over 21 schools. In the end, Fontana committed to SMU, declining offers to Nebraska, Arkansas, Kentucky, and five others.

"I had a great feeling about SMU," said Fontana. "I knew it was the place for me. I called coach Jeff Reinebold and I told him I wanted to be a Mustang. It got quiet and then he started screaming. He was real excited."

More than ever before, Fontana is relieved to have that big decision over with and out of the way. Especially when, for the second time in four years, Fontana has been forced out of his home in fear of another deadly hurricane heading towards the New Orleans area.

"I'm preparing for this hurricane right now," he told PonyPride.com late Sunday night. "I'm staying home because I live just north of New Orleans. We're expected to have high winds and 24-inches of rain. We're kind of worried about the trees around my house. We might have to go to my Uncle's house tomorrow."

Waiting for a deadly storm to approach is nothing new for Fontana and others in the area. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina came through and proved to be one of the most devastating hurricanes in United States history. Fontana was forced to attend another high school in the area that wasn't as affected by the storm as his.

He was only able to play in six games his freshman year and had to adapt an entirely new system. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound lineman hopes that he won't have the same obstacles his senior year.

"It's set to hit west of us but they're saying that it could be a worse case scenario because being on the east side of the hurricane is always the worst side with the worst rain and wind. They're saying that the same towns can be devastated again."

If that's the case, then Brother Martin High School could possibly be under water once more. Fontana and his teammates are preparing for the worst as this close knit team has been forced to split apart, thanks to Hurricane Gustav. Still, everyone is trying to remain in high spirits.

"Our players are spread all over the country. Our center is in East Tennessee, our starting right tackle is in Atlanta, and our right guard is in Memphis. I know that our tight end is in Baton Rouge and then two of our wide receivers are in Memphis as well, while another receiver is in Georgia. Then our quarterback is in Fort Walton.

"With all our guys spread apart, we are definitely running a spread offense in more way than one," laughed Fontana. "Yeah, it's definitely a spread offense at this point."

Even while going through this stressful time, Fontana has continued to keep communication going with SMU and Reinebold.

"I talked to coach Reinebold on Sunday. He answered the phone asked asked, 'Are you under water yet?' They know what's going on. I told them that I'm going to stay in touch with them. I told them that last time when Katrina hit, you could only keep in touch with text messages. So I'm going to keep in touch with what I can. I talked to him and let him know what was going on."

Just last week, Fontana had hoped that he'd be preparing for his season opener this Friday. While his team is still on his mind, it's for different reasons.

"With Katrina, our quarterback had 26 feet of water in his front yard. I don't know how our family and others in that area would react if it happened. I told them that we have a house across the street that is empty right now and has their name on it. I've told him that they could live there.

"A lot of people are asking if New Orleans could bounce back if another hurricane happened. Every time another forecast comes out, they're saying we're getting luckier with the storm weakening. We'll all find out within the next 24 to 48 hours."

Stay tuned to PonyPride.com for the latest on Fontana and weathering this storm. Plus, more on Fontana's commitment to come as well.