Jan. 18, 2011
NORFOLK, Va. - Old Dominion head football coach Bobby Wilder has announced the addition of 6-2, 210 lbs. quarterback Nathan Ong (Escondido, Calif.), the third junior college transfer to join the Football Monarchs this spring.
Ong joins offensive linemen 6-6, 285 lbs. D.J. Morrell (Norwalk, Conn.) and 6-8, 255 lbs. David Born, (Bakersfield, Calif.) who signed in December.
"We are excited with the addition of Nate Ong at the quarterback position," said Wilder. "He made a great impression on our staff from the first conversation in the recruiting process. He clearly displayed the ability to run our spread offense on video. We were also impressed with his knowledge and understanding of football schematics."
In his two years with Palomar, Ong registered 3,966 yards and 33 touchdowns for the Comets. Last season, Ong passed for 2,090 yards and 18 touchdowns. He completed 189 of his 305 attempts averaging 232.2 passing yards per game. As a redshirt freshman in 2009, he became Palomar's starting signal caller the third week of the season, helping the Comets to the Southern California Football Association championship game. He ended the year connecting on 167 of his 279 passes totaling 1876 years and 15 touchdowns.
Prior to playing at Palomar, Ong played for coach Mike Dolan at San Pasqual High, where he completed 62 of his 129 passing attempts for 847 yards and five touchdowns as a senior in 2006.
Ong had interest from Louisiana Tech, Iowa State, and Akron.
The Old Dominion football team finished its second season of football at 8-3 and over the last two seasons has combined for a 17-5 mark as the winningest FCS start-up program in the books. The squad joins the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) in 2011, the toughest FCS conference in the nation that featured four teams in this past season's playoffs including runner-up Delaware, as well as 2009 champion Villanova, William & Mary, and New Hampshire.
The 2011 Monarch schedule kicks off with Campbell on September 3rd. The Monarchs also have non-conference dates with Georgia State and Hampton before its inaugural CAA contest. Home CAA dates include UMass, Towson, James Madison, and Richmond. On the road, the Monarchs will tackle Delaware, Rhode Island, Villanova, and William & Mary.
Spring practice for the ODU Football Monarchs begins March 25th.