Brendon Steele has chosen a road that is traveled by few collegiate athletes.

Steele, a 2004 graduate of Canon-McMillan High School, is playing football and baseball while attending Waynesburg University.

"I actually considered wrestling during the winter," joked Steele, who was a three-sport star for the Big Macs. "But it would have been overwhelming to play three sports, especially with such a demanding academic workload."

Steele is a senior in the nursing program at Waynesburg.

"One of the main reasons I chose Waynesburg was because of its nursing program," said Steele. "They also gave me the opportunity to play two sports, which is something you don't see very often in college."

Steele will graduate in May and hopes to take his nursing boards (a certification test) in the spring.

"It's a little frustrating at times trying to learn all the medical terminology," said Steele. "But things are going very well. I just don't have much time to myself."

Steele is a two-year starter at linebacker and a four-year lettermen for the Yellow Jackets football team. He is also a three-year starter in the outfield for the baseball team.

"Competing in two sports at the collegiate level is a tremendous challenge," said Waynesburg coach Rick Shepas. "Majoring in nursing makes it even more of a challenge. You have to have a good balance between athletics and academics to pull that off, and Brendon has done a good job of that."

Steele has also excelled at both sports. He was named second-team All-Presidents' Athletic Conference in football last November, then named to the second-team All-PAC in baseball in May.

"I don't think there's anything he can't handle," Shepas replied, when asked if Steele could handle football, baseball, and wrestling. "He's a very talented athlete."

Steele was a reserve defensive back in his first season at Waynesburg. He played in eight games and recorded six solo tackles in limited playing time. He moved to linebacker for his sophomore season and played in nine games, starting once. He had 16 tackles and 15 assists.

Last season, Steele started all 10 games at inside linebacker and led the team with 84 total tackles, including 48 solo stops. He also had three sacks. His biggest game came against Washington & Jefferson, as he recorded a career-high 15 tackles.

"People were questioning my size to play linebacker," said Steele, a 5-foot-9, 190 pounder. "Sometimes its hard to get off the block of bigger linemen, but I try to take advantage of my speed. I really like playing on the inside because I'm always around the ball."

Shepas is also impressed with Steele's leadership ability.

"Brendon is our mike linebacker," said Shepas. "It's his job to recognize and call out the offensive sets. You have to be a smart player to do that. He keeps the team level and focused. His teammates believe in him."

Waynesburg entered yesterday's game against Thiel with a 6-0 record. Steele ranked second on the team with 44 total tackles, including 29 solo stops. He also has nine tackles for a loss, two sacks, one interception, one fumble recovery and two blocked kicks.

"Our goal is to win the Presidents' Athletic Conference title and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs," said Steele. "We came so close last year. Our only loss in the conference was to W&J."

Waynesburg can avenge that loss to W&J on Saturday when the two meet at Waynesburg's Wiley Stadium.

"I don't like to look ahead, but the W&J game is certainly in the back of my mind," said Steele. "We have to prepare well for every team in this conference."