North Attleboro’s Bannon Looking to Leave a Legacy at Stonehill

When fifth-year linebacker Tyler Bannon and his Stonehill teammates run onto the field on Saturday at Ohio University’s Frank Solich Field at Peden Stadium in front of more than 24,000 people, the Skyhawks will be adding to their growing list of program milestones. Stonehill transitioned to Div. 1 five years ago and this will be just the second time that its football team (which plays in the FCS) will face an FBS opponent (the first was last week at UMass).

The Skyhawks (1-3) would love to pull an upset and ruin Family Weekend for the Bobcats (1-2), but this is also a unique opportunity to test themselves against an established program in a large, hostile environment. Nothing could be better to prepare for making a run at an NEC title this season.

“It’s good to get guys who haven’t played a bunch of football to see how they handle a so-called better team than us, kind of get their feet wet and see how much fight and competitiveness they really have on that field,” Bannon said.

The former North Attleboro standout added, “My mom was telling me how she was looking for two months for a hotel. It’s going to be an unreal experience.”

While it’s been a tough start to the season for the Skyhawks, they are 1-0 in conference play after a 21-3 win over New Haven in week two. They trailed Bryant by just four points going to the fourth quarter in the opener, had a chance to tie UNH in the closing seconds, and were down by only six at halftime against UMass.

According to Bannon, the team’s confidence hasn’t wavered.

“There’s just so much trust that we have in all three phases of the game and it’s one of the closest teams I’ve ever been a part of in my football career,” he explained. “It’s definitely been very fun so far but things we can work on and build upon as a team for the rest of the year.”

Because he played fewer than four games as a freshman, Bannon had an extra year of eligibility remaining. Over the summer, he found out that five of his best friends on the team were coming back to Easton for another season. It made his decision very easy.

“I knew I was going to play football another year, but when those five guys told me they were coming back then I dropped everything and said okay this is where I want to be,” he said. “We all came up in this program’s first year in Div. I, so we all wanted to finish what we started.”

The journey from the first day of camp as a freshman to being a fifth-year veteran player on the team is a long one (even if it feels like it’s flying by), Bannon noted that his reading of the game has significantly improved over the years along with his leadership skills.

Bannon said, “I think I’ve just made the adjustment to take on a full-on leadership role, bringing up young guys, being there whenever I can. I have so much help from other fifth-year guys, they’re doing the same as me. There’s also younger guys, when my mind starts wandering, that are bringing me back. That’s just how much leadership we have on this team.”

Last year, Bannon started all 12 games, recorded 53 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and five quarterback hurries. He led the team with 7.5 tackles for loss and eight pass breakups. Coming into this fall, Bannon was named to the All-NEC Preseason Team and selected for the Phil Steele Preseason All-NEC First Team.

Asked if those honors give him extra fuel for the season, Bannon replied, “At the end of the day, preseason doesn’t matter to me, it’s what happens at the end of the season.”

“I was only able to have the season I had last year because of how comfortable I was and how much trust I had in the guys on our defense. Coach (Kyle) Jones has always put me in a really good spot to help the team and make plays.”

When a program makes the transition to Div. I, there are markers along the way that show progress. For Bannon, that moment came his sophomore season, when the Skyhawks to the trip to Washington D.C. and came away with a 23-20 win. It was the program’s matchup with and first win over a Patriot League opponent.

“That’s really where it set in for me,” Bannon said. “It was eye-opening, this program’s here, we’re in Div. 1, and this is a big moment for us. That’s definitely where I felt things changed.”

Unfortunately, Georgetown isn’t on the schedule this season. Tyler’s younger brother Ryan is a sophomore defensive lineman for the Hoyas and it would’ve been a first opportunity for them to share the field together.

While Tyler was a senior at North, helping the Rocketeers reach the Div. 3 Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium, Ryan was a freshman helping with the water bottles. As Ryan grew into a standout player in his own right, leading the Rocketeers to the 2024 Div. 3 title, Tyler was frequently seen prowling the sideline on Friday nights at Beaupre Field to cheer Ryan on.

“We’re super close and I’m always trying to help him out, whether it’s school, football, life, and he does the same for me,” Bannon said, when asked about helping his brother navigate his college career. “He deserves everything. It’s been awesome to see where he is as a person.”

Although there are still at least two months to go in his final season at Stonehill, Bannon admitted that things are moving very fast and it’s starting to hit him that the end is closing in.

“I definitely think it will hit me on Saturday in Ohio when it’s packed and that will probably be the biggest stadium I’ve ever played in, besides Gillette,” he said. “Come the middle of November, or however long it takes us to end this season, it will definitely hit me then and it will be emotional but it will be awesome to see how far this game has taken me.”

Before it’s over, Bannon wants to leave a mark on the program by making history and winning Stonehill’s first NEC football title in DI. It’s one of the reasons that he and his friends came back for a fifth year.

“It would mean everything to us,” he said. “We talk about it every single night. It would mean our goal is accomplished, what we set out to do our first day stepping on campus our freshman year.

“Us all coming back and putting in all the work, all the effort, all the long nights, all the early mornings, it would all pay off for that moment. We’d be leaving our legacy.”