When Justin Combs first came to Iona Prep, it was his goal to play football and eventually move on to a Division I college.

His coach Vic Quirolo recognized that while Combs, the son of hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, was a gifted athlete and very dedicated, he was still raw and wasn’t quite sure his young quarterback/cornerback had what it takes to get that far.

“I thought that it wasn’t until last year in the middle of the season he really came into his own,” Quirolo said. “That was his breakout point. But you could always tell he was an athlete even as a freshman.”

Combs still hasn’t settled on a college, but he should have no problem finding one now that he has been selected to play in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz. on Jan. 3, 2012. A ceremony was held at Iona Prep on Thursday to announce the news.

“It’s just a dream come true,” Combs said. “I dreamed about this when I was younger and now I don’t even know what to say about it. I‘m just living my dream. All my hard work has paid off.”

Combs and his coaches all talked about his dedication to the game as one of the biggest reasons for his success.

“I remember one time Justin told me that he flew out to Texas, for a whole week, just for speed training,” Quirolo said. “He is extremely dedicated, it’s great to see.”

Combs trains the hardest during the summer.

“I sacrificed my whole summer just to get better," Combs said. "I worked with professionals to improve my game. If you want something so badly you will do anything for it and I want this more than anything.”

Overall, just 100 kids are selected nationally to play in the All-American Bowl with Combs joining just one other player from New York, Erasmus Hall’s Wayne Morgan, to be selected to play in the nationally televised game so far.

A spokesman from the event said that they look for three things from the student athletes that they pick for the event: character, discipline, and academic excellence. The spokesman said Combs was selected because he exemplified all three.