Recruiting needs...

[TrueHoyaBlue]

I love that we seem to be focusing on the Offensive Line with our recruiting... we definitely need some more size and speed on both sides of the ball to be able to really compete in the trenches of the P.L.

I was wondering, though, do we have any good prospects coming in at wide receiver, fullback, linebacker, or punter? Those seem to be some of the big holes from last year... the first three due to graduation and the last being an area that needs major improvement from last year.

I would think that with Gillman recovered from surgery, our placekicking should be in much better shape this season. Looking forward to the release of next year's class.

[showcase]

For my part, I think DL is an area of concern. Seems to me the staff raided the DL for some big bodies to try out on the OL last off-season. While that's perfectly understandable (a solid OL will, theoretically, help minimize any deficiencies in your D by keeping them off the field more), I think there's a real need to beef up the DL. Until the O gets consistent, just moving all the talent to the OL is like robbing peter to pay paul: there's too many things going wrong on O for bolstering the OL to be a salve, so you might as well ensure that your D has a chance.

Perhaps the good news is that DL is the only area that appears to need reinforcement. Losing Clarke and Frontzke hurts, but Ononibaku looked like a playmaker, as did much of the secondary. I'm thinking a little more DL help could go a long way to making everyone behind it better.

[Annonymous]

This was posted today on the MDVarsity.com high school sports news site.

Three St. John's (D.C.) football players have made their college decisions and two of them will be re-uniting with a coach who doesn't seem far enough removed to allow for the use of the term "former coach". LB Mike Greene and TE Harrison Beacher have made verbal commitments to attend Georgetown University, the same school that recently hired St. John's head coach Elliot Uzelac as its offensive coordinator. WR Marcus Lee will attend Towson.

Greene (6-0, 200) is a 4.3 student with a 1430 on the SAT. He was a unanimous selection by WCAC coaches as a 1st team all-conference linebacker. DeMatha was particularly impressed with Greene's play and recommended him highly to schools that came through on recruiting visits. "He's like Zach Thomas," a DeMatha assistant told MDVarsity. "We love that kid."

That's not a suprising sentiment, considering that Greene registered 14 tackles in a loss vs. DeMatha.

Greene probably could write this story himself, as he is the Editor-in-Chief of a school newspaper called "The Sabre". And if there was a press conference, he might be able to orchestrate the TV coverage, because he is the lead producer of SJC's in-house TV news broadcast. Greene also serves as the main sports anchor on the show.

Greene also visited Dartmouth, Penn and Brown before choosing the Hoyas.

"Things really began to change two weeks ago when a couple of times that week more than one Georgetown coach came to my house," said Greene. "Then Coach U announced he would be their new offensive coordinator the day before my mid-week visit. That definitely impacted my decision, but I wouldn't really say it influenced it. I couldn't be happier that Uzelac is coming to Georgetown though; I owe so much to him, and I have no doubt that I wouldn't even be able to think of playing Division 1 football if he hadn't come to SJC."

Teammate Harrison Beacher (6-3, 210) was a two-time All-WCAC selection. He chose Georgetown over interest from Lafayette, William and Mary and St. Mary's of California. Beacher has combo skills at the TE position that allow him to be a dual threat. He turned a lot of heads at last spring's NFLHSPD camp. He fits the entire Georgetown bill with his football skills and his 3.7 GPA.

"Academically, the degree is what matters, and people recognize a Georgetown degree nationally," said Beacher. "From a football standpoint, Georgetown is a really good fit for where I want to be, and the program is really improving. I can just sense the chance to be a part of something great."

[GUHoya07]

They sound like a couple of great kids and it looks like having Uzelac is paying dividends already. I also agree with previous posts that our D Line needs some major assistance. I went to all of our home games this past season and it seemed like the D Line just couldnt create enough pressure and the Linebackers and Secondary were left with too large of a responsibilty to hold things together.

[hoyaballalum]

I hear Brian Golper's back may keep him from playing next year? Any of these defensive backs able to play strong safety?

[Bruno76]

John Lancaster was recruited as a Safety. Hits like a truck and has great speed. Can play both sides of the ball...leading rusher in his league with over 1200 yards. Runs track as well...one of the top sprinters in Mass, but football is his sport.