Lehigh Valley Colleges FCS Recuiting

[RoverNation05]

I still haven't fully gotten used to the "second" National Signing Day, with most prospects inking with schools in December now, but there was one big piece of news in Lehigh Valley football. Easton's Nahjee Adams, an All State pick in 2019, signed with Lafayette today after de-committing from Louisiana-Monroe after their coaching staff was let go in December. Adams, a 5'11 205 pound running back, ran for 1,863 yards and 24 touchdowns as a junior and put up 658 yards in four full games this year before an injury prematurely ended his season. Adams was a three star prospect and held FBS offers from Liberty, UMass, Buffalo, and Bowling Green and FCS offers from powers James Madison, Villanova, Richmond, New Hampshire, Maine, Albany, and Furman.

Lafayette has long struggled in the Lehigh Valley (Lehigh dominates recruiting locally) and this represents a big win in the Valley for the Leopards. Adams has the size, speed, and versatility to be a star in the Patriot League. Frankly, he's probably the best local recruit Lafayette has landed since Erik Marsh, who went on to set the Patriot League career rushing record, still holds pretty much every Lafayette rushing mark, was a two-time All American and two-time Player of the Year after leading Bethlehem Catholic to two state titles. He's also only the fourth Easton kid I can remember going to Lafayette (dating back to Justin Rouse in 1993) which is kind of staggering considering Lafayette is...in Easton. Weirdly, Adams is the only kid from Pennsylvania in Lafayette's recruiting class.

Lehigh also only landed one Lehigh Valley kid in the cycle - Allentown Central Catholic quarterback Matt Rauscher. Rauscher led the Vikings to a D11 title this year and a top 10 ranking in the state in 4A, and threw for 1980 yards and rushed for 400 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior. The other PA products in Lehigh's class are Christian Curatolo, and offensive lineman from Malvern Prep, and Connor Levelle, a safety from Baldwin.

 

[RoverNation05]

A light signing period in general for the Lehigh Valley. This is the fewest kids going to FBS or FCS schools I can remember from the area - the downcycle in talent is obvious on days like yesterday as schools announce their full classes.

The only Power 5 recruit is Liberty kicker Sander Sahaydak. He's the real deal - Rivals has him as the #3 kicker in the country and he has a career long of 53 at Liberty, but it's still weird when the best player in the recruiting cycle is a kicker.

Allentown Central Catholic tight end/defensive end Christian Spugnardi is the third player going to the Patriot League - he signed with Bucknell yesterday to play H-back. The only other FCS kids are Parkland running back Isaiah Rico (Long Island University) and Freedom defensive end Jacob Schwind (Wagner).

 

[HSFB99]

Rover, do you see this “down cycle” in the Valley continuing? Are there more division 1 recruits in the 2022 class across the Valley? Have their enrollments been dropping?

 

[pclfan1]

I completely disagree with the label of a "down cycle." It is down everywhere for hs kids. Just read an article that Michigan State is changing how they do things. They are embracing the transfer portal and juco. That leaves hs kids in the cold. And that trickles down. It's a new world, I expect the system to change completely.

 

[D11_Football]

I think COVID has certainly played a role in the recruiting this year in the Lehigh Valley but more on the FCS/D2 level than FBS level. Maybe a few more kids would be committed to FCS schools and certainly more would be committed to PSAC schools the granting of an extra year of eligibility and roster limitations hurt that in my opinion. Also as mentioned the transfer portal, will play a significant role in the future. We have 2 definite FBS and most likely Power 5 DL’s in the Lehigh Valley in the 22 class. But I would have to agree with Rover Lehigh Valley football has been on a steady decline for years now and is nowhere near what it was in the 1990’s. Since then we have seen a few 3-4 year runs where a program can compete for a state title like ACC, Liberty, Parkland. But the overall depth of football is really poor compared to what it was.

 

[RoverNation05]

For the 2022 class - D11 is right, Lavon Johnson (Allentown Central Catholic; 6'4 320) and Braelin Moore (Freedom; 6'3 290) should both be FBS kids next year, and I'd anticipate at least Johnson will go to a Power 5 program. Both were all state defensive linemen, both move really well at their size and obviously have next level size. I'd throw Justin Kanyuk (Bethlehem Catholic; 6'7 285) into the mix as a tackle, who could land in the MAC or other Group of 5 school. I don't follow the smaller schools as closely, but Justin Holmes, the quarterback at Northwestern Lehigh also might be a G5 player - has the measurables (6'3 205) and had an all state year as a dual threat QB. That would be more in line with Division I product that the Valley has had over the last decade or so. There might be a kid I'm forgetting too.

I do agree the roster limitations can crunch some kids, but I don't think only have six total kids going to FBS/FCS schools in a pretty well populated area (third biggest metro behind Philly and Pittsburgh) when I think there has been a clear "the teams up here aren't as good" for the last couple years. I think in Adams case he may have gotten a better look from some more low level FBS programs in a non-COVID year, but I really don't think COVID is the whole story.

I'd push back a little on the long decline away from the 1990s in the Lehigh Valley. Outside of Central, our schools didn't really win anything in that decade and were a clear step behind District 1 when they matched up. The 2000s had Liberty (3), Parkland (2), Wilson (2), Northern Lehigh, and Pen Argyl all make state finals, Pius X, ACC, Easton (2), Becahi, and Northwestern Lehigh all make Eastern Finals. That's a lot of different schools that had a lot of success. Heck, in 2006, Liberty, Parkland, and Easton were all top 5 teams in 4A going into the playoffs (Liberty went to state finals), and Becahi was a top 5 team in 3A, and Wilson won the 2A championship. Even in this decade, in 2014, Parkland took SJP to the wire (the 34-30 game) and they were the #7 seed in the D11 playoff - they took losses to Whitehall and Easton during the season, then beat Easton in overtime to get to SJP. Those three plus Freedom were all state caliber football teams. In some ways, that's a million years ago, in others it's not that far removed.

In some ways, it's cyclical too - I'd say the Valley was pretty down in the 1980s after being one of the best regions in the state in the '70s. To HSFB99's point, enrollments have dropped, but that's pretty consistent across the northeast - I think the high school aged population peaked in the 2008-2010 range and has been slowly settling back. Easton is still one of the biggest schools in the state, but has had well below 800 kids in a class like it was twelve years ago.

 

[pclfan1]

Lehigh Valley reflects the state at large. Ya the quality is down a bit, the numbers are down, the number of kids in schools are down. But as far as recruiting is concerned how many kids tweeted offers last summer and never signed? A ton. How many are tweeting PWO acceptances? A ton. The numbers are down all over. Covid is part of the problem. But so is the fundamental shift in recruiting that now occurs, and the granting of an extra year of eligibility will resonate for years. The big question is, does juco become more viable, or do we see otherwise really good players head to lower level D1s as a perceived stepping stone for a transfer later. Or, does D2 and D3 become the landing spot.

 

[RoverNation05]

Early commit to FBS for 2022. Freedom offensive/defensive lineman Braelin Moore (6’3 285) commits to Virginia Tech as an offensive lineman. Moore was an All State defensive lineman for the Patriots last year and will be a three year starter on the offensive line for Jason Roeder. Moore’s older brother Kaden, an All State pick in 2019, redshirted last season as a freshman for the Hokies.