Feb. 1, 2012

Signing Day Central | Signing Day Season Ticket Special

ARCHIVED VIDEO:
Signing Day Wrap Up Show with Head Coach Frank Tavani
Offensive Coordinator Mickey Fein
Defensive Coordinator John Loose
NFL Standout Blake Costanzo '06
LSN-TV's Mike Joseph '88
LSN-TV's Gary Laubach

EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette football has signed 30 student-athletes to National Letters of Intent for the Class of 2016.

The Leopards' coaching staff recruited 16 offensive, 13 defensive and one special teams player for the class which topped the 2011 recruiting class in terms of size (28). Offensively, there are six offensive linemen, four wide receivers, two quarterbacks, two fullbacks and two tight ends along with a kicker/punter. On defense, the Leopards have secured commitments of five linebackers, four defensive linemen and four defensive backs.

The members of the Class of 2016 come to College Hill from nine states, with 11 players from Pennsylvania, seven from New Jersey, four from Florida, three from New York and one each from Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas and West Virginia.

"This recruiting class is the product of the hard work of our coaching staff and the support of our campus community including President Dan Weiss, Vice President Jim Dicker and Athletic Director Bruce McCutcheon. We are very happy with the results and feel that the class is on par with our last two recruiting classes, all of which we hope will put in a position to challenge for championships," said Lafayette head coach Frank Tavani. "This year we really focused on the interior line positions on both sides of the ball and certainly linebacker and wide receiver were positions on which we placed a lot of emphasis."

The offensive linemen average 6-4, 306 pounds and the defensive linemen will average 6-2, 268. There are two players who hail from Mars and another from Moon, both Western Pennsylvania locales closer to campus than they may sound. There are two Bishop McDevitt schools represented in the group (one in Wyncote, Pa. and the other in Harrisburg, Pa.)

The Leopard football program has been a consistent winner, with seven winning seasons in the last 10. Lafayette lays claim to Patriot League titles in 1992, 1994, 2004, 2005 and 2006. In 2011, the Leopards faced the toughest schedule in nation, finishing with a 4-7 record that included a season-opening loss at eventual national champion North Dakota State.

On Saturday, April 21, fans will get their first opportunity to see the 2012 Leopards in action in the annual Maroon-White Spring Game at Fisher Stadium. Lafayette will open the 2012 regular season on Sept. 8 with its first-ever trip to William and Mary. The Leopards welcome Penn on Sept. 15 for the home opener, the first of five home games. The regular season concludes at home with the 148th meeting with Lehigh on Nov. 17

	Signee	Video	Pos	Ht	Wt	Hometown/High School/Last School
1	Matt Anderson		DL	6-2	270	Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield
2	Dennis Bencsko		LB	6-0	215	East Hanover, N.J./Delbarton
3	Chris Brockman		LB	5-11	212	Richmond, Texas/Foster/Valley Forge Military Academy
4	Nick Collins		DL	6-1	275	Tucker, Ga./Tucker
5	Darrell Crawford		WR	5-9	170	Wilkes Barre, Pa./G.A.R. Memorial
6	Dan Dellovade		FB	6-1	235	Moon, Pa./Moon
7	Bobby DiPietro		LB	6-3	220	Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Catholic
8	Mark Dodd II		LB	6-2	220	Wheeling, West Va./Linsly
9	Andrew Dzurik		QB	6-3	205	Columbia, Pa./Lancaster Catholic
10	Paul Federinko		OL	6-5	320	Columbia, Md./Atholton
11	Ryan Gralish		K/P	6-1	215	Mars Pa./Mars
12	Deuce Gruden		WR	5-6	170	Tampa, Fla./Carrollwood Day School
13	Freddie Hess		FB	6-1	220	Annville, Pa./Annville-Cleona
14	John Hoffman		OL	6-4	295	Basking Ridge, N.J./Immaculata
15	Brian Keller		TE	6-3	235	Somerdale, N.J./Triton
16	John Lang		OL	6-2	285	Belle Mead, N.J./Montgomery
17	Steve Mercado		DL	6-1	280	Cape Coral, Fla./North Fort Myers
18	David Miller		OL	6-4	315	Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley
19	Mike Moralle		DB	6-2	205	Fair Haven, N.J./Rumson Fair Haven
20	Pat Narus		OL	6-4	310	Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt
21	Louie Pappas		QB	5-11	200	Tarpon Springs, Fla./Tarpon Springs
22	Jack Poetzsch		WR	6-0	195	West Islip, N.Y./St. Anthony's
23	Kyle Sakowski		DB	6-0	190	Chester, N.Y./Don Bosco Prep
24	Ryan Sanders		DL	6-4	245	Katonah, N.Y./John Jay
25	Matt Smalley		DB	5-10	175	Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge
26	Jamel Smith		WR	6-0	170	New Egypt, N.J./New Egypt
27	Ben Snyder		DB	6-1	215	Fogelsville, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh
28	Tyler Vickers		TE	6-5	225	Miami, Fla./Miami Southridge
29	Darren Wright		LB	6-2	235	Glenside, Pa./Bishop McDevitt
30	Nick Zataveski		OL	6-5	310	Delran, N.J../Delran