New class adds to Ivy Champs

With the possibility of bringing home a third-straight Ivy League Championship and the allure of playing under one of the most winning coaches in Ivy League history, a new batch of recruits have officially joined the Quakers in hopes of continuing the program’s great success.

The Class of 2015, comprised of 33 new additions from 14 different states across the country, has many excited, including Defensive Coordinator Ray Priore who called the class “as talented of a group as we’ve had” in his 25 years on the Quakers' sideline.

Consisting of 18 new additions to the offense, 13 new additions to the defense, and two new kickers, the freshmen class appears to have filled needs on both sides of the ball.

“One of our needs this year was to address our second-level players, our linebackers,” Priore said. “We really thought we did a good job addressing that with a handful of good football players at that position.”

Leading the freshman group of five linebackers is Norman, Okla. native Dan Davis, who received much recognition in his high school years.

“Dan Davis is a pretty intriguing young man,” Priore said. “He’s got good size [6-1, 230] and has that ability to play big on the inside and could play a lot of outside as well for us.”

The freshmen linebacking corps is joined by five new defensive backs and three new defensive linemen.

On the offensive side, five linemen, four wide receivers, four running backs, three tight ends, a quarterback and a fullback will be joining the Red and Blue. Offensive Coordinator Jon McLaughlin is especially impressed with this year’s group of tight ends, consisting of Mitchell King, Ryan O’Malley, and Daniel Sharplin.

“If you look at [the new tight ends] on paper and see their size, their documented athleticism and their credentials coming out of high school, I think that’s a position where we recruited very well,” McLaughlin said.

Lastly, new kickers Connor Loftus and Michael Rasmussen will likely be asked to step up right away on a team that graduated three varsity specialists last year.

“I think it’s probably pretty easy to predict there’ll be some freshman kickers cracking the varsity lineup, whether they’re starting field goal kickers or backups,” McLaughlin said.

Despite the high talent level, most of the Class of 2015 will have to wait their turn in the Quakers' system. With a few exceptions, freshmen have traditionally been used sparingly in the Bagnoli system – especially on the defensive side.

“I think it’s important for the freshmen to get into the program and understand that like everything in life, you go from the top of the heap as high school seniors, when you’re all-county, all-state, back down the bottom of the ladder,” Priore said.

However, 16 of the previous 18 squads under Bagnoli have left with a minimum of one Ivy League Championship ring and thus, this new class will join a system which has proven it is worth the wait.

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