Class of 2026 - Recruiting Roundup

Over the past week (plus) we got to see the newly announced members of the Hobart College Statesmen football Class of 2026. Coming in at 36 students, this is one of the bigger classes HC Kevin DeWall '00 and his staff have brought in.

Not surprisingly, a position breakdown shows areas of need / focus (e.g., OL and DE/DL) were certainly addressed, with the usual skill positions factored in as well. While the majority of the class hails from NYS (not unusual, and in this case 13 of the 36 are staying in-state), this year there was a much higher concentration of players from NJ - 10 - one of the highest numbers we've seen from there in quite some time. The rest of the distribution is pretty modest and even: 4 from PA and CT, 3 from MA (which is pretty low by "historical" standards) and 1 from NC and DE. 

Let's a take a closer look:

By my count, close to half of this class will end up on the OL/DL. I view players like Broggy, Urbina, Suh, Shahdanian, Mejias, Geneus, Goodell and Ruppert as solid adds to the OL. AT DE/DL is see Henry, Muse, McKean, Randle, Tobin, Provenzano and Silver. 

On the offensive side of the ball, two players - Engle and Smalley - will compete to be the future Hobart QB. At RB we have a solid trio in Cotter, Maddox, Jr. and Jackson. At TE we have a potential add in Ruby, who we saw played a fair amount of "h-back" in HS. Tafari Johnson is another potential TE (or OLB) candidate. 

WR/DB is another big and talented group including Peterson, Scott, Sklar and Ruscetta (likely at WR). I can see Caprara, Rodgers, Galella, Candelora and Smith at DB. 

LB/OLB we will probably see McGhee, Johnson (see above), Chachere, Trovato and Figueroa (who could potentially be an RB, but I view him as more a LB recruit). 

Last but not least is a PK - Vicente Lyon - who will likely compete for time with SO PK Tobias Wefering, the only other PK on the roster. 

Of course, all the above is subject to change based on what the coaching staff elects to do going into preseason camp. We are only 16 weeks away from the start of the fall season. 

Thanks as always for checking in. I'll probably lay low barring any updates during the offseason. Mayor Frank and I are planning ahead for another season (our 15th) of "In the (D3FB) Huddle". 

Go Bart!