St. Mark's Styles Commits to Statesmen

Yes, it's "Tru".

As in, St. Mark's School (MA) SR QB Tru Styles has decided that attending and playing football at Hobart College is his "next chapter", based on a tweet from late last night.

Styles has all the skills we know HC Kevin DeWall '00 likes in a QB - size (6' 3" 215 lbs.), a strong arm that can work intermediate and long passes, and the ability to scramble away from trouble when needed. You can check out his highlight reel here.

Styles got a strong endorsement from former Statesmen All-American (and future HOFer) Devin Worthington '14. Devin tweeted in support of Tru committing to Hobart saying: "Congratulations to my guy, @Trustyles12 on his commitment to The Bart’!!! One of the most hardworking, intelligent, and high character student-athlete you’ll find. Proud of you, Tru!!"

Styles will join a couple of other Hobart QBs in looking to compete for either the starting or backup role this fall. 

Please join me in welcoming Tru and the extended Styles family to the Hobart College Football one!

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart! 

Andover's Dual Threat Edwards, Jr. Commits to Statesmen

The Phillips Academy Andover Lacrosse twitter handle congratulated PG WR/DB Kenneth Edwards, Jr. on his "commitment to the admissions process" as a Statesmen lacrosse and football recruit. Originally from the Rochester area, having played at and attended East HS prior to taking a PG year at PA to bolster his college admissions process.

It seems like the decision paid off, with offers from Williams College (MA in the NESCAC), looks from Cornell University and a 2nd team All New England Prep recognition this past fall. 

An able route runner with good hands and elusive moves, Edwards, Jr. looks like a player that can plug into HC Kevin DeWall's long-ball side of the Statesmen's offensive game plan. You can check out Kenneth's highlight reel here. 

While it's unclear how things will work with lacrosse in the mix, Kenneth appears to be a strong enough student athlete to juggle both. We haven't seen this since Sean Cunningham '17 excelled on the football and lacrosse field, but it's certainly doable. 

Please join me in welcoming Kenneth and the extended Edwards family to the Hobart College Football one!

More recruiting news will be posted as it comes in. 

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Taft School's Bennett is Heading to Hobart

Another big New England prep school student athlete, PG OL Ruston Bennett (via Louisiana of all places) recently announced that:

"I am proud to announce my commitment to play football [at Hobart College]! I would like to thank all of my coaches, teammates, friends, and family for helping me get to this point!!"

Standing 6' 4" and 290 lbs., Ruston certainly has the size and athleticism to make an impact early on. Bennett played at Acadiana HS which is one of the top programs in LA, winning a state championship and going 15-0 in the 2019 season. He earned Class 4A & 5A All-Metro honors as an OL his senior season of high school. Based on his twitter feed it appears as though he had offers to several D3 (Louisiana and Knox) and FCS (Assumption) schools as well.

Please join me in welcoming Ruston and the extended Bennett family to the Hobart College Football one. 

Thanks for reading and geaux 'Bart!

Canterbury's Taylor Commits to Hobart

This morning we're back on the recruiting trail as it would appear the next member of the Hobart College Statesmen Football Class of 2027 will be Canterbury School SR OL/DL Tyrese Taylor out of my home state of Connecticut.

Taylor is a big (6'5" 310 lbs.) OL/DL who brings impressive size and smarts (3.5 GPA) to Geneva. In a brief post that included the photo below, Taylor said he's "100% committed" to Hobart. Based on his timeline it looks like Tyrese had some FCS-level interest (offer from Stony Brook), so this is a great addition to the trenches for the Statesmen. 

Based on his highlight reel it appears like RT is his natural position, but he can play center if needed. On the defensive side he made a logical NG based on his size and ability to plug gaps up the middle.

Please join me in welcoming Tyrese and the extended Taylor family to the Hobart College Football one!

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Wagner High's Imafidon is Heading to Hobart

Another Hobart College Football commit is heading up from the island, this time, it's from Staten Island. Wagner HS (NY) SR QB/ATH Desmond Imafidon recently posted the following announcement on his twitter feed:

Desmond is a fast an elusive runner with a noticeable ability to put would be tacklers in the rear-view mirror, as you can see from his highlight reel. He appears to have played in a triple option system but will likely convert to RB or WR in college (but it also wouldn't surprise me to see him tried out on defense, given we know the coaching staff likes having taller, fast guys in the secondary). He certainly could be an interesting addition to the punt or KO return team to start his career at Hobart.

What he lacks in size (6' 165-170 lbs.) he more than makes up for with speed, strength and field vision. I know I'm excited to see what a playmaker like Desmond can do for the Statesmen when given the opportunity. 

Please join me in welcoming Desmond the extended Imafidon family into the Hobart College Football one!

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Chaminade's Aquilina Commits to Hobart

As we said in a previous post, the DL/TE positions are key areas of need for the Statesmen going into 2023. Not surprisingly the next Hobart College Football commit - SR DE/TE Dean Aquilina - fits perfectly into those rebuilding plans.

Back on February 2nd, Dean tweeted out that he was "Very excited to announce my commitment to play football [at Hobart College]! I would like to thank all my coaches, friends, family, and teammates for helping me get to this point!"

Aquilina will head up to Geneva from "Strong Island", as CHS is based in Mineola, NY. Standing 6' 3" and weighing in at 250 lbs., Aquilina has good size that S&C coaches can build from. You can check out his highlights - mostly in a three technique with some good bull pass rush and pursuit work - here.

Please join me in welcoming Dean and the extended Aquilina family to the Hobart College Football one. 

Should have at least one more recruiting update before the end of the week.

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

From 'Bama to 'Bart - Briarwood Christian's Punch a Recruiting Hit for Statesmen

Briarwood Christian SR PK Aidan Punch is heading up from Birmingham, AL to sign with the Statesmen as their kicker of the future. Aidan announced his intention last week which included this statement:

Punch appears to have a strong leg, good size (6', 185 lbs.) and skills he can continue to develop under ST Coach Ripp. You can check out Aidan's highlights here.  

I honestly can't recall many, if any, Statesmen called AL home, but Hobart has had some success with PKs from the South (Rio Schmidt '18 comes to mind) in prior seasons.

Please join me in welcoming Aidan the extended Punch family to the Hobart College Football one!

More recruiting news will be "comin' atcha" this week so stay tuned!

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart! 

Summit's McKeever Selects Statesmen

Summit HS (NJ) SR DE/TE Tim McKeever announced on Twitter last night that he'd "like to announce my commitment to [Hobart]. I’d like to thank all of my coach’s, friends, and parents for their guidance and help along the way."

This 6' 2" 220 lbs. student athlete was a team captain and maintained a 3.6 GPA at SHS. He earned second team all-conference honors his senior year. It will be interesting to see where the Statesmen coaching staff decides to line Tim up as Hobart has needs at both the TE and DE positions.

Please join me in the welcoming Tim and the extended McKeever family to the Hobart College Football one. I imagine more recruiting updates will be coming this month, so "stay tuned."

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!