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Signing Day Gives Us... Old Spice?

As is the custom in the Patriot League, Lehigh did not release their list of recruits on "Signing day" (even though my running tally of confirmed Lehigh commits is thirteen). That didn't, however, prevent two local athletes from penning "letters of understanding" to Lehigh yesterday.

The Morning Call ran an article about Northhampton High School LB Billy Boyko's announcement that he will be suiting up as a Mountain Hawk this summer:

''As a kid, I always dreamed of being a [mechanical] engineer and Lehigh's the perfect place for me,'' Boyko said. ''It's a great program and I'm looking forward to winning some Patriot League championships with them. I used to go over there and watch their games a lot when I was a kid. I'm real excited.''

''Billy's a blue-collar kid who does anything that's asked of him,'' coach Bob Steckel said. ''Since last year, he's said 'Lehigh, Lehigh, Lehigh.' He also was impressed with Lafayette, but Lehigh's always been No. 1 with him because of the engineering and he's going to have a very good fit there.''
The Scranton Times also added some comments from incoming Abington Heights High School OL Collin Bremer:

“This process started over a year ago, and you talk to so many coaches and you visit different schools,” Bremer said. “It’s nice to know where my future is going to be.

“I know Lehigh is a good school for me.”


While I tried in vain to get any pictures of RB Zach Barket's signing ceremony in Schuykill Haven High school, his amazing performance in the Anthracite Conference this past year helped him get some national recognition today: a full-page ad in the USA Today recognized Barket as one of fifty players nationally as Old Spice Red Zone Players of the Year. To refresh your memory, Barket had 66 touchdowns and 4,195 rushing yards in his senior season.

Meanwhile, Lafayette announced their incoming class of 17 recruits. Fans appear to be divided as to the meaning of the (relatively) smaller size of this class over years past (and head coach Frank Tavani alluded to it in the Express-Times's coverage) - some feel like it's no big deal, but others were disappointed.

While coach Tavani said that it was possible that they might "pick up another guy or two", there are still some impressive names in the class. The Morning Call goes into more detail: for example, RB Vaughn Hebron is the son of the former Philadelphia Eagle RB; DE Tahir Basil is one highly-touted player that went to Lafayette that Lehigh also coveted; and OL Mike Murphy and Tyler Swoyer, who were the linemen who paved the way for Barket's 66 touchdowns at Schuykill Haven.
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