A Calvalcade Of Lehigh (And Patriot) Football Recruiting News

The movie Cavalcade, which won three Oscars in another business-challenged year (1933), has pretty much nothing to do with the overload of recruiting news that is flooding the internet these days (it's actually about a British couple's lives from the late 1800s to 1933). But a cavalcade of recruiting news it truly is, and I'll try to make sense of it all in the paragraphs that follow - including some commits I found for other Patriot League football schools as well.

Why so much recruiting news? Because it's only five days from the Super Bowl for football recruiting geeks, National Letter of Intent Day. That's the day when kids sit down in high school auditoriums all across the country and sign pieces of paper (complete with local media members) saying where they plan to go to school next year. It coincides generally with official statements from the colleges and universities themselves listing their "commits" - and allowing folks to drool over the possibilities for their future football squads.

But it's an odd "Super Bowl". First of all, not every Division I school participates in the NLOI program - notably, the schools of the Ivy League and Patriot League, which don't have binding LOI's but instead have "likely letters" (for the Ivy league) and "letters of understanding" (for the Patriot League). Second, they aren't necessarily as "binding" as all that - and recruits can wait up to two months after "signing day" to sign with a school. (For a more exhaustive talk about these, refer to my blog posting last year on the subject.)

Lafayette has traditionally announced their incoming class on LOI day, while Lehigh generally waits one week - probably to allow both Lehigh and Lafayette more coverage of their incoming classes in the local papers. Other Patriot League schools run the gamut - some announcing closer to LOI day, and others waiting well into May to announce their incoming class.

Whether LOI's, LOU's, LLs or M&Ms, the upshot is that recruiting news is coming from all corners. Here's my list of Lehigh players, followed by some other Patriot League commits I've stumbled across. (Will add more if I get them.)

Lehigh:
WR Dan Cintron (Barnegat HS, NJ)
The skinny: Verbally committed to Lehigh. The 5'11 180 lb speedster was listed as "one of the fastest players on the shore" and would seem to fit in well in a big need area for Lehigh with the top three receivers from last year lost to graduation. Shows some pretty good vision in the video on ESPN's recruiting site - and watching him speed past defensive backs on the slant pattern make you think of the possibilities.

WR/DB Ryan Spadola (Freehold Township HS, NJ)
The skinny: Verbally committed to Lehigh. As Cintron is a speedster, the 6'3 181 lb Spadola is seen as a "red zone and possession receiver," according to the video on ESPN's recruiting site. ESPN also calls him a "hard worker" with "excellent hands", and my watch of the video shows a nice second gear. "I didn't get any college offers for track," he told the Asbury Park Press. "Lehigh kept talking to me. They are one of the top eight business schools in the nation and I will major in business."

OL/DL Ryan Weitz (East Lake HS, FL)
The skinny: Verbally commited to Lehigh, there's nothing "skinny" about this 6'2, 300 lb behemoth that looks an awful lot like a very good prospect for Lehigh's "O" line. First team selection for his "O" line play, and has played in several Florida all-star games.

WR/CB James Flynn (Notre Dame HS, CA)
The skinny: Has a Lehigh offer on the table - and it's clear that WR is a priority for this Lehigh coaching staff. The 6'0 175 lb California speedster has a laundry list of football honors, including All Golden State 1st team and LA Times 1st team honors among others. Had 48 catches, 1,112 yards and 19 TDs as a senior - and also competes in track. If the Scouts.com list of schools that he's interested in is any indicator, we might have a really good chance of having him come out East.

QB/DB Zach Ziulli (Perkiomen Valley HS, PA)
The skinny: Lists Lehigh as a school of interest in his Rivals.com profile. At Upper Perk, the 6'2, 172 lb QB ripped appart high school secondaries with 2,541 yards passing and 27 TDs, with a 60% completion percentage and also rushed for 676 yards. Has FBS schools like UConn and Temple sniffing around him, too.

C Reggie Eiland (Brandywine Gwynn Park, MD)
The skinny: A 6'3, 275 lb lineman rumored to be visiting with Colgate and Lehigh, and has video of his performance in high school.

LB/DB Allan Estimable (Royal Palm Beach HS, FL)
The skinny: 5'10, 185 lb outside linebacker reported to have Lehigh on his radar screen. More of a "rover" linebacker in high school, and played some defensive back as seen in his highlight video. Good tackler; would seem to be an intriguing possibility at safety. Also worthy of mention is that he called the defensive plays in two of their games this year.

LB Jeremiah Brutus (Royal Palm Beach HS, FL)
The skinny: The 6'1, 182 lb inside linebacker will be playing QB in the Florida Outback All-Star game. He got an honorable mention at LB on the Palm Beach Post Large School All-Area Teams.