Each day up until Christmas Eve, we'll be breaking down who Villanova football is losing, bringing back, and bringing in at each position.
Offensive Tackles
(walk-ons in italics)
Outgoing: Vince Kowalski
Returning: Brad Seaton, Matt Donoghue, Brandon Hitner
Incoming: Ethan Greenidge, Louie Csaszar, Keegan Sheedy
The Wildcats are losing a big piece in Vince Kowalski, who started every game of his Wildcats career at right tackle and exits as an All-CAA caliber lineman. Keep an eye on next summer, as this will be one of the biggest position battles to watch on the depth chart.
Brad Seaton returns after a stellar first-year of protecting John Robertson's blindside. Seaton is a monster at 6'8" and 300+ pounds and should challenge for All-CAA honors next season.
Matt Donoghue was listed as the backup to Seaton this year, but was never needed. He and Brandon Hitner (who redshirted in 2014) were high school teammates at Garnet Valley. Expect Donohue to be in the mix for a starting spot entering next season.
Talley is bringing in three quality recruits. Greenidge has the size to play right away and could challenge for the open RT job. Csaszar and Sheedy could likely play right away with needed, but the 'Cats staff has done a good job building depth - these guys should both start down the road.
Offensive Guards/Centers
(walk-ons in italics)
Outgoing: Ross Hall, Peter Sotriou
Returning: Kyle Wallace, Jake Prus, Nico D'Angelo, Jonathan Green, Chris Buchalski, George Benakis, Alex Coren
Incoming: None
Villanova will lose two key players on the interior of the line - All-CAA center Ross Hall had some injury troubles late in 2014 but was a mainstay along the line. His backup, walk-on Peter Sotiriou, finished his career as the #1 reserve and performed admirably when called upon.
Both starting guards, Kyle Wallace and Jake Prus return next year to anchor the line and should hold on to their jobs. Classmates Nico D'Angelo and Jonathan Green will continue to push for playing time, but we'd give the slight edge to Green to grab the starting center job given his experience there.
Chris Buchalski redshirted in 2014, and we'll know more about his prospects after spring and summer workouts. George Benakis is a massive lineman, but hasn't seen much PT yet while Alex Coren walked-on, but appears to have a similar makeup to Sotiriou in size and skills and could jump in the rotation in the years to come.
With just Wallace and Benakis scheduled to graduate after next season, the Villanova offensive line is looking stocked for the next few years.