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Villanova football has at least 3 confirmed verbal commitments from Thomas Plonski, Lorenzo Fertitta, Jr. and Lincoln Collins. This weekend will be a big one for 2013 recruiting, with the coaching staff lining up visitors for the final home game of the season -- so scroll down to the Big Board and check out who will be coming in on an official visit.
DL Thomas Plonski | Brooklyn Tech (NY) - (6-2)
Last Game: Tech knocked off New Dorp, 16-6.
Next Game: 11/10 vs. Kennedy (NY) 12:00 pm ET - Tech won their way into the playoffs and will have to avenge a 14-13 loss from earlier in the season, suffered at the Bronx school.
RB/DB Lorenzo Fertitta | Bishop Gorman (NV) - (9-1)
Last Games: Last week, Fertitta tied the Nevada state record with four interceptions in a 78-13 victory over Shadow Ridge.
Next Game: 11/9 vs. Palo Verde (NV) - Sunset Regional semifinal match-up between the rival schools should be one to watch.
WR Lincoln Collins | Boston College High School (MA) - (3-5)
Last Game: Last week, BC High lost 21-17 at Xaverian Brothers.
Next Game: 11/10 @ St. John's Prep (MA) 1:00 pm ET - This will be the next-to-last conference game for BC High, who haven't had as much success as they've hoped for this season.
Information on Villanova football recruiting isn't as easily obtained as similar updates on basketball recruits. That is at least partially a product of the level of each team, with Big East basketball prospects having enough exposure to always be on the media radar. It is also a process of the AAU machine, which brings tremendous numbers of high-level talents into the same gyms on a weekly basis for most of the high school basketball offseason.
Football has 7-on-7 competitions, but the real bulk of recruiting revolves around the high school seasons still, which means that Villanova's recruits tend to be busy playing meaningful games during the bulk of their recruitment.
VUhoops isn't prepared to slack and deprive our readers of this football recruiting information. We hope to offer regular updates on the football recruiting picture -- as we find them. It may not always be a complete picture, but it will be a window on the program's recruiting effort.
- Brian Ewart
*Updates in Bold*
Villanova Football 2013 Recruiting Big Board
| Recruit | Position | School | Rating(s) | Status | Update |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Collins | WR | Boston College H.S. (MA) |
Rivals: 2-star
Scout: 2-star
247: 2-star
|
Committed | Collins committed to play at Villanova back in July. |
| Thomas Plonski | DE | Brooklyn Tech (NY) |
Rivals: 2-star
Scout: 2-star
247: 3-star
ESPN: NR
|
Committed | Plonski chose Villanova last month over offers from JMU, Old Dominion, Buffalo, Fordham and Wagner. |
| Lorenzo Fertitta, Jr. | ATH | Bishop Gorman (NV) |
Rivals: NR
Scout: 2-star
ESPN: 2-star
|
Committed | Fertitta has been an impressive athlete for Bishop Gorman, a nationally-prominent program. He is committed to Villanova. |
|
Jonathan Moxey |
DB | Palm Beach Dwyer (FL) |
Rivals: 2-star
|
Open | Villanova offered Moxey last week, according to a source. The talented corner has offers from BGSU, FAU, Georgia State, Middle Tennessee, Tulane and WKU, all either lower-level FBS programs or programs transitioning to FBS. |
| Ralph "Trey" Johnson | DB |
Scout: 2-star
|
Open/Offered | A source informed VUhoops that Johnson was also recently extended an offer. He is also being recruited by a number of MAC schools. He has produced some highlight plays on special teams and in coverage. Johnson is using an official visit this weekend for the JMU game. | |
| Tyrell Judson | RB/LB | Piscataway (NJ) |
ESPN: NR |
Open | Judson is being recruited for both football and track, where he is an excellent sprinter. Villanova has invited him to campus. Judson lists his favorites as Villanova and UMass. |
| Daniel "Bay" Barley | RB | Rush-Henrietta (NY) | Open | Villanova invited the R-H Football runningback to the Fordham game. He scored on a 57-yard run and an 11-yard halfback pass in his season opener and could be an option in the slot as well. | |
| Da’Quan Brown | DB | Greece Arcadia HS (NY) |
Rivals: NR |
Open | Another player invited to visit Villanova this season. Rivals is not reporting any offers yet. |
| Kevin Rowan | CB | Bladensburg (MD) |
Rivals: NR |
Open | Rowan visited earlier in the season and lists Villanova, Towson and Boston College as his college choices. |
| Jaryd Jones-Smith | OL | West Catholic (PA) |
Rivals: 2-star
Scout: 3-star
247: 3-star
ESPN: 3-star
|
Open | Villanova is reportedly recruiting the talented Philadelphia lineman, but it is exceedingly unlikely that the feeling is mutual. |
| Najee Goode | CB | Imhotep (PA) |
Rivals: NR
Scout: 2-star
247: NR
|
Open | Scout is the only major recruiting service that seems to list Villanova for Goode. |
| Peter Angeh | DL | The Bullis School (MD) |
Rivals: NR
|
Open | Bullis is a school that Villanova seems to have taken notice of recently. They are also recruiting another DL from this school. |
|
Sean Merrill |
OL | Sheehan (CT) |
|
Open | This mammoth 6'4" 275 lb. tackle is hearing from Villanova, according to his coach. |
|
Wesley Smith |
DB | University School (FL) |
Rivals: 2-star
|
Open/Offered | Smith's profile lists him as having Villanova interest. He's got a nice collection of FCS offers to go along with a couple of FBS offers. Smith is taking an official visit to Villanova this weekend for the JMU game, according to a source. |
|
Renz Compton |
S/WR | Frankford HS (PA) |
ESPN: NR
|
Open | Villanova's interest in Compton (5-11, 160lb) was noted in a recent Philly.com piece. He is a bit undersized, but that hasn't been an issue for the 'Cats in the past. Most likely he projects to play safety in college. He also reports interest from Penn State, Temple and Miami. |
| Ishmael Hyman | WR | St. John Vianney HS (NJ) |
ESPN: 3-star
|
Offered/Open | According to ESPN, Villanova has offered Hyman. The 'Cats will compete with much bigger programs to try and land the 6-0, 170-lb receiver. |
|
David Williams |
RB | Imhotep Charter(PA) |
ESPN: 4-star
|
Offered/Open | According to ESPN, Villanova has offered local product Williams, but don't get too excited — he has offers from a long list of BCS conference schools. It would take a major coup to land this one. |
Villanova Football 2014 Recruiting Big Board
| Recruit | Position | School | Rating(s) | Status | Update |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Herron | DT | The Bullis School (MD) |
Rivals: NR
Scout: NR
247: 3-star
ESPN: NR
|
Open/Visited | Herron has grown up with Villanova in his blood. His father (Reggie) was a Villanova basketball player and he has stated that Nova was his "dream school." Its too early for him to commit, but Nova was early to offer and will likely be there at the end. |
| Mark Clements | CB | Oakcrest (NJ)/ Worcester Acad. (MA) |
Rivals: NR
ESPN: 2-star
|
Clements has had a few bumps in the road after initially committing to be part of this fall’s freshman class. He is back on track now, however, and plans to try and join the Wildcats in 2014. He will take part in a showcase at Worcester Academy this Spring then play there next fall in preparation for Villanova. |
Make sure to stay tuned to our dedicated section for 2013 Villanova football recruiting where we'll be filing all our big boards along with any other posts that deal with recruiting in the 2013 cycle.
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