Villanova's 2017 Football recruiting class is officially opened, with signal-caller Kyle McCloskey being the first to commit. Coach Ferrante is going to have to fill a few more slots in his first recruiting class at the helm of the program, however, and with a QB-of-the-Future potentially on-board, they will be looking at other key positions.
What's one of the best things you can give a young quarterback? A fast running back.
Enter Chris Chukwuneke -- the St. John-Vianney High School senior has literally shredded through Shore Conference defenses in New Jersey. If you watch his highlights, you see a player who is speeding through traffic with the ball , finding the open field and the endzone -- as easy as skipping rope.
He received a scholarship offer from Villanova a few weeks ago, and the 'Cats are high on his potential.
Blessed to say that I have received an offer from Villanova University #Wildcats ⚪️ pic.twitter.com/Mdy4FNdDmz
— FARGO (@_ChrisChuk1) May 22, 2016
In his Sophomore year, he attended JP Stevens High School (transferring when his family moved to Morganville). There, he not only rushed for nearly 1070 yards, but led the team with 21 receptions, showing some good versatility, making him a potential threat to play in the slot or catch passes out of the backfield in Villanova's scheme.
He's fast, reportedly carrying a 4.45 time in the 40-yard dash. was a sprinter, long-jump and triple-jumper for the track team as well.
The 5'11" and 180-pound tailback has eight offers already, and is being pursued by a number of Villanova's CAA Football rivals -- Delaware, Maine, Albany and New Hampshire, for example. He's also been on the radar of FBS schools like Syracuse, Boston College, Connecticut, and Michigan -- though 247Sports doesn't report any offers from those schools yet.
The major recruiting services aren't rating Chukwuneke yet, though with camp season in full force this month, he could find himself with some more hype sooner than later. Villanova football has never needed recruit rankings though -- most of the great Villanova players since 1986 have been guys who flew in under the radar to become Brian Finneran (Atlanta Falcons), Brian Westbrook (Philadelphia Eagles), Matt Szczur (Chicago Cubs), Darrel Young (Washington Redskins), Ben Ijalana (Colts/Jets), or Ross Ventrone (Patriots/Steelers) and others.