Villanova Men’s Football Team announced their new recruiting class to add to next year’s roster. They added 7 personnel on the offensive side and 4 on the defensive side.

Erik Bockisch – OL, Salisbury School, CT

Ethan Carr – WR, Penn Trafford, PA

Ian Erickson – OL, Marist, GA

Bryce Ganious – DL, Second Baptist, TX

Chantz Harley – DB, Landon School, MD

Shane Hartzell – LB, Pennridge, PA

Antonio Johnson – TE, St. Thomas Aquinas, FL

Daniel Lopes – WR, Cheshire Academy, CT

Irene Ngabonziza – WR, Nolan Catholic, TX

Christian Sapp – DB, East Stroudsburg South, PA

Stephane Voltaire – OL, Tabor Academy, MA

Head Coach Mark Ferrante spoke about the class on the signing day show. He demonstrated a very clear pride for the class and is excited to bring them onto the turf, but made sure to talk about the culture of the class.

“We always try to recruit eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey Maryland, Delaware, etc. But then of course we have guys coming from distance, the Atlanta area, Texas, so on and so forth,” Ferrante said. 

He understands Villanova’s cultural impact and name, realizing how it plays into the role of recruiting. 

“The national reputation that Villanova has kind of allows us to do that, hitting some of these outreaching areas. But we always wanna start off local and build our team from within first.”

Ferrante continued his excitement by touching on the caliber of players in the class. Including players who are going to win player of the year in their high school’s athletic conferences, go to state championships in their respective areas or make their all state teams.

In this unorthodox season, Ferrante touched on the challenges of recruiting such a strong class.

“In these challenging times, obviously, we haven’t been able to be on the road as much,” Ferrante said. “Some of these young men we haven’t even seen in person, and they haven’t met us in person yet. This way has been all virtual this year. But we feel like we’ve done a great job.”