On Wednesday, Monmouth University announced 21 signings during college football’s early signing period. The group includes 16 players who signed National Letters of Intent and five transfer students.
After a tough debut season in the CAA, where the Hawks went 3-5 in the conference (5-6 overall), Monmouth looked to the future as they hope to rebound and compete next season.
“Our first recruiting class as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association is truly an outstanding one,” said Callahan. “This class has talent at all positions, has depth and fulfills the needs that we have. There is good balance on both sides of the ball Our staff did a great job of identifying very talented high school players while at the same time bringing in veteran players who will have an immediate impact.”
Of the 21 players signed with Monmouth, 11 will be enrolling and coming to West Long Branch in January. Among the early enrollees are seven players on the defensive side of the ball, where Monmouth struggled mightily, allowing 34 points and 427 yards per game. Defensive back Dana Johnson Jr. (Mansfield, MA) is a player to spotlight who will get an early start on campus for a defensive backfield that gave up 20 touchdowns last season.
Two quarterbacks will enroll early as Zack Hios (Fairfield, CT) and Marquez McCray (Schwenksville, PA) will come to New Jersey. McCray, a graduate student from Sacred Heart, led the Pioneers to three NEC titles and threw for over 5,000 yards during his time in Connecticut. The addition under center comes as former Hawks starting quarterback Tony Muskett transferred to Virginia earlier this month.
Once again, Monmouth kept talent in the state, as eight signees are from New Jersey. Among the Jersey Guys is graduate student Jake Brown who is coming to the Hawks after four years at Harvard. The 6’1”, 225-pound linebacker made 58 career stops with the Crimson while picking up all-Ivy League Honorable Mention honors last season.
Monmouth is not done with this group of players, as more players will be committing to Monmouth during February’s signing period. The Hawks are not complete yet, but they are getting there as they begin preparations for the 2023 season at Kessler Stadium.
Monmouth's Early Signing Day Class
PLAYER POS HT WT HOMETOWN HIGH SCHOOL/PREVIOUS
Rob Adamson Jr. DL 6-1 290 Bridgeton, NJ St. Augustine
Ryan Alexander* LB 6-1 210 Brooklyn, NY Erasmus Hall
Logan Barnes* DL 6-1 290 Staten Island, NY Curtis
Jake Brown* LB 6-1 225 Newton, NJ Pope John XXIII/Harvard
Michael Calton Jr. K/P 6-3 185 Manalapan, NJ Manalapan
Israel Clark-White DB 6-0 175 Camden, NJ Camden
Antonio Colclough* DL 6-4 245 New York, NY Cardinal Hayes/JMU
Joshua Derry WR 5-11 175 Towson, MD Concordia Prep
Josh Duran OL 6-6 275 Paterson, NJ DePaul Catholic
Matt Fries* OL 6-5 275 Cranford, NJ Cranford/Illinois
Zack Hios* QB 6-3 200 Fairfield, CT Trinity Pauling
Dana Johnson Jr.* DB 6-3 175 Mansfield, MA Worcester Academy
Emmanuel Lane DB 6-1 175 Salem, NJ Salem
Deuce Lee DB 6-0 185 Silver Spring, MD Gonzaga
Ayden Martin* DB 5-11 185 Reading, PA Governor Mifflin
Marquez McCray* QB 6-2 200 Schwenksville, PA St. Joe’s Prep/Sacred Heart
Marcus Middleton TE 6-4 200 Germantown, MD Northwest
Chris Moreno OL 6-2 295 Newark, NJ Don Bosco
Tra Neal WR 6-0 175 Frederick, MD Frederick
Rodney Nelson* RB 5-8 185 Owings Mills, MD Franklin
Nick White* DL 6-3 260 Randallstown, MD Milford Mill/Gannon
*Indicates Player will enroll in January
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