Lehighsports.com

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh head football coach Andy Coen has announced the addition of 28 student-athletes to the Mountain Hawks program that comprise the Class of 2014.  The incoming group spans nine states including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia and includes student-athletes predicted to contribute at every positional group.  “We’re excited to announce our newest class and to have recruited this newest group of Mountain Hawks,” Coen explained.  “This is the fourth full year of recruiting efforts by our coaching staff and we’re looking forward to bringing this group into the program after cultivating relationships with these young men for the past ten months.”

Coming off a season in which a large number of young players saw extended time for the Mountain Hawks, Coen and the Lehigh coaching staff were able to bring in a diverse group of student-athletes that span all positional groups and will add quality depth to the program.  “We have a strong nucleus of our team returning in 2010, with 17 starters coming back, and that really allowed us to recruit across the board for all positions and have an even distribution of offensive and defensive players,” Coen said.  “I’m pleased with the size this class has as well as the overall speed.  We found kids on both sides of the ball that can really run, which was a focus for us.  We also addressed some of our special teams needs in signing a kicker/punter as well as a talented long snapper.”

Despite losing only 12 seniors off of the 2009 team, Coen and his staff wanted to bring in a large number of student-athletes in order to increase the roster size of the squad.  “We want to always create competition within the program as well as add depth to our team.  We’d like to get back to having a full roster size because it’s always nice to have a large number of kids in your program; it allows the coaches to do different things during practice and like I mentioned before, it creates depth.”

As has been the case during Coen’s entire tenure, the offensive and defensive lines remained a focus with the newest class.  “We’ll have good numbers on the lines this coming season and I think we brought in another strong group at those positions.  We always want to have good competition in those groups and with a veteran-laden group returning, the younger kids will have the chance to learn from a good number of experienced players.”  Four offensive linemen and three defensive linemen are included in the Class of 2014.

He continued, “Our secondary is also going to be full of upperclassmen this coming season so we went out and got a good group of defensive backs.  What we’re looking for there are kids that can run and be physical.”  In all Lehigh brought in five student-athletes who could see time in the defensive secondary.

On the offensive side of the ball Coen brought in a talented group of skill players, which includes four wide receivers, three tight ends, two running backs and one quarterback.  “I have been very pleased with the groups of wide receivers we’ve brought in the last couple of years and I think this is another strong group this year.  The tight ends we brought in are big and physical and the running backs will add speed and versatility.”

Coen offered his thoughts on the class’s lone signal caller, Brandon Bialkowski of Gilbert, Arizona.  “He’s a strong athlete who has a nice release; he’s a lefty.  I think he’ll fit in well here with our system.”

Last season 17 states were represented on Lehigh’s roster and that trend should continue with the newest class that spans as far west as Arizona and down into Florida.  Coen spoke of the geographical diversity of the newest group of Mountain Hawks.  “We continue to have a strong showing in Pennsylvania and once again signed a kid from the Lehigh Valley, so that is always great for the program.  We made in-roads into Western Ohio which is nice to see.  We’ve been recruiting that state for several years with good success and that continued this year.  And we had a strong showing in Florida and Georgia which continue to be great spots for us to find talented student-athletes.”

The complete list of recruits follows.

Max Anderson – TE; 6-4; 230; Frederick, Md./Thomas Johnson; Architecture

First Team All-Conference … First Team All-Area … First Team All-County … Second Team All-Gazette … Ironman Award winner … member of Latin Club, National Honor Society and Fellowship of Christian Athletes … academic letterwinner

Brandon Bialkowski – QB; 6-1; 195; Gilbert, Ariz./Gilbert High School; Pre-Med

2009 Scout.com All-State Team … National Football Foundation Valley of the Sun Chapter First Team … second all-time leading passer in Gilbert school history … second in career passing yards, passing yards in a season, and career  touchdown passes in Gilbert history … threw for 2,016 yards and 17 TDs as a senior … two time All-Region selection … two time captain … member of National Honor Society … East Valley Tribune Scholar-Athlete … member of honor roll … three year Golden Scholar … All-County Scholar-Athlete

Damien Brown – DB; 5-10; 185; Weston Cypress Bay, Fla./Pembroke Pines; Business

Ryan Burke – WR; 6-1; 185; West Palm Beach, Fla./Cardinal Newman; Business

Caught 18 passes for 263 yards and a pair of touchdowns as a senior

Tim Divers – K/P; 5-10; 170; Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills; Business

All-County and All-Area selection as a senior … averaged over 37 yards per punt in 2009 … scored 61 points as a senior, including 46 PATs and five field goals

Sean Farrell – FB/TE; 6-3; 225; Marlton, N.J./Cherokee High School; Business

First Team All-South Jersey … First Team All-Conference selection … First Team All Group IV … First Team All-Academic for Burlington County … Tim Reilly Scholar Athlete of the Year … member of the National Honor Society … named to the Principal’s List

Sergio Fernandez-Soto – WR; 6-0; 175; Miami, Fla./Belen Jesuit Prep; Business

First Team All-Dade as a senior … Second Team All-Dade as a junior … three varsity letterwinner in football, two year letterwinner in basketball and track and field … member of Green Club, Senior Beta Club, Future Doctors of America and Athletes for Charity … Vice President of National Beta Honor Society

Robert Halliman – DT; 5-11; 300; Southlake, Texas/Carroll Senior High School; Journalism

Totaled 28 tackles, including 12 solo and 16 assisted as well as 3.5 tackles-for-loss and two sacks during the 2009 season

Cody Haupt – RB; 6-1; 190; Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville Area; Business

Two time member of the WNEP Dream Team … Second Team All-State selection … Montoursville Area all-time leading rusher … 2008 Williamsport Sun-Gazette Player of the Year … Montoursville Area Student of the Month … Heartland Conference Academic All-Star … member of the Key Club … also participated in basketball and track

Zach Hayden – FB/TE; 6-1; 227; Point Pleasant Boro, N.J./Point Pleasant Boro; Business

Second Team Group 2 All-State selection … All-Shore, All-Division and All-County selection … member of Future Business Leaders of America

Rickie Hill – DB; 6-2; 190; Atlanta, Ga./Tri Cities High School; Environmental Science

Served as captain of football and track and field teams … region pole vaulter … member of Beta Club, Deca and National Honor Society … four time member of the honor roll … two time Principal’s list member … perfect attendance award

Ashton Hood – OL; 6-6; 265; Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton High School; Political Science

First and Second Team All-GMC … recipient of the Viking Award … All-GMC Academic Team … member of National Honor Society, Key Club and Jazz Band … four year member of the honor roll

Mike Howell – OL; 6-4; 265; Smithville/Smithville High School; Mechanical Engineering

Received county and district honorable mention accolades … two year letterwinner in football … Outstanding O-Lineman award … served as captain of the football team … President of his high school’s National Honor Society … Outstanding Biology Student and Outstanding Mathematics Student awards … honors student … member of Boy Scouts of America … member of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America … member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes

Courtney Jarvis – DB; 5-10; 165; Temple Hills, Md./Westlake; Computer Programming

Member of 2009 Maryland state championship football, indoor track and outdoor track teams … All-American Scholars Award …four time recipient of the Scholar Athlete Award … Principals Honors in ninth and twelfth grade … participated in the Southern Maryland Leadership Conference … 2009 NFHS National Student Leadership Conference … member of National Honor Society

Demario Kohn – WR; 5-11; 180; Orange Park, Fla./Ridgeview; Engineering

Four year letterwinner in football, three year letterwinner in basketball, one varsity letter in baseball … served as captain of football and basketball teams … member of IB program, Rho Kappa society, National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society

Ryan Kuntz – DE; 6-3; 235; Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt; Political Science/Education

Two time All-Keystone League selection … First Team All-Mid Penn accolades … All-State honorable mention selection … Pennsylvania East-West All-Star Team … served as team captain … member of honor roll

Lee Kurfis – WR; 6-2; 174; West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin; Engineering

First Team All-Area as a senior … two year letterwinner in football and four year letterwinner in baseball … First Team All-Chesmont in baseball as a junior and senior … member of honor roll … Rotary Club Student of the Month

Rickey Layton – LB; 6-4; 220; Richmond Heights, Ohio/Gilmour Academy; Engineering

Three year starter … led his high school team in sacks … three year varsity letterwinner in football and baseball … Coaches Choice Award recipient … member of Investment Club, Speech and Debate, Blue and Gray Society … active member of his church community … honor roll student

Kyle Lechner – LS; 6-0; 190; Milford, N.J./Delaware Valley; Business

Three year starter … played linebacker and lineman in high school … father Mike played tight end at Lehigh

Matt Lippincott – OL; 6-3; 280; Wilson, Pa./Wilson Area; Engineering

Three year starter … All-State selection … First Team All-League offensive and defensive lineman

Shane McCullough – DE; 6-4; 245; Linwood, N.J./The Hun School; Business

Two year varsity letterwinner … recipient of the Ironman Award … member of the honor roll … member of the Red Shield Society

Nigel Muhammad – LB; 6-0; 235; Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier High School; Biomedical Studies

First Team All-Greater Catholic League … First Team All-City … honorable mention All-State … member of National Honor Society and Foreign Language Society … member of Student Council, Adventure Club and Health Career Pathways

Cody Raup – LB; 6-3; 205; Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg High School; Biology

WNEP-TV 16 Dream Team selection … All-State honorable mention selection … Williamsport Sun Gazette All-Star Team … Standard Journal First-Team accolades … selected to North-South All-Star game … defensive MVP of high school team … member of the National Honor Society and choir … honor roll student

Jamil Robinson – WR/DB; 6-2; 180; Hightstown High School; Engineering

Member of the honor roll, National High Scholars and African American Awareness

Shane Rugg – OL; 6-3; 270; Windber, Pa./Bishop McCort; Civil Engineering

Three year starter and letterwinner … 2008 (defensive line) and 2009 (offensive line) Southern Alleghenies MVP … two time First Team All-Area offensive lineman … 2008 Pennsylvania Football Network and Associated Press First Team All-State selection … 2009 Pennsylvania Football Network (offensive line) and Sports Writers (defensive line) First Team All-State selection … served as co-captain on 2009 state runner-up team … four year member of the honor roll … President of the National Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta (Math honor society) … member of the Yearbook Club

Keith Sherman – RB; 6-0; 190; Lawrence, N.J./Lawrence High School; Psychology/Social Psychology

All-County and All-Area selection … set the school record for single game receptions and single season receptions … member of Principal’s Leadership Team … member of Peer Leadership and Cardinal Club … honor roll student

Tyler Ward – DB; 6-0; 180; Charlottesville, Va./Western Albemarle; Business

Three year starter … served as team captain … 2009 All-District defensive back and wide receiver three time Academic All-District selection … 2009 English National Honor Society … 2009 All-Region defensive back … 2009 All-Central Virginia defensive back

Winston Williams – CB; 5-10; College Park, Ga./North Clayton; Business

Defensive Player of the Year … recipient of the Academic Achievement Award … member of the AB honor roll

Lehigh Football Class of 2014