Football Media Day 2017: Added Depth Key To Monmouth University's Success

Photo above L-R: Ryan Wetzel, Kenji Bahar, head coach Kevin Callahan, Mike Basile and Reggie White Jr.

WEST LONG BRANCH – On Saturday, September 2, 2017 Monmouth University will be celebrating the start of its 25th year of football by christening the new 16 million dollar Kessler Stadium and by fielding the deepest team in program history.

“We’ve started our preseason practices on a really high note,” said head coach Kevin Callahan, who is the only head coach in the history of football at Monmouth University. “There has been a tremendous amount of energy and our guys really haven’t let down for one minute through five practices. We’re much further ahead then we’ve been in 25 years of preseason practices.

“We were fortunate to have 75 guys on campus for just about the entire summer and that enabled our guys to spend an awful lot of time together, train together and strengthen their bond that they have with each other. This is a veteran team in a lot of ways. Offensively we return eight starters but ten guys who played a lot of football. On the defensive side, although the stat line says there are six starters returning, there are probably 15 guys who played a significant amount of football from a year ago. If you just look at the four years we’ve been in the Big South we’re by far the deepest we’ve ever been. We have the most scholarships that we’ve had so we’re much deeper and as a result much more prepared.”

Sophomore quarterback Kenji Bahar emerged as the starter for the final three games last season and although they were all losses, he played well enough for the Hawks coaching staff to reaffirm their commitment to him and name him the starter prior to preseason practice.

For the year Bahar passed for 964 yards and four touchdowns completing 97-of-166 passes. In his three starts he completed 64-of-109 passes for 629 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions.

“I feel a lot of the guys look up to me especially being the starting quarterback,” said Bahar when asked about his leadership qualities. “But at the same time I have to realize that anything from my body language to my attitude on and off the field needs to be kept up grade A, and I need to lookout for anybody who needs help.”

When asked if he’s the type of guy who can take charge in the huddle, Bahar emphatically said, “I’m confident I can take charge in the huddle.” And from his teammates reaction to the question it appears taking charge won’t be an issue for Bahar.

First-team All-Big South wide receiver Reggie White Jr. is back after a stellar junior campaign that saw him rack up 934 receiving yards on 69 catches with seven touchdowns and was a Big South Preseason First-Team All-Conference selection.

“Reggie just makes everyone better,” said safety Mike Basile. “He’s one of the top wide receivers in all FCS, not just Big South; the whole nation. Everyone knows Reggie is that guy.”

“I definitely feel I’m that guy,” said White Jr. when asked about Basile’s comment. “I feel like I proved myself last year and I want to prove myself some more this year. I’m looking forward to being a leader to the young guys and set an example for them.”

Former Holmdel High School standout Robbie Cantelli is a graduate transfer from Fordham University who should pay immediate dividends at wide receiver for the Hawks. He started every game for Fordham last season and was their second leading receiver with 37 receptions for 634 yards with a team-high 13 touchdowns, including one in Monmouth’s win over the Rams last season. He was the recipient of the Bill Tierney Award and his 13 TD’s were one shy of the school’s single season record.

Callahan considers this year’s stable of wide receivers one of the deepest group he’s ever had and feels he has six to seven guys who could be impact players this season. In addition to White Jr. and Cantelli he mentioned: juniors Matt Castronuova (Jackson Memorial), Vinny Grasso (Donovan Catholic) and Ugo Ezzema (who missed all of last season with a foot injury after a solid freshman season - 15 receptions for 188 yards and three TD’s), red shirt freshman Lonnie Moore (who’s making plays all over the field) and true freshmen Joey Aldarelli (Ocean Township) and Terrence Greene Jr.

The only real question mark on offense is who will fill the shoes of departed All-Big South running back Lavon Chaney. Juniors Michael Jolly (12-179-2) and Devell Jones (7-32) have the inside track but the Hawks very well could implement a running back by committee; at least until someone emerges as the clear cut number one. In the mix is junior Larry Redaelli (Red Bank Catholic) and two impressive true freshmen Justin Brown and Eric Zokouri.

When asked if either one could emerge as the starting running back Callahan said, “It depends on how quickly they can make the transition and assimilate to being a division one college football player. And we don’t know, but we’ll find out here within the next couple of weeks.”

Whoever does emerge as the starter will be in good hands. The Hawks return the entire starting offensive line led by All-Big South center Alex Thompson. Senior’s Peter Righi (Rumson-Fair Haven) and Ryan Wetzel (Colts Neck) man the guard position while senior’s Matt Stoneberg and Russ Clayton are back at the tackle spots.

Preseason first-team All-Big South selection Jake Powell (16-146-1) returns at tight end after a breakout sophomore season which saw him develop into one of the top all-around tight ends in the conference. He’s another weapon in both the passing and running game.

Defensively, Monmouth is blessed with probably the deepest secondary in program history – one that goes seven or eight deep.

“There are seven guys who played a lot of football for us and eight who have played in games total,” Callahan said. “So it’s a very veteran group that’s worked together and we’re very excited about them. They’re ready to take the next step and are a very confident bunch – I’m excited to see that group play.”

Second-team All-American Mike Basile is the undisputed leader lining up at strong safety and is impressed at what he’s seen so far in camp.

“This is the most confident I’ve been going into the season with the defensive backs that I’m playing with,” said Basile on the depth of the secondary. “We’ve got eight guys who can go in there and play right away. I think the defense as a whole understands the whole concept a lot better than we have in the past years that I’ve been here and I think it’s going to be a big year for us.”

Joining Basile in the tentative starting lineup is senior free safety Teddy Martinez and senior cornerbacks Kamau Dumas and Marcus Leslie, who missed the final five games of the season with an injury. Senior safety Kyle Gregory, sophomore cornerback Wendell Allen - who started all five games in place of Leslie, graduate senior cornerback Anthony Smith and junior Tymere Berry (Toms River South), who showed enormous potential as a sophomore but sat out last season, will all be in the defensive backfield rotation.

Junior Diego Zubieta is back at one outside linebacker spot after earning the starting assignment midway through last season and ended up seventh on the team in tackles with 33. Junior Try Nelson – who made three starts last season - slides into the middle linebacker role replacing graduated All-Big South pick Payton Minnich, and sophomore Evan Powell is ready to assume a starting role at outside linebacker after a breakout freshman campaign in which he made one start after coming on strong late in the season. Senior Agbai Iroha will shift from safety to linebacker to add depth to the position after seeing considerable playing time a year ago in the secondary.

The defensive line brings back two starters in junior end Zack Talley and senior tackle Manny Maragoto (Freehold Township), who Callahan expects to have a monster year after leading the team in sacks (6) a year ago while being snubbed in post-season Big South honors. Callahan is also high on 6-foot-1, 295 pound defensive tackle Gerron Pendarvis – a Monroe College transfer, who racked up 29 tackles, 8.5 TFL, four sacks and an interception last season in junior college. Sophomore’s Adam Kakar (Toms River North), Lowell Kelly-Gamble and Kahari Scarlett all saw considerable playing time last season and are in the mix for a starting role or a spot in the defensive line rotation.

Monmouth will play six non-conference games before commencing its Big South schedule October 1, 2017 at home against Liberty University. Liberty is transitioning to Division I FBS and will be a provisional FBS member, playing as an independent in 2018, before becoming a full FBS member in 2019.

Callahan knows the importance of this upcoming season, “It’s our fourth year in the Big South and we’re getting the closest to everyone else in terms of scholarships. It’s no secret that we’re all disappointed in how we finished last year. We lost some close games early on in the Big South then failed to win a game in the conference. Coming off a 2015 season when we finished third in the Big South we all anticipated finishing much higher than we did. We think this is the year about getting back to where we expect to be.

“We’re a team that lives in the moment; teams get caught up looking to far down the road. You can get caught up focusing on the end result because when you do that you really run the risk of losing track about what you have to do every single day to be at your best. So we decided as a team that our focus is going to be on what we have to do today. We build one day upon the next, create a foundation then we build upon the foundation and keep going. If you approach the season that way, when you get to the end you’re going to be where you want to be and you’re going to be who you want to be.”

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