Of Villanova’s latest recruiting class, coach Mark Ferrante says: ‘We like what we got’

Villanova’s football team celebrated national signing day on Wednesday by inking 14 high school seniors to letters of intent. The players will arrive on campus in the summer as part of the Wildcats’ latest recruiting class.

The class includes a quarterback, a running back, two wide receivers, two offensive linemen, three defensive linemen, three defensive backs, a linebacker, and a kicker.

“When we start our recruitment, we start with the high school guys as opposed to looking at portal guys first,” Villanova coach Mark Ferrante said. “These are guys we have been communicating with since their junior year. We like what we got.”

Villanova went west for a quarterback, signing three-star recruit Dylan Mills from San Clemente High School in California. In his only year as the sole starter, the 6-foot-2 Mills led his team to a 9-2 record and the playoffs, where San Clemente lost to national powerhouse St. John Bosco.

Running back David Avit signed from Winston Churchill High in Potomac, Md. Avit, a 6-foot, 220-pound running back, led Churchill to the state semifinals for the first time in 28 years by rushing for 2,487 yards and 30 touchdowns — both school records.

The Wildcats signed receivers Chris Colby from Rowley, Mass., and Brandon Binkowski from Battlefield, Va. Colby, at 6-3, 210, made all-league as a receiver and also was named defensive MVP as a strong safety. Binkowski, 6-3, 205, also played both ways, earning first-team all-region honors as a linebacker and second team as a receiver.

Both offensive line recruits, Ryan Cregan and Dhamir Wesley, won’t have to travel far to join the Wildcats. Cregan, at 6-6 and 290, signed from Delbarton School in New Jersey, while Wesley, at 6-5, 290, played at Penn Manor in Millersville, Pa. Wesley played defensive end and tight end in high school but will be on the offensive line in college.

Villanova’s trio of defensive linemen all bring size to the Wildcats. Ratu Delano Navoti, from Xavier High in New York City, is listed at 6-3, 265. Ugo Nwotite, a 6-5, 210 defensive end, played at St. Augustine Prep in South Jersey. AJ Koukou is from nearby Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square. He’s a 6-2, 275 pounder who also is on Episcopal’s track and field team and ranks No. 5 in the state in the shot put.

The Wildcats signed three defensive backs as well. Anthony Hawkins, a Maryland native who spent a postgrad year at Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut, is a 6-4 safety who earned all-state honors in Maryland in 2022. Defensive back Jamie Tyson, from Mainland Regional High, led New Jersey in interceptions last season with 12 and was named the Garden State’s defensive player of the year. Newton Essiem, a 5-11, 175 defensive back, had 112 tackles, nine interceptions, and three forced fumbles in his career even though he didn’t football until high school. He was also part of a 4x100 relay team that finished sixth at the Penn Relays in May.

Linebacker Langston White signed from Brentsville, Va. The 6-2, 210-pound linebacker was a two-time regional defensive player of the year and a three-time all-region selection. He originally committed to William and Mary but flipped to Villanova in early December.

Villanova also boosted its special teams by signing Luke Myers, a kicker from Allentown Central Catholic.

Wednesday was the earliest that high school seniors could sign with college football programs. Villanova plans to sign a few more players to complete its 2024 recruiting class.

Villanova has been an experienced team in recent years, benefiting from an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic. All but three freshmen redshirted this season. However, Ferrante said that more freshmen will contribute going forward, especially after several key players exhausted that COVID-19 year this season.

“I never get overly excited and have too high expectations about any incoming freshman,” Ferrante said. “But there will probably be someone in this class that will end up playing as a freshman that will help us and maybe even surprise us.”

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