With the team due to report on Sunday, and after not having football in 2020, it's worth taking a look at the 2021 roster.
Returning:
Wide receiver Rasheem James is back. Although he hasn't played a game since September of 2018, when he incurred an injury against Shippensburg, the speed and expereince of the 2017 ECAC Offensive Rookie of the Year should provide some comfort for whomever assumes the quarterback position. All players that were listed as seniors on the 2020 roster have returned for this season with the exception of receiver turned defensive back Jalik Smith.
Departures:
The most notable departure from the roster is left tackle Pat Ferry. After being thrust into action during his true freshman season in 2017, Ferry started in seven games during his sophomore year. But he incurred an injury in the spring game after his sophomore year and missed the 2019 season. The perenial scholar-athlete graduated and is now a business analyst in the Bethlehem area. Other departures include running back Isaiah Bruce (40 carries, 111 yards, 2 TD's in 2019), receiver Ethan Harris (2 catches for 6 yards in 2019), and offensive linemen Jake Hendershot and Caden Alexander-Gray.
Additions:
All of the members of the 2021 recruiting class appear on the roster as do all but five of the 2020 class. The most notable omission from 2020 is Aiden Gair who is now playing basketball at Frank Phillips College in Texas which plays in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference.
Tight end Jalen Jackson transferred from PSAC East division foe Lock Haven prior to last year and remains on the roster. Jackson was a first team Super Region 1 selection and first team All-PSAC east selection after his sophomore season in 2018 and comes to West Chester with 108 catches for 1,437 yards and 12 touchdowns in his three-year career. West Chester fans might remember him tossing a 13-yard, fourth quarter touchdown pass in the Golden Rams' 56-14 win in Lock Haven in 2019.
Other incoming transfers are
linebacker Joseph Jay Smith, Jr.,
defensive back Elijah Beard,
defensive back Ronnie James.
Smith, a senior, comes to West Chester from the University of Texas at El Paso where he made 16 tackles in 11 games for the Miners in 2019. Prior to that, he played at Garden City Community College in Kansas. Smith was a first team Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and first team All-Morning Call defensive back at Bethlehem Catholic High School.
Beard, a sophomore, played in one game for Long Island University in 2019. Prior to that, he was a standout football and basketball player for Wayne Valley High School in Passaic County, NJ.
James was a first team All-Group II and a third team All-State two-way player at Glassboro where he registered 59 tackles on defense, and 1,241 rushing yards, 182 receiving yards and 21 total touchdowns on offense in his senior season. James chose Rutgers over Ohio State and others, only to have his football career apparently end after his sophomore season in 2016 with just four tackles. It will be interesting to see how he can contribute to this year's Golden Ram squad.
Also joining West Chester from other schools are linebacker Preston Fausnaught from St. Francis, wide receiver Rahiem Bowens from Maine, defensive back Mahmud Dioubate from Temple, and
wide receiver Collin Callahan from Valley Forge Military Academy.
Camp:
Daily practices are set to start Monday evening with intrasquad scrimmages tentatively scheduled for Friday August 20 and Friday August 27. West Chester will then open the season on Friday, September 3 at Bentley in Waltham, MA.
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