April 10, 2002
WASHINGTON, DC - Head Coach Bob Benson has announced the signing of 30 student-athletes who will attend Georgetown University and play football in the fall of 2002. The incoming student-athletes hail from 11 different locations, headlined by nine from New Jersey, followed by Maryland with four and New York with three. The Hoyas reach also stretches through out the United States with students athletes arriving from Minnesota, Texas, California, Florida, Ohio, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia to play football at Georgetown. The 2002 season will mark the second year of Georgetown football in the prestigious Patriot League.
"With our step up to the Patriot League last year we had to expand our recruiting effort to a national level. These past months of hard work by all of the coaching staff has paid off in a well-rounded incoming group of players. I am impressed with both the athletic ability and the academic capability of all the new student-athletes," stated Head Coach Bob Benson.
With the loss of 11 defensive players to graduation last year the Hoyas signed 14 student-athletes to play defense next season. Coach Benson signed six defensive backs. Joseph Basile (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell), Sheldon Epps (Laurel Springs, N.J./Bishop Eustall), Brian Golper (Arcadia, Calif./Arcadia), Ronald Lasasso (Fort Lee, N.J./St. Joseph), Jason Milazzotto (Dallas, Texas/Jesuit) and Dan Romanoff (Gaithersburg, Md./Wooton) will all compete for a defensive back slot in 2002. GU also will be bolstering the front line positions, as there will be five incoming defensive linemen. Jason Abrams (Closter, N.J./St. Joseph), Joe Kuhns (New York, N.Y./Riverdale Country), Robert LaHayne (Glenelg, Md./Glenelg), Todd Marco (Wyckoff, N.J./Bergen Catholic) and Paul Rowssy (Dallas, Texas/Highland Park) are all incoming defensive linemen. Matt Calhoun (Toledo, Ohio/Whitmer), Mehdi Hassan (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons) and Michael Ononibaku (Amherst, Mass./Amherst) will bolster the linebacking corps and will all be looking to compete with the Hoyas 10 veteran linebackers.
"Since half of our starters from last season have departed due to graduation we will be looking for our incoming freshman class to push our veterans for time on the field. I am excited about the new recruits and I am eager for them to arrive in August."
Offensively Georgetown will be adding 16 players to the program. Leading off the incoming student-athletes will be five new running backs. Spread out across the United States the new backs hail from Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey. Jesse Paterson (Elkins Park, Pa./Cheltenham), Chris Peaks (Silver Spring, Md./Good Counsel), Kim Sarin (Roseville, Minn./Cretin-Derham), Marcus Slayton (Cleveland, Ohio/Benedictine) and Hanif Suluki (Montclair, N.J./Montclair) will all look to get some carries this season. Two new quarterbacks also highlight this year?s class, Maurice Banks (Clinton, Md./Gwynn Park) and Keith Schroeder (Summit, N.J./Summit) will look to get some experience this season. Four new offensive linemen will add size and depth to the Hoya front blockers, Kevin Dunn (Everett, Mass./Arlington Catholic), James Elliott (Ridge, N.J./Ridge), Jeff Robinson (Summit, N.J./Delbarton) and Craig Warznak (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) all join the Hoyas for 2002. Two tight ends also will be wearing the Blue and Gray for the first time this fall, Glenn Castergine (Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J./Northern Highlands) and Reyn Garnett (Mt. Kisco, N.Y./Deerfield).
"On the offensive side of the ball we do return eight starters and thus far in the spring our skill positions look outstanding. With these new offensive players I am hoping they will learn the system quickly and test our current players each day in practice," noted Benson.
Georgetown will be playing its annual Blue and Gray game on Saturday, April 27, 2002 on Kehoe Field at 1 p.m. The Hoyas open the 2002 campaign this fall on September 7th at perennial Patriot League power Lehigh at 1 p.m. This will mark the second straight year that GU will face the Patriot League Champion in the first game of the year.
2002 Georgetown Recruiting ClassOffenseMaurice Banks QB Fr. 6-3 190 Clinton, Md./Gwynn ParkGlenn Castergine TE Fr. 6-3 230 Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J./Northern HighlandsKevin Dunn OL Fr. 6-6 280 Everett, Mass./Arlington CatholicSteve Ekechuku WR Fr. 6-3 195 Akron, Ohio/FirestoneJames Elliott OL Fr. 6-5 278 Ridge, N.J./RidgeReyn Garnett TE Fr. 6-4 235 Mt. Kisco, N.Y./DeerfieldChris Gary WR Fr. 6-1 180 Santa Monica, Calif./Santa MonicaJesse Paterson RB Fr. 5-11 175 Elkins Park, Pa./CheltenhamChris Peaks RB Fr. 5-11 185 Silver Spring, Md./Good CounselJeff Robinson OL Fr. 6-3 280 Summit, N.J./DelbartonKim Sarin RB Fr. 5-7 155 Roseville, Minn./Cretin-DerhamDominique Saunders WR Fr. 6-0 175 Washington, D.C./EasternKeith Schroeder QB Fr. 6-3 195 Summit, N.J./SummitMarcus Slayton RB Fr. 5-10 190 Cleveland, Ohio/BenedictineHanif Suluki RB Fr. 5-8 195 Montclair, N.J./MontclairCraig Warznak OL Fr. 6-5 290 Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin
DefenseJason Abrams DE Fr. 6-2 235 Closter, N.J./St. JosephJoseph Basile DB Fr. 5-10 170 Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor FarrellMatt Calhoun ILB Fr. 6-2 225 Toledo, Ohio/WhitmerSheldon Epps DB Fr. 6-0 180 Laurel Springs, N.J./Bishop EustallBrian Golper DB Fr. 5-10 175 Arcadia, Calif./ArcadiaMehdi Hassan ILB Fr. 6-1 205 Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Cardinal GibbonsJoe Kuhns DE Fr. 6-1 220 New York, N.Y./Riverdale CountryRobert LaHayne DL Fr. 6-2 245 Glenelg, Md./GlenelgRonald Lasasso DB Fr. 6-0 175 Fort Lee, N.J./St. JosephTodd Marco DE Fr. 6-0 210 Wyckoff, N.J./Bergen CatholicJason Milazzotto DB Fr. 5-10 175 Dallas, Texas/JesuitMichael Ononibaku ILB Fr. 6-1 225 Amherst, Mass./AmherstDan Romanoff DB Fr. 6-1 190 Gaithersburg, Md./WootonPaul Rowssy DL Fr. 6-2 260 Dallas, Texas/Highland Park
