Villanova football season countdown: 90 is for

 

Leading up to the opening game of the Villanova football season on August 29 against Syracuse, Fact on Villanova Sports will be counting down the days between now and the beginning of the football season using the jersey numbers of Villanova football players of the past and present. For as many numbers as possible, effort will be taken to introduce players from the current team, with the exception of "important" players from the past.a Also, it's a ton of work to get pictures of all the players, so it may be incomplete. Oh well.   

Antoine Lewis

 

Defensive Line: 2010-2013

After injuries on the defensive line forced him into action as a true freshman, Antoine Lewis stepped up and started at defensive end, and played at a very high level, especially in the running game as Villanova advanced all the way to the national semifinal, where they lost to Eastern Washington. After the departure of Thomas Weaver after the 2010 season, Lewis moved on to defensive tackle, where he would start for three seasons and play at an extremely high level. 

Finished his career with 206 total tackles, 19 tackles for loss, four sacks, three pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and a blocked kick.

Villanova football season countdown: 91 is for...

 

Leading up to the opening game of the Villanova football season on August 29 against Syracuse, Fact on Villanova Sports will be counting down the days between now and the beginning of the football season using the jersey numbers of Villanova football players of the past and present. For as many numbers as possible, effort will be taken to introduce players from the current team, with the exception of "important" players from the past.a Also, it's a ton of work to get pictures of all the players, so it may be incomplete. Oh well.   

 

Osayi Osunde

Linebacker: 2005-2009

I know that Osunde wore 23 his senior year, but using 91 here fills a spot.

Osayi Osunde, the Nigerian-born linebacker was a three year starter for Villanova and finished his career as the undisputed defensive leader of a team that won a National Championship. Led the team in tackles in both 2007 and 2008.

Villanova football season countdown: 92 is for...

 

Leading up to the opening game of the Villanova football season on August 29 against Syracuse, Fact on Villanova Sports will be counting down the days between now and the beginning of the football season using the jersey numbers of Villanova football players of the past and present. For as many numbers as possible, effort will be taken to introduce players from the current team, with the exception of "important" players from the past.a Also, it's a ton of work to get pictures of all the players, so it may be incomplete. Oh well.  

Tanoh Kpassagnon

Defensive End: 2012-Present

Following the graduation of Rakim Cox, one of Villanova's best pass rushers in recent memory, Tanoh Kpassagnon's role in the Villanova defense will look to increase this year, and he is one of my picks to be a breakout star for the team. Last season, Kpassagnon played in all 11 games, gathering 15 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a sack.

Villanova Football season countdown: 93 is for...

Leading up to the opening game of the Villanova football season on August 29 against Syracuse, Fact on Villanova Sports will be counting down the days between now and the beginning of the football season using the jersey numbers of Villanova football players of the past and present. For as many numbers as possible, effort will be taken to introduce players from the current team, with the exception of "important" players from the past.a Also, it's a ton of work to get pictures of all the players, so it may be incomplete. Oh well.   

 

Mark Hamilton

Kicker/Punter 2009-2013

When incumbent placekicker Nick Yako, who had been nearly perfect in the National Championship 2009 season decided that he could no longer make even short field goals in the 2010 season, Villanova turned to then walk-on Mark Hamilton to handle kicking duties, which he held for three seasons. In addition, Hamilton served as Villanova's punter for two seasons.

Hamilton finished his career with 229 career points, fourth most in school history, his 78.6% field goal conversion rate is second in school history, his 97.7% extra point percentage is the best in school history. On the punting side, Hamilton is the school record holder in punting average with 42.1 yards per punt.

New kicker/punter Chris Gough has a big leg, but he has awfully big shoes to fill.

Villanova football season countdown: 94 is for...

 

Leading up to the opening game of the Villanova football season on August 29 against Syracuse, Fact on Villanova Sports will be counting down the days between now and the beginning of the football season using the jersey numbers of Villanova football players of the past and present. For as many numbers as possible, effort will be taken to introduce players from the current team, with the exception of "important" players from the past.a Also, it's a ton of work to get pictures of all the players, so it may be incomplete. Oh well.  

Phil Matusz

Nose Tackle: 2006-2009

As the starting nose tackle on the 2009 national championship team, Phil Matusz's most important role was to occupy blockers for the defensive ends and linebackers and to stop the run. When you look at the fact that the 2009 team gave up only 66 rushing yeards per game, I think that he did a pretty good job in his duties.

Since his graduation, Matusz has a stint as Villanova's strength and conditioning coach up until last year. This year he will be starting a new job as the assistant strength and conditioning coach at Ohio State.

Phil Matusz career stats:

TACKLES                G    UA     A Total    TFL-Yds    PD   FF   FR Blkd
2006................   7     1     7     8    1.0-2       0    0    0    0
2007................  10    10    10    20    1.0-2       0    1    0    0
2008................  13    14    14    28    3.5-4       0    0    0    0
2009................  15    17    13    30    5.0-9       2    0    0    0
TOTAL...............  45    42    44    86   10.5-17      2    1    0    0

SACKS                  G    UA     A Total   Yds
2006................   7     0     0   0.0     0
2007................  10     0     0   0.0     0
2008................  13     0     1   0.5     1
2009................  15     1     0   1.0     4
TOTAL...............  45     1     1   1.5     5

Take a look at this wily bunch

(Vill)Australia finished in fourth place in both the 4x800 and the 4x1500. Jordy Williamsz ran in both, Sam McEntee only ran in the 4x1500. Williamsz had one of the fastest splits of the entire race in the 4x800. 

Now they get to go to Florida for the NCAA Prelims. 

Villanova football season countdown: 95 is for...

 

Leading up to the opening game of the Villanova football season on August 29 against Syracuse, Fact on Villanova Sports will be counting down the days between now and the beginning of the football season using the jersey numbers of Villanova football players of the past and present. For as many numbers as possible, effort will be taken to introduce players from the current team, with the exception of "important" players from the past.a Also, it's a ton of work to get pictures of all the players, so it may be incomplete. Oh well.   

 

Josh Lumer

Defensive End 2010-2013

Josh Lumer played in 13 career games on the defensive line and on special teams making one career tackle. He was recently honored off the field with the Sister Mary Margaret Cribben Award, which Villanova describes as:

"The Sister Mary Margaret Cribben Award has been presented each year since 1985 and is awarded to one male and one female student-athlete who unselfishly sacrifice time, effort, body and soul to lead and motivate their teammates, and whose efforts on and off the field inspire those around them to excel."

So there you go. 

Villanova football season countdown: 96 is for....

 

Leading up to the opening game of the Villanova football season on August 29 against Syracuse, Fact on Villanova Sports will be counting down the days between now and the beginning of the football season using the jersey numbers of Villanova football players of the past and present. For as many numbers as possible, effort will be taken to introduce players from the current team, with the exception of "important" players from the past.a Also, it's a ton of work to get pictures of all the players, so it may be incomplete. Oh well.  

Conor McAliney

Kicker- 2012-2013

Backup kicker. That's about it.

Villanova football season countdown: 97 is for...

 

 

Leading up to the opening game of the Villanova football season on August 29 against Syracuse, Fact on Villanova Sports will be counting down the days between now and the beginning of the football season using the jersey numbers of Villanova football players of the past and present. For as many numbers as possible, effort will be taken to introduce players from the current team, with the exception of "important" players from the past.a Also, it's a ton of work to get pictures of all the players, so it may be incomplete. Oh well.   

Doug Turrell

Tight End: 2011-Present

A reserve tight end who will mostly see time in blocking situations. Saw time in ten of 11 games last season.

Villanova football season countdown: 98 is for...

 

Leading up to the opening game of the Villanova football season on August 29 against Syracuse, Fact on Villanova Sports will be counting down the days between now and the beginning of the football season using the jersey numbers of Villanova football players of the past and present. For as many numbers as possible, effort will be taken to introduce players from the current team, with the exception of "important" players from the past.a Also, it's a ton of work to get pictures of all the players, so it may be incomplete. Oh well.   

 

Patrick McGown 

Defensive End: 2012-Present

After redshirting his first season on the Main Line, Patrick McGown, a 6 foot 4 inch, 250 pound defensive end from Valencia, California became a back end of the defensive line rotation player for Villanova in 2013, playing in six games and collecting three tackles and one sack. In 2014, he should figure into a Villanova defensive line rotation that lost its most productive defensive lineman in Rakim Cox. 

Only 14 weeks to go.

Villanova football season countdown: 99 is for Rakim Cox

Leading up to the opening game of the Villanova football season on August 29 against Syracuse, Fact on Villanova Sports will be counting down the days between now and the beginning of the football season using the jersey numbers of Villanova football players of the past and present. For as many numbers as possible, effort will be taken to introduce players from the current team, with the exception of "important" players from the past.a Also, it's a ton of work to get pictures of all the players, so it may be incomplete. Oh well.  

Defensive End 2009-2013

A four year starter at defensive end, San Diego, California native Rakim Cox got better every season he played on the Main Line, which ultimately culminated in a 2013 season where he led Villanova with nine sacks to go along with 30 total tackles, 11.5 of which went for. In total, Cox finished his career with 105 tackles, 33.5 tackles for loss, 18 sacks, and two interceptions in 48 career games.

He recently signed a free agent contract with the Minnesota Vikings and will presumably go to training camp with them this summer.

The Villanova football season countdown is back!

As of today, there are 100 days left until Villanova takes on Syracuse. It was just announced yesterday that the game will kick off at 7:30 and will be shown on ESPN3.

Starting tomorrow, I will count down the season using players from the past and present and will do it every day for the 98 days that follow. 

Villanova NCAA preliminary qualifiers

 Multiple qualifier Elbert Maxwell

The qualifying period for the NCAA track and field preliminary rounds (formerly known as regionals) ended on Sunday May 18. According to TFRRS, the college track results database, Villanova currently has 17 preliminary qualifying marks by 13 athletes in seven different events. To be a preliminary qualifier, an athlete must be in the top 48 in their event among declared athletes. Among Villanova athletes, there are currently seven male qualifiers and six female qualifiers, and four different athletes achieved preliminary qualifiers in two events.

Given that the meet is more than a week away, some of this is subject to change due to scratches and whatnot, so I will list the people who are on the bubble (Worse than 48th, but higher than 65th) as well. People on the bubble will be marked with an asterisk.

Marks after the jump

One commencement speech you need to see

It's not Jill Biden, it's former Princeton University president William Bowen speaking at Haverford about the shameful silencing of former University of California chancellor Robert Birgeneau by a small group of Haverford students and faculty.

Today in Villanova history: 1971

Marty Liquori > Steve Prefontaine

Villanova senior student athletes of the year

Male- Sam Ellison, who will be traveling to England as a Fulbright Scholar next year.

Female- Emily MF Lipari

Marcus O'Sullivan gets a Gatorade shower

Sam McEntee and Patrick Tiernan defying some stereotypes about the upper body strength of distance runners.

Also, as Villanova legend and former assistant coach Adrian Blincoe pointed out, one of the coaches is wearing an "It's five o'clock somewhere" shirt instead of the customary Villanova attire.

Sam McEntee and Jordy Williamsz to run for Australia at World Relays

 Sam McEntee (left) and Jordy Williamsz

Early this morning, Athletics Australia announced their team for the inaugural IAAF World Relays in Nassau, Bahamas from May 24-25. Included in that group was VillAustralia's very own Sam McEntee and Jordy Williamsz. Both McEntee and Williamsz are coming off a successful Big East Championship, where Williamsz won the 1500 meters in convincing fashion and McEntee finished second in the 5000 behind teammate (and fellow Australian) Patrick Tiernan's emphatic victory. In the 4x1500, they will team up with Olympians Collis Birmingham and Ryan Gregson. Their selection is a coup for Australia, because as yearly participants at the Penn Relays, both Williamsz and McEntee have

The inclusion of McEntee and Williamsz also shows that Villanova has a very good relationship with Australian coach Nic Bideau, husband of Villanova legend Sonia O'Sullivan. This can only continue to reap fruit down the line, and Villanova now has three Australians on the team to show for that. Hopefully Bideau can send a sprinter our way next.

Matt Szczur does something incredible... Again

 

Matt Szczur has been scuffling at the plate lately, but he did make a spectacular diving catch to make the final out of pitcher Chris Rusin's no-hitter. He'll have to do more of that type of spectacular defensive maneuvering if he wants a spot in MLB, because he is barely hitting in the very hitter friendly Pacific Coast League.

Rakim Cox signs Free Agent deal with the Vikings

Huge congratulations to Rakim Cox (@ThyRak99) on signing with the @Vikings! @CAAFootball #CAAFB #TapTheRock
— Villanova Football (@NovaFootball) May 11, 2014

This is what you call a priority free agent, this close to the end of the draft.

For your Saturday enjoyment

Bobby Smith, one of the most forgettable players in Villanova history covering one of 2Pac's songs from after death. It's awful and hilarious. Enjoy.

Antoine Lewis drawing NFL interest, meets with team

Villanova defensive tackle Antoine Lewis drawing interest from Patriots, Giants and Bengals
— Aaron Wilson (@RavensInsider) May 4, 2014

I also read that he visited with the Bengals, although only one source that I could find said anything about that. 

Villanova Football adds a 12th opponent

For the first time in a while, the Villanova football team will play six home games, they announced today balancing their schedule with a game against Morgan State on October 25, for homecoming.

This is notable because it gives the team one extra chance to reach the seven division one win plateau. It also serves as a way to give John "Pinball" Robinson another opponent to pad his statistical haul against, but frankly, I'm hoping that he doesn't have to run as much next season, because he's not that big of a guy. The extra injury risk with an extra game is something to worry about with only 63 scholarship players, but I assume that they took the strength of Morgan State into account when they decided on this.

Villanova Football 2014 Schedule: 

August 29                   Syracuse                   Syracuse, N.Y.
September 6                 Fordham                    Villanova, Pa.
September 20                James Madison              Villanova, Pa.
September 27                Penn                       Philadelphia, Pa.
October 4                   Maine                      Orono, Maine
October 11                  Rhode Island               Villanova, Pa.
October 18                  William & Mary             Williamsburg, Va.
October 25                  Morgan State               Villanova, Pa.
November 1                  Richmond                   Richmond, Va.
November 8                  Towson                     Villanova, Pa.
November 15                 Albany                     Villanova, Pa.
November 22                 Delaware                   Newark, Del.

Sixty Years Ago Today

One of the titanic sporting feats of the 20th Century happened 60 years ago today, when Roger Bannister, a tall, gangly 25-year-old medical student ran faster than four minutes in the mile when he ran 3:59.4 at Oxford University. Now, 60 years later, the mile world record is at 3:43.13, set by Moroccan Olympic gold medalist Hicham El Guerrouj in 1999. 

Tell Me Again That The Big East Is Dead

So today, the Big East and B1G Ten announced an agreement for an early season challenge between the two conferences that will last for at least eight years. The Dave Gavitt Tipoff Games will start in the 2015-2016 season, and they will be aired on either FOX Sports 1, ESPN, or Big Ten Network.

I guess when the contract runs out, ESPN will release "Requiem For The Dave Gavitt Tipoff Games".

Joe Price Villanova highlights

Scouring YouTube for Villanova videos, I found this video of Villanova receiver Joe Price, who really came into his own in his final two seasons at Villanova. If he wasn't a white receiver, he'd surely be getting drafted. That being said, his measurables seem to be pretty good, and I know that he would be a willing participant in special teams.

Villanova Lacrosse advances to Big East Championship

They'll play tomorrow against Denver at Villanova Stadium for the championship.

Found Footage: Frank Budd Breaks the World Record

AMERICAN ATHLETES CHAMPIONSHIPS

Also in this meet, Budd's Villanova teammate Paul Drayton (RIP) beats him in the 220 yard dash.