Fordham Football Announces Two Additional Recruits to 2017 Class

Bronx, N.Y. (March 20, 2017) - Fordham University Head Football Coach Andrew Breiner announced the signing of two additional football student-athletes to letters of intent with Fordham for the 2017 season.
 
Deondre Carter and Cooper Weiss will join the 16 newcomers, who were announced on February 1, for the 2017 season.
 
Deondre Carter, DL, 6-2, 230, Cedar Hill, Tex./Cedar Hill

• 2016 First Team All-District
• 2016 Second Team All-Area
• 2016 Blue and Grey All-American
• 2015 Second Team All-District
• Played for head coach Joey McGuire

Cooper Weiss, DB, 6-3, 200, Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples

• 2016 First Team All-State
• 2016 MVP of the Florida All-Star Game
• 2016 First Team All-Area Defense
• 2015 Honorable Mention All-Area Offense
• Played football for head coach Paul Selvidio
• 2017 First Team All-Area in basketball
• 2015 Southwest Florida Basketball Player of the Year

 
The new recruiting class will join 14 returning starters in 2017, eight on offense and six on defense.

In his first year, Breiner led the Rams to another winning season as Fordham compiled an 8-3 overall mark, 5-1 in the Patriot League, marking the first time the Rams have posted five consecutive winning campaigns in the modern era. The eight wins were the most for a first-year Fordham head football coach in modern times.
 
The 2016 Rams were led by a powerful offense, commanded by consensus All-American running back Chase Edmonds, who finished fourth in voting for the 2016 Walter Payton Award, presented to the NCAA FCS offensive player of the year. Edmonds led the NCAA FCS in rushing yards per game (163.5) and was second in total rushing yards as well as ranking second in all-purpose yards per game (194.6) and third in rushing touchdowns. The 1,799 yards was just 39 yards shy of Edmonds' school single season record set in 2014.
 
Edmonds was one of ten Rams to earn 2016 All-Patriot League honors, with four of those also being named to the ECAC All-Star Team.
 
As a unit, the Fordham offense led the Patriot League and ranked fourth in the NCAA FCS in total offense, averaging 498.2 yards/game, and led the league and ranked 12th in the NCAA FCS in rushing offense, averaging 229.7 yards/game. The Rams also led the Patriot League and were fourth in the nation in scoring, averaging 40.1 points per game.
 
Over the past four years Fordham has won 40 games, the sixth most of any NCAA FCS program, with 29 of those coming at home, the fourth most of any FCS squad.
 
The Rams are scheduled to open their 118th season of varsity football on Friday, September 1, as they travel to West Point, N.Y., to face the Army West Point Black Knights. Fordham is entering its 28th season as a member of the NCAA FCS Patriot League.

Here is a complete list of the 2017 newcomers:
 

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown/High School (Last School)
Marcus Alleyne	DB	5-10	180	Middletown, Conn./Taft School
Will Conley	OL	6-7	260	New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan
Deondre Carter	DL	6-2	230	Cedar Hill, Tex./Cedar Hill
Glenn Cunningham	LB	6-2	220	Glastonbury, Conn./Xavier
Zach Davis	RB	5-10	170	Wallingford, Conn./Sheehan
Anthony Diodato	DL	6-4	265	Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood
Hamze Elzayat	WR	5-10	170	Dearborn, Mich./Fordson
Jack Gildea	TE	6-4	230	Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming
Hunter Harris	WR	6-2	181	Detroit, Mich./Detroit Loyola
Jeremy Imperati	LB	6-1	220	North Haven, Conn./Cheshire Academy
Mike Marinelli	DL	6-3	260	Staten Island, N.Y./DePaul Catholic
Andrew Mevis	K/P	5-11	190	Warsaw, Ind./Warsaw Community
Sawyer Schwarz	DL	6-2	260	Naples, Fla./Naples
Ellis Taylor	DL	6-3	230	Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick
Jake Trautman	OL	6-3	275	Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Central Catholic
Paul Williams	LS	6-0	210	Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich
Cooper Weiss	DB	6-3	200	Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples
Nick Zakelj	OL	6-5	282	Broadview Heights, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Heights