Football Opens 2018 Spring Practice Season

Bronx, N.Y. – A day before the vernal equinox, the Fordham football Rams were on Murphy Field for their first practice of the 2018 spring season.
 
First-year head coach Joe Conlin welcomed the players back, a group that includes 12 returning starters, six on each side of the ball, as the Rams look to continue their winning ways over the past five years where Fordham is 44-18, the seventh most wins of any NCAA FCS program over that span, including 31-5 mark on Jack Coffey Field since 2012.
 
Leading the returning starters are senior co-captains Dylan Mabin and Isaiah Searight.
 
Last year, Mabin started all eleven games at cornerback, and was named first team All-ECAC and All-Patriot League. He recorded 44 total tackles, 35 solo, including three for loss. Mabin also led the team with 19 pass breakups, ranking second in the Patriot League and third in the NCAA FCS in passes defended (1.6/game) and he also forced two fumbles and recovered one and returned 30 kickoffs for 672 yards (22.4 yards/return), including one for 93 yards and a touchdown, and three punts for 20 yards.
 
Over the past three years, Mabin has made 103 total tackles, 84 solo, including four for loss, along with 29 pass breakups.
 
Searight, a second team All-Patriot League pick for the second straight season last year, caught 33 passes for 452 yards last fall, both third best among the Rams. He set the Fordham single game record for receiving yards by a tight end in the Lehigh game, hauling in eight passes for 139 yards with two scores, all career-highs.
 
Over his career, Searight has 47 receptions for 640 yards and six touchdowns.
 
Fordham will continue the spring practice season on Wednesday before taking time off for Spring/Easter Break. The Rams return on April 3 as they prepare for the 2018 Spring Game which will be held on Friday, April 27.

The Rams are scheduled to open their 119th season of varsity football on Saturday, September 1, as they travel to Charlotte, N.C., to face the Charlotte 49ers. Fordham is entering its 29th season as a member of the NCAA FCS Patriot League.