Bronx, N.Y. – As the 2024 Fordham football Rams continue with fall camp we continue our position-by-position breakdown of the Rams with a look at the linebackers.
 
The 2024 Fordham linebacking unit returns a pile of experience, bringing back four of the six players listed on the 2023 two-deep. The linebackers were a big part of last year's success as Fordham ranked second in the Patriot League in rushing defense (135.7 yards/game) and scoring defense (24.7).
 
The returners are led by senior James Conway a 2024 Preseason All-American and Preseason All-Patriot League pick. A 2023 First Team All-Patriot League selection, he also earned Academic All-Patriot League honors. Conway recorded a team-high 129 tackles, 55 solo, including 6.0 tackles for loss, his third straight 100-tackles season. He was second in the Patriot League and fourth in the NCAA FCS in tackles/game (11.7) and third in the League and 13th in the NCAA FCS in solo tackles/game (5.4).  
 
Also back are grad students Mike Courtney, who started all eleven games last year and recorded 49 total tackles, 29 solo, including 3.5 for loss and one sack, and Jackson Barletta, who saw action in nine games in 2023, both at linebacker and on special teams, recording ten total tackles, including 0.5 for loss.
 
Other experienced linebackers who return in 2024 include senior Nick Holle, who did not see action as a junior last year; juniors Nick Pasquarella, who appeared in all eleven games as a sophomore, registering three tackles, Chris Tuck, who played in all eleven games as a sophomore, recording four total tackles, Patrick Nichols, who saw action in two games last fall; and sophomores Justin Fontana, who did not see action in 2023, Connor Roman, who appear in two games in 2023, and Sean Maguire, who did not see action as a freshman last year.
 
Newcomers at linebacker include freshmen Christian Black, a First Team All-Essex County selection at Seton Hall Prep last fall, Jaylen Dawson, the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year for the Desert West Region at Desert Edge High school in Arizona, Isaiah Joseph, the 2023 Defensive Lineman of the Year at Fairfield Prep, and Alexander Von Seggern Fiala, an All-FCIAC selection at Staples High School in Connecticut last year.
 
Season and individual game tickets for the 2024 home season are now on sale through the Fordham Athletic Ticket Office.