Marc Narducci: Villanova tops in S.J. football recruiting

For years, college football programs have prospered by recruiting in South Jersey, and this year is no different.

As usual, a number of programs will benefit from the local talent, but none more than a school that in most cases has only to pay bridge tolls to see the players.

Villanova, fresh off a national championship in the Football Championship Subdivision, is also the unofficial champion in the South Jersey recruiting derby.

It's rare that a non-Football Bowl Subdivision team (why don't they go back to Divisions I-A and I-AA?) doesn't come out as the recruiting winner in South Jersey.

This year, Wisconsin made a run at the unofficial best of South Jersey by recruiting Camden Catholic quarterback Joe Brennan and Irish tight end and linebacker Sherard Cadogan.

Even though Camden Catholic had a rough season, Brennan and Cadogan may have the most upside of any two local recruits.

However, it's still difficult to vault Wisconsin over Villanova, which nabbed five quality players.

They are Delsea running back Austin Medley, Oakcrest safety Craig James, St. Augustine quarterback Dustin Thomas, Pemberton receiver Corey Reeder, and Mainland defensive tackle Antoine Lewis.

Medley was The Inquirer's South Jersey offensive player of the year. Thomas set a South Jersey career record with 69 touchdown passes. Reeder, who initially was being recruited by Iowa, had 65 receptions for 989 yards and 10 touchdowns.

"My mind-set is to go in there and compete for playing time right away," Reeder said.

Don't bet against it.

Lewis, meanwhile, was an immovable force, and James, an Inquirer second-team all-South Jersey selection, might be the biggest sleeper of them all.

"Craig James is a steal," said Dennis McCarthy, the creator of the McCarthy Report, sold to college football programs. "He is a real good athlete who can run and is a tremendous safety."

Oakcrest coach Scott Parker said the 6-foot, 194-pound James was one of the strongest players on the team and had an almost 40-inch vertical jump to go with 4.5-second speed in the 40-yard dash.

"He has a humongous upside," Parker said. "He is a rare combination of size and speed and a real physical kid."

McCarthy was equally high on Thomas.

"He's a big-time quarterback, and if you would have told me he was going to a school like Pitt, I wouldn't have blinked," McCarthy said. "He has great accuracy, a great release, and can really run."

McCarthy also likes Villanova's three other South Jersey recruits - and why shouldn't he?

Reeder is a 6-foot-3, 185-pounder who can go up for the ball. Lewis is a true run stuffer, and Medley rushed for 1,715 yards and 34 touchdowns.

There is no doubt Villanova benefited from winning a national championship, but James and Thomas committed during the season, before the Wildcats began their postseason run.

What also helped was that Villanova has a history with South Jersey athletes. The Wildcats had nine players on this year's team who graduated from schools in the seven-county South Jersey area.

They were headed by receiver Matt Szczur of Lower Cape May and offensive lineman Ben Ijalana of Rancocas Valley, both named to the Walter Camp Football Foundation's all-American team for the Football Championship Subdivision.

The pipeline is clearly flowing from South Jersey. And while Villanova has enjoyed tremendous success in the past, the fact that the Wildcats did better in South Jersey than any other college should bode well for a future that looks just as promising.