St. Joseph's Qwahsin Townsel signs with Villanova; will switch from running back to linebacker

Qwahsin Townsel was the Inquirer's South Jersey Offensive Player of the Year after leading St. Joseph to a 12-0 season as a running back.

Townsel will do more than change levels of competition next season at Villanova University. He also will move to the other side of the football.

"I'm a football player, I'll play anywhere," Townsel said Wednesday after a signing a national letter of intent to attend Villanova on a football scholarship.

The 6-foot-1, 203-pound Townsel was recruited by the Wildcats as a linebacker.

"For me, it's just that I love to play football," Townsel said. "Offense, defense, it doesn't matter to me. I just want to play football."

Townsel was joined at the signing ceremony in the school's cafeteria his mother, stepfather, and other family members as well as the coaches and players from St. Joseph.

"He's been dreaming about this since he was 5 years old," said Katura Marshall, Townsel's mother. "He put in so much hard work. It was just his passion. He would have two-a-day practices and come home and go out and run again.

"When you have that kind of work ethic, you are going to succeed."

Townsel led St. Joseph to the first 12-0 season in program history. The Wildcats won the Non-Public 2 state title and finished No. 1 in South Jersey in the final Inquirer Top 25.

Townsel led South Jersey with 210 points on 31 touchdowns and 12, two-point conversions. He ran for 1,616 yards for the season and saved his best for last, gaining 232 yards with two touchdowns in a 30-14 victory over defending state champion Mater Dei in the state final Dec. 3 at Rowan University.

"It was blessing after blessing this year," Townsel said.

St. Joseph coach Paul Sacco said Townsel took a big step forward from his junior to his senior season.

"He became a lot more than a straight-ahead runner," Sacco said. "He improved his speed and showed he could go outside as well."

Townsel said he plans to major in nursing at Villanova.

"When I visited there, it felt like home," Townsel said.

Click here for our live coverage of the early signing period at colleges and high schools across the Philadelphia region.

Listed with each player is his high school, position, height, weight and college.

Nihym Anderson Vineland LB 6-2 235 Maryland

Iverson Clement Rancocas Valley 5-11 180 Florida

Alex Desire Burlington Twp. OL 6-5 280 Towson

Shamere Collins St. Augustine DB 5-10 175 Sacred Heart

Kyle Dobbins Timber Creek RB 5-10 185 Temple

Xavier File St. Augustine WR 6-0 175 Army

Taj Harris Palmyra WR 6-2 175 Syracuse

Deion Jennings Timber Creek DB 6-0 180 Rutgers

Devin Leary Timber Creek QB 6-2 185 North Carolina State

Nah'Sir Morgan Atlantic City WR 6-3 180 Maine

Isaih Pacheco Vineland Ath. 5-10 180 Rutgers

Daevon Robinson Shawnee WR 6-4 210 Rutgers

Qwahsin Townsel St. Joseph LB 6-1 203 Villanova

Jeff Undercuffler Holy Cross QB 6-6 210 Albany

Noah Sansalone Vineland OL 6-4 275 Bucknell

Josh Zamot Holy Spirit QB 6-0 180 Stony Brook