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By Neil Geoghegan
ngeoghegan@21st-centurymedia.com
@NeilMGeoghegan on Twitter
WEST GOSHEN >> The current ramifications of the NCAA’s transfer portal policy gives a whole new meaning to the term ‘give and take.’
The West Chester football program discovered this first-hand earlier this year when star linebacker Jackson Taylor and standout running back Ja’Den McKenzie entered the portal and left for FCS schools Delaware and Rhode Island, respectively.
Not long after that, promising defensive lineman David Blay exited for FBS Louisiana Tech. Two others – linebacker Oscar Uduma and running back Maurice Mazzccua – also entered the portal.
“It hurt us early, and we were cursing the portal,” recalled West Chester head coach Bill Zwaan. “That’s when we decided, as a coaching staff, that we needed to get in the game. We can’t just let our guys get taken away – we have to go get some guys.”
The response over the ensuing six months is now on full display as the Golden Rams prepare for the 2023 season opener on Sept. 2nd at Bentley (MA). Zwaan and company have added eight NCAA Division I transfers – four on each side of the ball – and they are all expected to vie for starting positions, or, at the very least, receive meaningful playing time.
“They are going to make a significant impact, especially coming from some power five schools,” said senior linebacker and co-captain Khalib Slaughter. “They may be a little quicker in picking up the playbook as opposed to the incoming freshmen.”
Five of the eight newcomers come from FBS programs, including three from Temple: runner Trey Blair, linebacker Connor Noble and defensive back DeJuan Dandridge. The others are junior safety Shane Mosley (6-foot, 205 pounds) from Maryland, who is already running with the starting unit, and wideout Jonathan Haynes (6-0, 205) from Middle Tennessee State.
“(Mosley) has got good size, and he is very smart and physical,” Zwaan said.
The loss of McKenzie, a first-team All PSAC East pick, could be mitigated by the arrival of Blair, a sophomore who lettered for Temple a year ago.
“Trey Blair is legit. He’s got a little bit of Ja’den’s qualities in that he’s a strong runner,” Zwaan said.
“He’s a smash-mouth football player, but he is a dual threat too,” added starting quarterback Cooper Jordan. “He can catch and run, he has great vision, he makes great cuts – he can do everything.”
The 6-1, 240-pound Noble is the son of former WCU coach (and Penn State standout) Brandon Noble, and played high school ball at Downingtown East. He saw time at defensive end and tight end for the Owls, but is projected as a middle linebacker at WCU. It’s the same position where Taylor became the two-time PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year.
“Noble will get a shot at the middle linebacker position,” Zwaan said.
Dandridge (6-1, 190) is a senior who started at FCS Robert Morris before walking on at Temple in 2021. And Haynes made an impact as a receiver during WCU’s spring workouts.
“When you bring in players from a Division I program, most of those kids know how to practice,” Zwaan pointed out. “They know how to go hard, and get in the weight room and get stronger. We don’t have to teach them how to do things like we would with freshmen.
“They can jump right in from day one, and it kind of shows the younger guys what we want from them.”
In addition to Haynes, two other FCS transfers have been brought in to bolster the receiving corps: sophomore Julian Jordan (6-1 210) from Wagner and senior Mike Gray (5-11, 200) from Albany. Zwaan says that Jordan is “a big body who can run.” Gray played high school ball at West Chester East and started 10 career games for the Great Danes.
The final transfer is Brody McAndrew (6-2, 205), and he may be the most intriguing. He played quarterback at New Hampshire in 2021, but the Rams are looking to find playing time for him on defense at either outside linebacker, or at the linebacker/safety hybrid spot.
“He is a really good athlete with good size, and he’s really smart,” Zwaan said.
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