Feb. 5, 2003
Fordham University Head Football Coach Dave Clawson announced the signing of 15 scholastic football players to letters of intent to join the Fordham program for the 2003 season.
Clawson, the 2001 and 2002 Patriot League Coach of the Year, led the Rams to a 10-3 overall record last year, 6-1 in the Patriot League. The Rams won the 2002 Patriot League title, Fordham's first ever Patriot League football crown.
The 10 wins are the most on the I-AA level for Fordham (the previous best was 7 set last year) while the six Patriot League wins is the most wins in the league for the Rams (the previous best was 5 last year).
Fordham advanced to the NCAA I-AA playoffs for the first time in school history, defeating Northeastern, the Atlantic 10 champions in the first round, before falling to Villanova in the quarterfinals. The Rams finished the year ranked 12th in the nation in the final Sports Network Top 25 poll and 15th in final ESPN/Sportsticker poll.
On the year, 13 Rams were named All-Patriot League players, including junior running back Kirwin Watson, who was named the Offensive Player of the Year. Watson won his second-straight Patriot League rushing title, averaging 112.8 yards per game, and he scored 19 touchdowns (18 rushing) to win the Patriot League scoring crown. He is already eighth on the League's career rushing list with 3,140 yards.
Watson, who finished tenth in voting for the Walter Payton Award as the top I-AA Player in the country, rushed for 1,467 yards on the year, surpassing the 1,000-yard mark for the second year in a row. He became the first Fordham running back to compile two 1,000-yard seasons. His 1,467 yards is also a Fordham single season record, surpassing Chip Kron's record of 1,263 set in 1984.
The Rams will open their 104th season of varsity football on Saturday, September 4th when they travel to Kingston, RI, to face the University of Rhode Island. Fordham is entering its 14th season as a member of the NCAA Division I-AA Patriot League.
Here is a complete list of the newcomers:
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown High School/Last School
Ricky Bencivenni OL 6-3 255 West Orange, NJ Bergen Catholic
Donovan Boyd WR 6-3 190 Cleveland Heights, OH Cleveland Heights
Eddie Boza DT 6-3 270 Homestead, FL South Dade
Micah Clukey K 5-9 170 St. Augustine, FL St. Augustine
Derrick Daniels QB 6-1 185 Washington, DC H.D. Woodson
Allan Davisson LB 6-1 190 Seffner, FL Armwood
Jeremy Devine DT 6-2 260 Berwick, PA Berwick
Mike Egnoto OL 6-3 290 Camillus, NY West Genesee
Carl Garritano SS 5-10 195 Rochester, NY Webster
Josh Jenrette LB 6-2 190 Tampa, FL Armwood
Mike Melvin WR 6-0 180 Media, PA Malvern Prep
Patrick Mitchell QB 6-0 175 Northfield, IL Loyola Academy
Anthony Myres WR 6-1 190 Toms River, NJ Toms River
Anthony Silvestro OL 6-2 285 New Canaan, CT New Canaan
Cory Terzis DE 6-1 220 Madison, NJ Delbarton