Archive For The “Lehigh in the Pros” Category

Pelletier, Duffy In NFL Training Camps

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Pelletier, Duffy In NFL Training Camps

All WR Troy Pelleiter and OL Zach Duffy ever wanted was a shot at the NFL.After the NFL Draft concluded this past Saturday, they learned that they both would be getting a chance.Troy, whose name is plastered all over the Lehigh record books, was invite…

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Pelletier, Duffy In NFL Training Camps

By |

Pelletier, Duffy In NFL Training Camps

All WR Troy Pelleiter and OL Zach Duffy ever wanted was a shot at the NFL.After the NFL Draft concluded this past Saturday, they learned that they both would be getting a chance.Troy, whose name is plastered all over the Lehigh record books, was invite…

Read more »

Pelletier, Duffy In NFL Training Camps

By |

Pelletier, Duffy In NFL Training Camps

All WR Troy Pelleiter and OL Zach Duffy ever wanted was a shot at the NFL.After the NFL Draft concluded this past Saturday, they learned that they both would be getting a chance.Troy, whose name is plastered all over the Lehigh record books, was invite…

Read more »

Troy Pelletier Hasn’t Stopped Outworking His Rivals On His Journey To Professional Football

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Troy Pelletier Hasn’t Stopped Outworking His Rivals On His Journey To Professional Football

Many Patriot League football fans remember the 153rd meeting between Lehigh and Lafayette, one that ended happily for the Mountain Hawks.

They might remember the MVP performance of QB Brad Mayes, or perhaps the halftime speech by OL Zach Duffy that seemed to spur the Mountain Hawks to victory.

Or perhaps they might remember the spectacular single play of Mayes rolling right and finding WR Gatlin Casey in the end zone to give the Mountain Hawks a lead they didn’t relinquish.  It was an incredible play by Mayes, who returns this upcoming year for his senior season, and Casey, who, having exhausted his eligibility at Lehigh, will be playing one more year at Middle Tennessee State.

As great as those individual moments are, though, they are not my biggest takeaway of that game.

Too many Lehigh people forget that Lehigh was down 31-21 at half, and that victory was no sure thing.  And they sometimes forget that so much of that victory came from the grinding of WR Troy Pelletier, delivering huge 3rd down reception after huge 3rd down reception, and grabbing the critical touchdown that cut Lafayette’s lead to 31-28.  They forget the absolute receiving clinic he put on against Lafayette DB Phillip Parham – himself no slouch – not only by running perfect routes, which he always did exceptionally in a Lehigh uniform, but by using his body to get open and become a bigger target for Mayes.

It’s no easy task to make a 9 catch, 107 yard, 2 touchdown day against your bitterest Rival seem like another day at the office, but that’s exactly what Troy did, in his quiet, intense, hard working way.  And that’s my biggest takeaway from that Rivalry game.

Many may forget, but I do not.  And this week, in the run-up to the NFL Draft, we are going to find out which NFL teams have been paying attention as well.
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Troy Pelletier Hasn’t Stopped Outworking His Rivals On His Journey To Professional Football

By |

Troy Pelletier Hasn’t Stopped Outworking His Rivals On His Journey To Professional Football

Many Patriot League football fans remember the 153rd meeting between Lehigh and Lafayette, one that ended happily for the Mountain Hawks.

They might remember the MVP performance of QB Brad Mayes, or perhaps the halftime speech by OL Zach Duffy that seemed to spur the Mountain Hawks to victory.

Or perhaps they might remember the spectacular single play of Mayes rolling right and finding WR Gatlin Casey in the end zone to give the Mountain Hawks a lead they didn’t relinquish.  It was an incredible play by Mayes, who returns this upcoming year for his senior season, and Casey, who, having exhausted his eligibility at Lehigh, will be playing one more year at Middle Tennessee State.

As great as those individual moments are, though, they are not my biggest takeaway of that game.

Too many Lehigh people forget that Lehigh was down 31-21 at half, and that victory was no sure thing.  And they sometimes forget that so much of that victory came from the grinding of WR Troy Pelletier, delivering huge 3rd down reception after huge 3rd down reception, and grabbing the critical touchdown that cut Lafayette’s lead to 31-28.  They forget the absolute receiving clinic he put on against Lafayette DB Phillip Parham – himself no slouch – not only by running perfect routes, which he always did exceptionally in a Lehigh uniform, but by using his body to get open and become a bigger target for Mayes.

It’s no easy task to make a 9 catch, 107 yard, 2 touchdown day against your bitterest Rival seem like another day at the office, but that’s exactly what Troy did, in his quiet, intense, hard working way.  And that’s my biggest takeaway from that Rivalry game.

Many may forget, but I do not.  And this week, in the run-up to the NFL Draft, we are going to find out which NFL teams have been paying attention as well.
Read more »

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Davenport, Kpassagnon Only Two Of Possible NFL Draftees Lehigh Faced Last Year

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Davenport, Kpassagnon Only Two Of Possible NFL Draftees Lehigh Faced Last Year

One of the more interesting aspects of covering Lehigh football for so long is the fact that you end up seeing future NFL players on their rise to the big show.

In fact, two players who squared off against the Mountain Hawks in particular have an excellent chance of being drafted on Day 2 or Day 3 of the NFL draft.

But those not the only Lehigh football opponents that will be hoping to get a phone call from an NFL team this Friday or Saturday.

Though few Patriot League, Ivy League or even CAA players enter their football programs with the NFL as their main goal, every football player that matriculates to these schools still harbor the dream of dominating their league and as a result get an opportunity to pursue their NFL dream.

And it is true that NFL scouts come to FCS football games to look for talent that might have been overlooked.  Many years ago I was in Hofstra’s press box, watching the Pride take on New Hampshire, with NFL scouts from the Colts and Saints there to watch WR Marques Colston play.  The Saints decision to pursue Colston may very well have come from that game in Hempstead, New York.
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Lee Kurfis To Showcase Talents In South Carolina All-Star Bowl

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Lee Kurfis To Showcase Talents In South Carolina All-Star Bowl

WR Lee Kurfis literally came out of nowhere last year on the Patriot League and national scene.

Hard to believe now, but going into the 2013 season, he wasn’t a member of the preseason all-Patriot League team, despite playing very well in several games his junior year when WR Ryan Spadola, now with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, was out with mono.

Maybe it was the unorthodox style of running.  Or maybe it was because people forgot about his sneaky quickness to break for the ball.  But after Kurfis almost singlehandedly helped Lehigh overcome a three-score opening-game deficit to Central Connecticut State, Lehigh Nation certainly knew that Lee had the potential to be a great one in the annals of Lehigh history.

Now of course, the rest of FCS Nation knows who Mr. Kurfis is, as he finished atop the FCS on average yards per game (122.8), 3rd in FCS in receptions per game (9.0), and finding his name on the ECAC All-Star Team, the AP FCS All-America team, Sports Network All-Star Team, the College Sporting News All-Star Team, and, most recently, the College Sports Journal All-Star team.

Now, he’s headed to the campus of Furman University to showcase his talents in front of NFL scouts.
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Lehigh’s Summer of Pro

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Lehigh’s Summer of Pro

During the football season, I’ve gotten in the writing habit of picking a “Sunday Word”, and using it to describe what happened the previous week.

I’ve been slack in getting this going this preseason, but the only possible word that can perfectly summarize this Lehigh football offseason is “pro“.

The NCAA’s big ad campaign for years now has been that “most athletes go ‘pro’ in something other than sports”.  And for the great majority of Lehigh athletes, year-in and year-out, this is still true.

But this offseason we’ve seen an unprecedented number of Lehigh athletes trying their hand at ‘pro’ ball – and Lehigh fans everywhere couldn’t be more thrilled or excited.  There are a lot of “pro” adventures to follow for Lehigh fans right now, and it’s damned exciting stuff.
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Lehigh In the NFL Preseason: Your Weekend Guide

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Lehigh In the NFL Preseason: Your Weekend Guide

It may be 21 days until the start of Lehigh’s football season, but there’s plenty of football on TV for Lehigh fans to get excited about tonight.

For all the information you need on catching LB Billy Boyko, OG Will Rackley and WR Ryan Spadola this weekend, just check below the flip.

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