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4. Lehigh Mountain Hawks
5-Year Cycle: #15, NR, NR, #2, #9
Ranked Recruits:
#20-Jordan Wood, PA (285)
#30-Luke Karam, PA (133)
#36-Chris Weiler, PA (174/184)
#46-John Jakobsen, PA (197)
Others: Aaron Burkett, PA (125); Joe Lobeck, PA (125); Nick Farro, NJ (141); Kyle Gentile, PA (184/197)
On South Mountain: One of the steadiest programs in the country on an annual basis, Lehigh didn’t have it’s best season last year, but still walked away with three All Americans. Their roster is one of the deepest in the country – making it obvious that they are excellent at developing and retaining kids as well as on the recruiting trail where they always seem to find diamonds in the rough that become contributors or even stars (Robert Hamlin, Max Wessel, etc).
Why They’re Here: Four recruits in the Top 50 and every one of them have a real shot to start as a freshman. In that scenario – Karam would either have to beat out Darian Cruz or Scotty Parker or get bigger and go 141, which isn’t out of the realm of possibility with his frame. All in all, power programs such as Lehigh rarely get four starters out of a single class, and having four in the Top 50 is a rarity. Additionally, because he missed his senior season, I think Weiler flies under the radar. Go back and watch how darn good he was in winning Super 32 last fall.
Why They’re Not Higher: All four of their Top 50 recruits are very good. No doubt their floor is one of solid production. The value of this class rests with how high their ceilings turn out to be. Outside of Wood, who looks to be an above average recruit in a sea of average heavyweight prospects over the last four years, there isn’t a guy in the class that jumps out as a sure-fire high AA.
Needs for Next Year: While it’s not full of blue chippers, the Lehigh room is good and deep. The lightweights are taken care of and have Matty Parker committed for 2018. And there’s a major logjam from 57 on up. With the luxury that many teams don’t possess, watch for Lehigh to just go after the best available.
Flashback Stat: John Hughes is one of the best recruiters in the business. It’s largely because of him that Lehigh’s room is so deep. Guys like Ian Brown and Gordon Wolf had good years last year and Max Wessel was a surprisingly consistent treat that AA’d. But the last two years, have been bountiful. Last year was a large class of led by Jordan Kutler and a lot of depth. 2014 brought just Milonas and Parker. Now they’re back on track.