St. Johns QB Murphy signs letter of intent

SHREWSBURY – St. Johns quarterback Griffin Murphy, of Southborough, announced that he has signed his letter of intent to attend and play for Fordham University in New York for the 2010 season.

Griffin was quoted as saying ” I was fortunate to have options at several quality schools, in the end Fordham stood out as the best fit for me academically, and athletically. I liked the combination of a Jesuit education along with the NY City/ Wall Street experience and a strong business school reputation. The commitment to upgrading the Football program was obvious with the offering full athletic scholarships, the addition of UConn , Army ,Navy and Villanova to the schedule and a new 2.5 million dollar locker room under construction ”

The official press release from Fordham is shown below.

I know all of us who’ve known Griffin since his very early Shrewsbury days extend him a huge congratulations to him, and to his parents David and Gail, and wish him tremendous success as he embarks in college and beyond.

Feb. 4, 2010

Bronx, N.Y. – Fordham University Head Football Coach, Tom Masella announced the signing of 14 football players to letters of intent with Fordham for the 2009 season.

Masella, who enters his fifth season on Rose Hill, led the Rams to a 5-6 overall record last fall, 2-4 in the Patriot League. In 2007, he led the Rams to their second Patriot League title, earning Patriot League Coach of the Year honors as well as being named the American Football Coaches Association’s (AFCA) 2007 Region 1 Co-Coach of the Year.

The 2010 class is the first recruiting class for the Rams that will receive athletic scholarships, marking the first time that Fordham will award football scholarships since 1954.

The new class features seven defensive players and seven offensive players and includes two NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) transfers from Hofstra University. By position, linebackers lead the way with three of each, followed by defensive linemen, defensive backs, offensive linemen and quarterbacks with two each along with one wide receivers, running back and tight end.

The 14 newcomers hail from eight different states, from New York to California, and one foreign country (Germany). Three of the 2010 recruits are from Connecticut with three others coming from New York and two each from New Jersey, Florida and Texas. The other three states represented are Massachusetts, New Jersey and California, with one each.

The new recruiting class will join 14 starters who return for the 2009 season, seven each of the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

Last fall, eight Rams were named All-Patriot League, led by senior wide receiver Jason Caldwell, freshman punter Patrick Murray, junior tight end Stephen Skelton and senior offensive lineman Andrew Tyshovnytsky, who were named to the first team. Receiving second team accolades were senior quarterback John Skelton, junior defensive lineman Jordan Bledsoe, senior defensive back Kelvin Colbert and junior linebacker Nick Magiera.

The Rams are scheduled to open their 111th season of varsity football on Saturday, September 4th, when they travel to Smithfield, R.I., to take on Bryant University. Fordham is entering its 21st season as a member of the NCAA FCS Patriot League.

Here is a complete list of the 2010 newcomers:

Name, Pos., Ht., Wt., Hometown/High School

George Apostolopoulos, DL, 6’2, 235, Scarsdale, N.Y./Iona Prep

Brett Biestek, LB, 6’4, 235, Wallingford, Conn./Mark. T. Sheehan

Kai Brusch, OL, 6’4, 250, Salisbury School/Hamburg, Germany

Carlton Koonce, RB, 5’8, 180, Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley (Hofstra)

Tom Fisher, TE/OL, 6’7, 265, Syracuse, N.Y./Westhills

Kassim Forbes, DB, 6’1, 185, Staten Island, N.Y./Curtis

Griffin Murphy, QB, 6-2, 215, Southborough, Mass./St. John’s

Derrion Pittman, LB, 6’1, 215, Miramar, Fla./Miramar

Jake Rodriques, LB, 6’2, 245, Southington, Conn./Southington

Nick Talbert, WR, 6’3, 230, Hartford, Conn./Weaver (Hofstra)