WALTHAM, Mass. – Twenty high school football players, from six different states, have signed to continue their football and academic careers at Bentley University, Falcon head coach Bill Kavanaugh announced Wednesday.

Thirteen members of the incoming Class of 2025 are from Massachusetts. It also includes three student-athletes from New Jersey and one apiece from Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia. At least half of the 20 served as team captains of their high school team.

"We are thrilled with our incoming class," said Kavanaugh, who will be entering his eighth season as head coach at his alma mater. "In a recruiting year filled adversity and difficulty, we are ecstatic to have landed a class that fills our needs on the field, but more importantly fits our program and our campus.  While collectively their athletic accomplishments are impressive, it is their character that I'm most proud of.  In a year that limited so many opportunities to see athletes compete on the field, court or track it was paramount that our staff recruited quality young men who we're confident will add to our Bentley community."

The majority are offensive players with Kavanaugh and his staff attracting two quarterbacks, four wide receivers, two tight ends and four linemen. On the other side of the ball, the class includes seven defensive backs and one defensive lineman.

The wide receivers are Isaiah Decias (Ozone Park, N.Y./Lawrenceville School/Hudson Catholic HS), Jack Ford (Lynnfield/Lynnfield HS), Jonathan Oriahki (Swampscott/Milton Academy/Swampscott HS) and Nayvon Reid (Brockton/Brockton HS).

The list of players on the offensive side of the ball also include quarterbacks Will Lederman (Natick/Natick HS) and Jared Silverio (Methuen/BB&N/Central Catholic HS), tight ends Wade Holden (East Northport, N.Y./Northport HS) and Max Wolfgang (North Andover/North Andover HS), and o-linemen Brenden Dowling (Hyannis/Barnstable HS), Jacob Galarza (Dayville, Conn./Killingly HS), AJ Norton-Jefferson (Melrose/Melrose HS) and Quincy Plumer (Brockton/Catholic Memorial HS).

Coming in as defensive backs are Andres Andujar (Cranston, R.I./Bishop Hendricken HS), Bryan Cruz (Fall River/Durfee HS), Dan DiMare (Reading/Reading HS), Mike Diplacido (Hudson/BB&N), Walter Morales Jr. (Leominster/Lawrence Academy/St. Bernard's CC), Rene Nunez (Secaucus, N.J./ Suffield Academy/Bergen Catholic HS) and Jay Oliver (Oakton, Va./Gonzaga Prep HS).

 Completing the recruiting class is defensive end Charlie Lauzon (Newton, N.J./Pope John XXIII HS).

 "Our incoming student-athletes will have an unbelievable opportunity to receive a world class education, be supported by the best faculty & staff in the country, coached by a unbelievable group of men and most importantly be mentored and welcomed by the most special group of teammates on the planet.  Our kids are special, and today we've added even more," Kavanaugh concluded.     

Bentley, which had its 2020 season cancelled due to COVID-19, is the defending champion in the Northeast-10 Conference.

Andres Andujar – DB, Bishop Hendricken HS, Cranston, R.I.

• Received high honors all four years
• National Honor Society (10th and 11th grades)
• Team captain in both football and basketball
• Five-time state champion (three times in football, twice in basketball)
• Two-time 1st-team Rhode Island Football Coaches All-Division
• Three-year starter in football and two-year starter in basketball 

Bryan Cruz – DB, Durfee HS, Fall River, Mass.

• Received All-Scholastic honors from the Herald News
• Three-year starter
• As a junior, had three interceptions, including a pick-six, and also caught two TD passes

Isaiah Decias – WR, Lawrenceville School (N.J.), Ozone Park, N.Y.

• Attended Hudson Catholic High School before prepping at Lawrenceville
• Three-time first-team All-Conference in football
• New Jersey state champion in the 55 meter dash (2020)
• 1st-team All-County in baseball (2019) when he led the state of New Jersey in stolen bases (41)

Dan DiMare – DB, Reading HS, Reading, Mass.

• Selected as a Middlesex League all-star as a junior
• Captain of both the football and basketball teams
• As a junior, accounted for 1,300 scrimmage yards
• Started at outside linebacker since his sophomore year
• Member of National Honor Society

Mike Diplacido – DB, Buckingham, Browne & Nichols School, Hudson, Mass.

• 1st-team All-Independent School League
• Two-year starter at BB&N

Brenden Dowling – OL, Barnstable HS, Hyannis, Mass.

• Football team captain as a senior and powerlifting captain as a junior
• Helped Barnstable to two football league championships
• National Honor Society, Math National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society

Jack Ford – WR, Lynnfield HS, Lynnfield, Mass.

• Two-time 1st team Cape Ann League All-Star
• 2019 Cape Ann Offensive Player of the Year
• In 2019, was second in Massachusetts in receiving yards (887) and third in receiving TDs (15)

Jacob Galarza – OL, Killingly HS, Dayville, Conn.

• Class M All-State
• All-Eastern Connecticut Conference
• Walter Camp first-team All-Connecticut
• 2nd team All-New Haven Register
• As a junior, led team with 8.5 sacks and 13.5 TFL
• Named to The Day's All Decade Team

Wade Holden – TE, Northport HS, East Northport, N.Y.

• Three-sport athletes at Northport High (football, basketball, outdoor track)
• National Honor Society
• Business Honor Society

Charlie Lauzon – DE, Pope John XXIII HS, Newton, N.J.

• Team captain and three-year letter winner
• Second-team All-New Jersey Herald selection on defense
• All-Conference honorable mention
• Morris-Sussex Sports Top Performer

Will Lederman – QB, Natick HS, Natick, Mass.

• Three-sport varsity athlete for four years at Natick High
• Team captain in football, wrestling and outdoor track
• Three-year All-Bay State Conference quarterback
• 2019 and 2020 preseason All-State quarterback
• 2020 All-New England football watch list
• All-Bay State honoree in wrestling after a 40-win junior year
• Was a sectional finalist in wrestling and placed in the MIAA Division 2 championships
• Two-time All-Bay State sprinter
• Finished his junior year with 2,535 passing yards, 28 TD passing TDs, only two interceptions and a 124.5 quarterback rating
• On the ground, gained 1,235 yards with 11 touchdowns, 8.7 yards per carry and no fumbles

Walter Morales Jr. – DB, Lawrence Academy, Leominster, Mass.

• Attended St. Bernard's High School before transferring to Lawrence Academy
• Joseph R. Mewhiney Chapter Central Mass Football All-Star in 2017 & 2018
• Two-time Dual Valley Conference Football All-Star (2017, 2018)
• Two-time Central Mass Conference All-Star (2017, 2018)
• As a junior, rushed for 1,096 yards and 18 touchdowns on 101 carries
• Also had six interceptions
• Football team captain at St. Bernard's in 2019 and Lawrence Academy in 2020
• High Honor Roll at Lawrence Academy in 2021

AJ Norton-Jefferson – OL, Melrose HS, Melrose, Mass.  

• Captain of the football and basketball teams
• Massachusetts Division 2 state champion

Rene Nunez – DB, Suffield Academy (Conn.), Secaucus, N.J.

• Graduated from Bergen Catholic High School before attending prep school
• Career totals included seven interceptions and three touchdowns
• Member of 2017 New Jersey state championship football team

Jay Oliver – DB, Gonzaga Prep High School (D.C.), Oakton, Va.

• 2018 WCAC champion
• Gonzaga Prep was ranked 23rd in country by MaxPreps and No. 1 in the Washington Metropolitan area by the Washington Post

Jonathan Oriakhi – WR, Milton Academy, Swampscott, Mass.

• During high school career, including his time at Swampscott High School, scored 18 TDs and exceeded 2,000 total yards
• Team captain during his junior year
• Salem Evening News and Lynn Daily Item ­All-Star in 2018 after catching 54 balls for 943 yards and 11 TDs
• In baseball, led the league in batting average  (.475), home runs (6), RBI (23) and hits (41)
• Was recognized as a Salen Evening News All-Star

Quincy Plumer – OL, Catholic Memorial HS, Brockton, Mass.

• Football team captain
• Catholic Conference All-Star
• Massachusetts Division I state champion

Nayvon Reid – WR, Brockton HS, Brockton, Mass.

• Brockton Enterprise All-Scholastic in football and basketball
• Three-year starter in football
• Two-year team captain in basketball
• As a junior, caught 40 passes for 603 yards and five TDs
• As a defensive end that season, made 42 tackles and four QB sacks
• That same season, averaged 15.3 points and 9.1 rebounds for the Boxer basketball team

Jared Silverio – QB, Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, Methuen, Mass.

• Also attended Central Catholic High School
• In his final year at CCHS (2018), accounted for 16 touchdowns (nine passing, seven rushing) and helped the Raiders to the Division I North final
• 1st-team All-Merrimack Valley Conference in 2018 while at Central Catholic
• Football team captain at BB&N
• Also competed in track and field

Max Wolfgang – TE, North Andover HS, North Andover, Mass.

• Football team captain
• Was a first-team All-Conference selection
• Eagle Tribune All-Star
• In 2019, caught 25 passes for 542 yards and three TDs
• MIAA State Champion in football and baseball