ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell sprint football team welcomes ten freshmen to its squad for the 2024 season.
Those that will join the Big Red include three offensive lineman (Grant Lin, Cam O'Neil and Max Klein), two linebackers (Paddy Harrigan and Harrison Sigel), two wide receivers (Logan Clappier and Alden Ritz-Jack), one defensive lineman (Benjamin Roerden), one running back (Konny Ezeama) and one quarterback (Aaron Legg).
"We are excited just to have freshman," said sprint football head coach, Michael Huyghue. "Since COVID, there really hasn't been a freshman class and to have freshmen here who can play a meaningful role on the team is really important."
With the freshman class now emerging once again in sprint football at Cornell, Huyghue is excited for what it could mean in the future.
"They are the culture group that two and three years from now are going to benefit from everything that they are learning and learning good habits right from the beginning."
Let's take a look at the newcomers!
Grant Lin
Fr. • OL • Fayetteville, TN (Lincoln County High School)
Lin played football as a guard for one year in high school.
"I chose Cornell because I fell in love with the campus," said Lin.
Fr. • OL• East Greenwich, RI (The Holderness School)
O'Neil played three years of football in high school...won the 2022 Lakes Region Championship...also played three years of lacrosse.
"I chose Cornell to further my academic pursuits and to have the ability to study at the number one rated hospitality program in the world," said O'Neil.
Fr. • OL • New York, N.Y.(Saint Ann's School)
"I chose Cornell for its tradition of excellence in all aspects of student life," said Klein.
Fr. • LB • Brookline, MA (Brookline High School)
Sigel played as an outfielder for baseball for four years...was captain of the team his senior year...a Bay State All-Star...the Boston Globe Baseball Player of the Week...and also ran the 55m and 200m for indoor track for two years of high school.
"I chose Cornell because of its rigorous academics," said Sigel.
Fr. • LB • Rye, N.Y. (Rye High School)
Harrigan played football for four years as a linebacker and fullback...won the 2024 State Championships...also played lacrosse for four years as an attacker.
"I'm excited to join a program with so much history," said Harrigan. "I get to be a part of a hundred-year tradition and go to war each weekend with my brothers."
Fr. • WR • Columbus, OH (New Albany High School)
"I'm most excited to be around new people and explore New York," said Clappier.
Ben Roerden
Fr. • DL • Uxbridge, MA (Uxbridge High School)
Roerden played football for four years in high school...was a Massachusetts Division VII State Championship (2023)...MIAA Division VII All Star (2023)...Worcester T&G Fall Super team (2023)...also played baseball and won the Class C Central Massachusetts Tournament Championship (2023).
"I'm most excited to be a part of a community and continue my football career," said Roerden.
Fr. • QB • Scottsdale, AZ (Fishburne Military High School)
"I am excited to develop under the upperclassmen and pursue my dream of playing Division I football," said Legg.
These freshmen along with the rest of the squad will open the 2024 season against Molloy University on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 1 p.m. on Schoellkopf Field.
