BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Feb. 3, 2016) - LIU Post Head Football Coach Bryan Collins announced Wednesday the signing of nine future Pioneers to National Letters of Intent. They will suit up for the green and gold in the 2016 campaign.

"There is still a lot of work to be done with this class. We only graduated eight players from last year's team, so we have a big returning roster, which we are excited about," said Collins. "But with that, we addressed needs, than just a particular talent level. All of these outstanding athletes come from successful football programs and that is important for us. These athletes come in knowing what it takes to play for a football program with a winning tradition."
 

2016 Recruiting Class
Player	Ht., Wt., Position, Previous School
Asante Dyer	6-1 - 265 - DE/DT - East Coast Prep
Joshua Flowers	6-3 - 185 - DB/WR - Lenape
Kurt Lassiter	6-3 - 250 - DT - Passaic Tech
Anthony Lavio	6-1 - 260 - DT - Longwood
Tim Marinan	6-0 - 219 - RB - Lake Brantley
Greg Powell	6-0 - 205 - QB - New Rochelle
Mike Rothberg	6-0 - 210 - LB - MacArthur
Kiyon Santos	5-10 - 165 - DB - Don Bosco Prep
Dareus Smith	6-3 - 285 - DT - John Glenn

Asante Dyer
DE/DT - 6-1 - 265
Rushed for a combined 1,000 yards at Hackensack High School and East Coast Prep ... 2014 Second Team All-County and All-New Jersey Honorable Mention Selection ... 2013 First Team All-Big North ... Carried the ball for 847 yards and 11 touchdowns in his final season at Hackensack ... Exploded for a season-best 165 yards rushing in 2014 against Paterson Eastside (Oct. 11) ... Took 15 handoffs for 148 yards and a season-high four touchdowns in a 44-27 victory at North Bergen (Nov. 14, 2014).

Collins on Dyer: "We project him as a defensive lineman, someone who can play inside or on the outside for us. He is physical, athletic and plays with great leverage. Asante is one of those running backs who grew into a defensive lineman's body. We are excited that we have that type of player coming to LIU Post and look forward to him contributing immediately."


Joshua Flowers
DB/WR - 6-3 - 185
Three-Time West Jersey Football League Colonial Division Champion at Lenape High School ... Named All-Olympic Conference, All-County and Team Captain in his senior season ... Made a career 21 receptions for 399 yards and six touchdowns ... Hauled in two catches for a career-high 75 yards and a touchdown in a 41-7 win over Allentown (Oct. 9) ... Caught a touchdown pass in half of the Indians' contests in 2015.

Collins on Flowers: "What we like in Joshua is we project him to be a defensive back for us. He has very good size at the cornerback position. Joshua has excellent ball skills and can make plays on both sides of the ball. We think his skill set, added to his height, will give us an impact player in the secondary."


Kurt Lassiter
DT - 6-3 - 250
2015 First Team All-Big North at Passaic Tech High School ... All-Passaic County Honorable Mention ... Three-Time Passaic Tech Player of the Game ... Top-20 defensive lineman in New Jersey ... Collected 24 tackles and one sack in his senior year ... Helped the Bulldogs to a 10-2 overall record in 2015 ... Made a season-high eight tackles in a 20-0 rout of Hackensack (Oct. 2) ... Had five tackles apiece against Paterson Kennedy (Sept. 25) and Fair Lawn (Oct. 10).

Collins on Lassiter: "His best football is ahead of him. Kurt has a frame that shows tremendous amounts of growth. He has a great lower body, plays well with his hands and an excellent motor at the quarterback. We look forward to him continuing to mature and get bigger, and think he can play both the interior and exterior, which makes him very valuable to us."


Anthony Lavio
DT - 6-1 - 260
2015 First Team All-Long Island and Second Team All-State at Longwood High School ... All-Division and All-Metro Selection... Helped the Lions to a Long Island Class I Championship ... Accrued 12.5 sacks in his senior year.

Collins on Lavio: "Anthony's ability to rush the passer from the interior of the defensive line was very critical to us. He has a great motor, plays the run as equal as he plays the pass and is a physical two-way player. We look forward to Anthony's continued development, as we rated him as one of the top linemen on Long Island."


Tim Marinan
RB - 6-0 - 219
Three-year starter at Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs, Fla. ... 2015 Class 8A All-State, FACA All-District 9 and All-Seminole Athletic Conference First Team ... All-Metro Orlando Second-Team Honoree ... Ranked in Central Florida Super60 in all three varsity seasons ... Rushed for 1,360 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2015 ... Took 16 handoffs for 162 yards and four touchdowns in a 49-48 victory at East Lake (Sept. 11) ... Scampered for 163 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a 56-49 triumph against Lake Mary (Sept. 18) ... Ran for 127 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-26 win over Seminole (Oct. 2) ... Carried the ball for 172 yards and three touchdowns in a 44-30 postseason victory against Sandalwood (Nov. 13).

Collins on Marinan: "We are real excited about him. We weren't recruiting running backs this year, but when you have an opportunity to get a running back like Tim, you have to take that opportunity. He is a power runner, but he can beat you with his speed. He can also catch the ball out of the backfield and block. Tim is an all-tools type of player that will fit very nicely into our running back stable."


Greg Powell
QB - 6-0 - 205
Two-Time All-League signal-caller at New Rochelle High School ... 2015 First Team All-Metro, All-Section 1, All-County and All-State Selection ... Named Section 1 Co-Offensive Player of the Year as a senior ... Led the Huguenots to an 11-1 record and a Section 1 Class AA Championship in 2015 ... Boasted a 13-0 record as a starter and a 6-2 mark in the playoffs ... Had a career 2,000 total yards (1,200 passing, 800 rushing) and 20 touchdowns (12 passing, eight rushing) at New Rochelle.

Collins on Powell: "We brought in one quarterback. He was the quarterback that we thought most fit our scheme of things. Greg has a very strong arm, escapability, good footwork in the pocket and runs as his last option, but he is a good enough athlete to make a play with his feet, as well."


Mike Rothberg
LB - 6-0 - 210
2015 First Team All-Conference, All-County and All-Long Island at MacArthur High School ... All-Metro Honorable Mention ... Broke the Long Island and school records for tackles ... Set the single-season mark at MacArthur for tackles (113) ... Led his team in tackles in all three varsity seasons ... Helped the Generals to a Conference II Nassau County Championship as a senior.

Collins on Rothberg: "What we saw most in Mike was that he played best in big games. We thought he was a versatile type of linebacker. He has a really good nose for the football, and is athletic enough to play through blocks, get under blocks, find a hole, run through holes, run through gaps and play equally well in coverage."


Kiyon Santos
DB - 5-10 - 165
2015 MSG Varsity All-New Jersey Honorable Mention at Don Bosco Prep ... Helped the Ironmen to a New Jersey State Championship in his senior campaign ... Made five tackles in a 55-21 win over St. Joseph's Prep (Sept. 12) ... Recorded an interception in the NJSIAA final against St. Joseph (Dec. 4).

Collins on Santos: "He had an excellent skill set. What stood out on film is Kiyon's ability to change direction and make a play on the ball. He was equally well in zone coverage and man-to-man. Kiyon gives us that extra ability to have a man-to-man defensive back out there and open up our blitz game a little bit more. We look forward to him in our defensive secondary."


Dareus Smith
DT - 6-3 - 285
Two-Time All-County Selection at John Glenn High School ... 2015 All-Long Island Honorable Mention and NYSSWA Class A Fourth Team All-State ... Coached by LIU Post Football Hall of Famer Dave Shanahan ... Appeared in every game for the Knights on the offensive and defensive line.

Collins on Smith: "We rated him as the best lineman on Long Island. He dominated on both sides of the ball, both offensively and defensively, and never took a play off. The defensive line was the biggest need of our recruiting class, and Dareus was our first target. He will be an impact player for us."