Six from SPP make it official

(l to r): Keith Lumpkin, Sheldon Royster and James Fox are among six from Prep to sign.

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By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director

JERSEY CITY – For the six members of the St. Peter’s Prep senior class signing to continue their playing careers, it marked the final chapter of what had been a four-year football journey.

While it may have been in some ways a bittersweet moment for them, it was also a firm reminder that there is plenty more left to come both on and off the gridiron.

“We’ve been together for all four years and now we see each other grow,” said Savon Huggins, who signed with Rutgers. “We’re all going to be looking out for each other at the next level.”

Huggins, Sheldon Royster and Keith Lumpkin may have garnered the most attention of the Marauders’ signing day participants. But all of them – Huggins, Royster, Lumpkin, James Fox, Dan Lesce and Blake Shapinsky – made a huge impact both on and off the field during their time at Grand and Warren.

“I feel as if there are a lot of people they didn’t notice,” said Royster, a South Carolina signee. “As you can see there are other players who are going to play on the next level and I’m happy for them.”

Shapshinsky, a childhood friend of Royster, is going to Middlebury College. Fox is attending Harvard and Lesce is going to Franklin and Marshall.

As important as football success may be, the education was the deciding factor in the decision.

“Basically it came down to the business program and education,” Lesce said. “Muhlenberg’s a better football program, but I know I’m not going to the NFL.”

“When the coach from Middlebury contacted me, especially with their academics and (the opportunity to) continue to play football on a competitive level, it appealed to me,” Shapshinsky said. “It was definitely one of the deciding factors.”

Lesce, a linebacker along with Fox, and Shapshinsky at defensive end were key components of one of the area’s top defenses.

Few might have known about the trio outside of North Jersey, but the same couldn’t be said about Huggins, Lumpkin and Royster. For a couple of years now, they had been identified as three of the nation’s top recruits.

Huggins in particular was under the microscope of the national recruiting scene. Considered one of the country’s top running backs, Huggins will enter Rutgers as maybe the biggest recruit in the program’s history. Despite all of the hype and attention that has come with his commitment and impending arrival, he knows that nothing is guaranteed when he gets there.

“I just go out there and play as if I’m a nobody,” Huggins said. “Because if you play as if you’re a nobody then you’ll always have something to prove. That’s how I’ll play my game.”

He will be joined at Rutgers by his best friend Lumpkin. At 6-foot-9 and 290 pounds, Lumpkin was one of the most intriguing offensive line prospects. Unlike his teammates who waited until after the season, Lumpkin made his commitment before the start of his senior campaign.

“It was so much easier because now I could concentrate on finishing out school strong and I could help them recruit other kids,” Lumpkin said. “It just took a lot off my chest.”

Instead of joining his teammates at Rutgers, Royster chose to sign with South Carolina and is ready to embrace the challenge of playing college football’s toughest conference.

“The SEC is the Number 1 conference in the nation,” he said. “I’m excited to go out there and do what I have to do.”

Regardless of the school or conference each may be going to, all six believe they are ready for the next level, thanks in large part to their time at St. Peter’s Prep.

“I just feel great about (my time here),” Royster said. “I feel like Prep has prepared me to go out and explore the world.”