WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ- As the calendar month turns to April, Monmouth University's football team has been hard at work, both on and off the field.
 
On the field the team recently completed the fourth of 15 spring practices while a number of seniors who recently completed their playing careers participated in Monmouth's NFL Pro Day. On Sunday, March 31, Coach Callahan and the team held the first ever Alumni Career Panel where former Hawks came back to present and meet with the current team about choosing, growing and flourishing in their careers after football.
 
A Panel For the Future
Watch Video Recap of Alumni Panel
On Sunday afternoon former Hawks Kyle Frazier, Agbai Iroha, Mike Salvatore, John Schultzel, Hakeem Valles, Fred Williams and Erik Yngstrom returned to campus to sit on a panel in front of the current team and discuss life after football. After a brief introduction of themselves, their career paths and current occupation, the panel members broke out into individual sessions lasting 30 minutes where players could ask questions and network.
 
"We had conversations about preparing our players for life after football and I realized we spend a lot of time with them academically and athletically but we did not get them enough information that they will need when it comes time to graduate," said Monmouth Head Coach Kevin Callahan. "We came up with the idea to have several of our alums back and present to our team. Our alumni are a tremendous resource and we wanted to get them here to interact with our team and have our players create their own networks. I thought it was a success."
 
Callahan said there was no shortage of alums that were willing to step up and do it, it was a matter of which former players could make the date work.
 
"They were all for it, they were very eager to do it," said Callahan. "Guys were very willing to do it and more often. The feedback we got from our alums was outstanding. It's definitely something we are going to do again, possibly more than once a year."
 
Senior defensive back Tymere Berry echoed the positive feelings about the afternoon.
 
"It was a great experience for everybody," said Berry. "It is great to see where the alums are now. To see how the guys who were in our shoes before and to see where they are now. It was a great experience overall.
One individual panel I sat in on was Hakeem's, I got to play one year with him and I saw his journey through his eyes in social media. The other was with Fred Williams, it was awesome to hear about his life after football and his transition to business and Wall Street to see where he is now. It was an awesome experience, they were completely honest and real about life after football."
 
Hawks in the NFL: Pro Day, Individual Workouts and Local Day invites
Pro Day Recap Video
Monmouth held its annual Pro Day in late March with Russ Clayton, Vinny Grasso, Jake Powell, Zach Talley, Ryan Wetzel and Reggie White Jr. working out at Sportika in Manalapan in front of NFL scouts, regional and national media and family, alumni and friends.

• Reggie White Jr., Monmouth and the Big South's all-time leader in receptions and reception yerds, dazzled for the scouts with impressive numbers
• Grasso put up 21 reps of 225 lbs in the bench press, then ran a 4.01 20-yard shuttle which is the fastest time for FCS players as of April 1
• Wetzel impressed with 26 reps on the 225 bench press
• White Jr. participated in the Baltimore Ravens' Local Pro Day and will also participate in LPD with the New York Giants and New York Jets
• On Tuesday White Jr. and Grasso met with and ran routes for scouts from the 49ers and Seahawks
• The Giants will also host Talley, Grasso and Powell
• Powell will participate at the Super Bowl LII Champion Philadelphia Eagles' local pro day
• The NFL Draft gets underway on April 25, 2019. Monmouth has had two players drafted in its 26 year history, John Nalbone (5^th Round) and Neal Sterling (7^th Round). Monmouth has had players sign free agent deals in each of the last three seasons.

 
Spring Ball Up and Running
Practice 4 Photo Gallery


Monmouth recently completed the fourth of 15 spring practices, the first with uppers and contact on Tuesday.
 
Coach Callahan has been pleased with the effort of the team so far but wanted to see increased focus after Tuesday's practice.
 
"The number one thing about this group is they bring a lot of energy," said Callahan. "That was obvious since day one of spring practice. We are at the point where we are introducing some new things. The execution needs to get better but we are definitely not lacking with effort and energy."
 
Defensive back Tymere Berry, entering his final spring explained that he's looking forward to his final season. When asked who he thought would step up to replace the production of White Jr and Grasso, the captain rattled off a number of player who he was looking forward to watching and competing against.
 
"It is my best spring ball so far and it is great to be here again as my last time as a senior," said Berry. "It is great being a leader and taking the time to show the younger guys and help them understand the game better to get them ready for the season. Assanti Kearney, who had a great redshirt season, Brandon Batts, Zach Tredway, Lonnie Moore, and Terrence Greene are all doing their thing and it will be interesting to see who takes Reggie and Vinny's spot next year."
 
Charged with replacing the lost production of White Jr. and Grasso will be new Offensive Coordinator Jeff Gallo. TJ DiMuzio moves from the wideouts to coach fifth-year senior Kenji Bahar and the rest of the quarterback unit. Callahan spoke about the transition to the new staff and how it won't be as big of a change as one might expect.
 
"I think the good thing about our offense is they have been with each other for a while," said Callahan. "There is not much of a transition there. We are tweaking some things in the past, it is not like a wholesale change. There is a lot of familiarity in our offensive identity and that will make it an easy transition."
 
Spring Football Notes

• Monmouth has two new coaches on the sidelines for 2019 Spring; wide receivers coach Kevin Callahan Jr. and defensive line coach Dave Kunyz
• The Hawks have three freshmen mid-year enrollees in defensive end DeAndre Clifton, tight end Korey McLeod and wide receiver Simeon Taylor
• The Hawks will be in full pads on Thursday morning for the first time this Spring
• The final practice of the Spring will take place on April 28
• The Hawks will need to replace three fifth-year seniors on the offensive line, all of which earned all-league honors a season ago 

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