’26 Patriot League Football Preview: Fordham

Predicted Order of Finish: 8th

The Rams finished 1-11 last year, and on top of that, they saw LB James Conway graduate, a huge presence on the defense who broke the national college football record for tackles (595) in his time as a Ram. To say that there was a lot to do in the Bronx this offseason is probably understating things a bit.

Conway and the other losses to graduation, and the regular unfortunate Portal losses, had Joe Conlin once again go aggressively to the Portal to find more Patriot League football players. It’s a strategy that has worked with Fordham before.

There were several transfer arrivals at Fordham in the spring, including three offensive linemen from the transfer portal. One of the more intriguing names is OL Ryan Blum, a 6’1, 295 lb senior from Central Michigan who started four games at center for the Chippewas. He and the others will be asked to shore up some pass protection that was awful last year – the Rams allowed nearly 3 sacks per game.

QB Gunnar Smith, a transfer from UCF, took the reins last season and struggled, finishing with 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. On has to wonder what he might be able to do with better pass protection, because the talent is clearly there. He’s the only sure-thing starter on a rebuilding offense with a running back committee to start (RB Yohan Li-Louis, 249 yards rushing, 154 yards receiving, is their top returning rusher) and a wide receiver room with a lot of guys who missed the 2025 season but were productive in the past, like WR KJ Reed. Like other areas on offense, transfers are competing in camp and might come away with starting roles at the other skill positions.

Can Fordham’s offensive line woes be solved through the portal? Smith clearly is a much more talented quarterback than he showed last season. If they do, that could really get things going for the Rams again on offense.

“This spring and fall season, I’ve really attacked,” Smith said during Patriot League Media Day, “upping my accuracy, being more consistent, becoming more of a leader in the locker room. Being more vocal is something I’ve also worked on. As an offense, we are focused on perfecting our craft.”

On defense, LB Andrew Osmun (100 tackles, 8 TFL) is the clear heir apparent to Conway, and as a senior he’ll be expected to do a lot for the Ram defense, though Conway’s shoes have to be pretty hard to fill. DB Boogie Owens (49 tackles, 2 TFL) had one of Fordham’s five interceptions on defense last season, while last year’s defensive line lost to graduation is going to be completely revamped, with positions up for grabs. Three transfers are coming in to compete for positions there, too: DL Jakub Mwanfelwa (College of DuPage, JUCO), DL Tiu Afalava (San Diego State) and DL Jovan George (Holy Cross).

P Dominic Sansone appeared in seven games as a sophomore and punted 29 times, averaging 41.6 yards per punt.

Fearless Prediction: Fordham, as it turns out, will be playing not one but two FBS teams in North Dakota State and Coastal Carolina, and then follow it up with one of the league favorites in William & Mary on the road.  Their path to a .500 record means beating Stony Brook out of conference and going over .500 in conference – if everything goes perfectly, they have a chance at that.