’26 Patriot League Football Preview: Lafayette

Predicted Order of Finish: 5th

It was a big hole that head coach John Troxell had to talk about upfront, even though I’m sure it was the last thing he wanted to talk about.  That’s because departures don’t get much bigger than RB Kente Edwards. His 1,454 yards, 20 TDs, his scary good performance against Lehigh in of the best Rivalry games ever – all of it points to a bright college football future… at Coastal Carolina, where he transferred after being a workhorse in 2025. 

In fact, there was way too much of talk about how Edwards and QB Dean Denobile (Florida State) exited through the transfer portal (though Denobile was out of eligibility at Lafayette, I believe), and not enough has been said about who is coming to Easton from the transfer portal.  

“I think your best teams are player-led teams,” Troxell said on Patriot League Media Day. “I think we’ve had great leadership. We work with our leadership council to make sure we control what we can control. Here at Lafayette we’re concerned with getting the right fit, developing that relationship and trying to launch kids into the world. The culture here, it’s a great place.”

Getting a great fit sometimes aligns with a need area, too. On a program that highly values a great offensive line, 6’3, 300 lb OL Jake Hohenshelt comes to Lafayette from James Madison, and he would seem like a shoo-in to start if he’s healthy.

There are a lot of questions, but coach Troxell has been here before – he’s seen high-profile departures, had questions as to who would take their place… and last season, on the last weekend of the year, his Leopards were playing yet again with the Patriot League season on the line. That’s part of the culture he’s developed at Lafayette.

Lafayette headed to camp looking to determine their starting quarterback (likely a battle between QB Jason Penza and QB Daniel Lipovsky, both backups to Denobile last season) and starting running back (RB Jakyre Henry, who spelled Edwards, and RB Ethan Weber, who didn’t play last season due to an ACL injury).  They’ll have three very good receivers already on board with WR Carson Persing,  WR Mason Kuehner and WR Matt Szerbo.

On defense, LB Beckham Dee came last year through the transfer portal from Penn State and worked out amazingly well (62 tackles, 7 TFL).  A team captain, he guarantees continuity in what should be a strong defense.  Despite some portal losses in the secondary, DB Jalen Edwards (41 tackles, 2 INT) and LB Darien Riley (33 tackles, 8 TFL) anchor what should still be a very good unit.

When called upon, PK Jack Simonetta was as automatic as could be (6/6 FG, 53-54 XP), and P Christian Bush was a weapon for the Leopards as well (41 ypk 9 punts of 50 yards or more).  The Leopards also, should they choose, have a veteran group returning kicks in WR Mason Kuehner and RB Jakyre Henley. 

The overarching question is – will the next-man-up mentality that worked stupendendously well work once again this year?  The uncertainty on offense is evident, but there are also a few questions on defense as well.  Will he have Beckam Dee-like success with the new batch of FBS transfers?

Fearless Prediction: The scheduling gods did a huge favor for the Leopards this year. If they get past Georgetown to start the season – another team breaking in a new QB and RB – they face off against an FBS team (UConn) and two eminently winnable games (Home vs. Marist, away at Columbia) before hosting Holy Cross and Richmond. They could be 1-0 in the league at that point with a comfortable offense – and would be dreaming of another possible title, and maybe more.