JEFFERSON TWP — Kraig King is getting some company.

The Knoch graduate and son of Knights football coach Mike King is entering his sophomore season as a center at Washington & Jefferson.

Three former high school teammates — running back-linebacker Cody Milsom, center-linebacker Matt Jaworski and linebacker Cory Godlewski — are coming down to join him.

“It's a quality Division III program and all three of those guys are good enough to fit in and play there,” Coach King said. “But the tricky thing about Division III is there are no roster limits.

“You may go out on the practice field and there may be 20 other linebackers out there with you. You can't get intimidated by those numbers.”

Milsom was a workhorse running back at Knoch the past two seasons. He had 180 carries for 919 yards and 12 touchdowns last year.

He admits that battling a numbers game to get playing time is a bit bothersome.

“It's a little intimidating, but I treat it as a challenge,” Milsom said. “Only the better players are going to get the spots.

“My goal is to get on the field as soon as possible. I have no idea how they're looking at me in terms of offense or defense and I have no preference ... whatever gets me on the field the quickest.

“Maybe I won't see any playing time until my sophomore or even junior year. I'm still going to practice and work hard like I am playing. I won't quit on this,” Milsom added.

Milsom and Godlewski plan to major in business. Jaworski will study computer information systems.“I was planning on going to Slippery Rock and not playing football. I even paid my deposit there,” Jaworski said. “After that, W&J offered me. I had a chance to play college football when I didn't think it was possible. I wasn't going to pass it up.”Jaworski figures he will play on the “junior varsity” during his freshman year.“All Division III teams have those JV squads,” he said. “Coming in as a freshman, there's 140 guys on the roster. You have to try to make it happen for yourself at a program like this.”The Presidents have reached the NCAA Division III playoffs 10 times in Mike Sirianni's 13 years as head coach. His teams have won at least nine games on 10 occasions as well.W&J has won 70 of its 80 Presidents' Athletic Conference games over the past decade.“I like the football pedigree there,” Milsom said.Godlewski endured two knee surgeries for a torn ACL and MCL — in December and May — prior to his senior season at Knoch. Still, he never missed a preseason practice and started at linebacker.“I blocked two field goals in a row my first game (against Franklin Regional his senior year,” Godlewski recalled. “There was a penalty on the first one.“My goal was always to play college football. I never gave up on that goal.”Coach King described Godlewski's quick comeback as “pretty amazing stuff.”

“Cory just wanted to play so badly,” King said. “A true love of playing the game is what helps these Division III kids succeed. There are no scholarships, there's no 30,000 people in the stands, there's no band playing.“These guys aren't out there for the pageantry or recognition. They want to play football.”The trio became good friends through football. Jaworski and Godlewski are working together in landscaping this summer. Jaworski and Milsom play on the same whiffle ball team.There was never a joint decision by the three to attend W&J. While Jaworski was planning on attending SRU, Godlewski was considering Thiel and Saint Vincent. Milsom was checking out John Carroll and Saint Vincent.“I didn't expect this, but I'm glad it happened,” Jaworski said.Milsom agreed.“This is a big adjustment now, moving on and startting over as a freshman,” Milsom said. “I'm going to like having two familiar faces going through it with me.”