Ex-Tornado duo now play in PAC
WASHINGTON, Pa. — Jordan Roycroft caught only four passes last season as a sophomore wide receiver at Washington & Jefferson College.
Presidents head coach Mike Sirianni said the Butler graduate could have hauled in a whole lot more.
"Jordan went through some times last season where he thought, 'You know what? We have a lot of seniors. I'm not going to play.' And he went through the motions a lot," Sirianni said.
That led to sparse playing time and little to no impact despite his athletic 6-foot-2 frame.
In two years, Roycroft has five catches at W&J after catching 46 passes for 657 yards and six scores as a senior at Butler.
But all of that is about to change for Roycroft. He has remolded his attitude and could be in a position to pack the biggest punch in the Presidents' remolded offense.
"Coming into camp, I think Jordan is our second best receiver," Sirianni said.
The best is Craig Besong, who caught 75 passes for 1,186 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2008.
While Roycroft would be hard pressed to match those lofty numbers, he could come close in W&J's wide open spread offense.
Roycroft caught three of his four passes in a 63-7 playoff loss to Mary Hardin-Baylor in the Division III quarterfinals.
"The one bright spot in Texas was Jordan," Sirianni said. "He didn't back down from those kids. He was a high, high recruit for us two years ago. We really wanted him. We need him to step up."
Sirianni said Roycroft had a good spring and summer and should shine this season.
"I hope he learned from his mistakes last year," Sirianni said. "He has the ability to be a great player."Another Butler High graduate, Tony Andreassi, made a big impact as a freshman last season at Westminster College.Andreassi started the final seven games at strong safety, where he recorded 37 tackles and one interception."He has a good amount of experience under his belt now coming into his sophomore season," said Westminster coach Jeff Hand. "He's grown tremendously."Hand has been most impressed with Andreassi's tackling ability.At Butler, Andreassi led the Golden Tornado in tackles as a senior."I just remember watching the film of him in high school," Hand said. "He made a ton of tackles. He just has a nose for the football and he's a tough young man."Hand said Andreassi's biggest improvement has come in understanding the fundamentals of the position."He's come a long, long way," Hand said. "He's one of our mainstays on defense now."
