Accorsi, staff prepare to welcome nearly 120 players to Salem CC’s first football training camp; players report Monday, hit the field Thursday; ‘it’s pretty incredible what we’ve done’
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – After 30 years in coaching Jay Accorsi knows what the first day of football practice feels like. He remembers what it felt like his first day as a head coach. This one feels a lot like that, but with a different level of anticipation.
Every first day has a special feeling, but this is the first time the Salem Community College head coach is going into a season with a team, a program, that’s starting – he started — from scratch.
After a little more than a year of researching, planning and putting it all together, the former Rowan head coach will open the doors for the first time to the full complement of players for the Mighty Oaks’ first football team.
Accorsi and his staff will welcome nearly 120 players when they report Monday for the school’s first ever training camp. They’ll have 18 days before their first live scrimmage at Montclair and 26 days before the first game in program history Aug. 29 against Hudson Valley CC at Pennsville High School.
“Even all my years at Rowan when I was an assistant and a head coach and even my years at Nichols when I was an assistant, it always feels like the first day of school,” the 62-year-old Accorsi said. “There’s just a newness about it. It’s a beginning. It’s a start of another season. New players. It always felt like it was the first day of school. This one’s different though.
“I’m probably more nervous than I’ve ever been because this is something started from scratch. Really, last August, I was just a consultant sitting in a room figuring out could we do this and now, a year later, we’re actually doing this and I’m nervous. It feels different. I’m really nervous. It kind of feels like my first year at Rowan. I think K.C. (Keeler) prepared me really well to take over, but, again, when you’re the person in charge … I was really nervous at the beginning at Rowan and I feel the same way, but even more so. Everything was kind of created and done, so it’s a similar feeling, but much more different.”
Accorsi brought the idea of playing football at Salem to college president Mike Gorman last May. He was armed with extensive research on why it would flourish in a region known for good high school football and loaded with players who either had to go out of state to play or simply abandoned the idea of going to college and playing because there were no other options available to them.
Gorman brought it to the board in October, it passed in November with consultant Accorsi installed as acting head coach and the program officially launched in January, making it only the second junior college in New Jersey to offer the sport. There have been some growing pains, of course, and there will continue to be as the Mighty Oaks move forward, but they’ve made steady progress and, ready or not, the season is upon them.
“Sometimes when I get frustrated or whatever I have to kind of step back and think, listen, this was an idea you proposed to President Gorman last June and all of a sudden now you’re doing it,” Accorsi said. “I need to step back sometimes and understand the challenges and understand the start of it, but you know as a competitor you want it to all be perfect.
“I need to make sure I step back at times, and I did that yesterday when we had most of the coaching staff there and they were in meetings and they were talking and I was just sitting there looking around thinking, ‘wow this is pretty awesome; all this collection of individuals last year at this time were doing something completely different.’ I need to make sure I check myself at the door and maybe not get too frustrated or too quick to judge because it’s pretty incredible what we’ve done.”
The Mighty Oaks’ first three days together will be administrative days. The players report Monday at 9 a.m. and then meet with administrators and coaches. Tuesday is a day for academics and getting fitted for their gear and Wednesday it’s physicals and more meetings.
It’s the hope to hit the practice field adjacent to the Carney Point Rec Complex Thursday, but there’s still a lot to do there to have it ready. As much as coaches don’t like disruptions, if it doesn’t happen that day, it won’t necessarily set them back
“I wanted three admin days because I knew these things were going to happen and I wanted to take our time before we rushed into practice to have everything cleared,” Accorsi said. “I think we’ve put a lot of things in place to do it the right way; take our time, go really slow, but make sure everybody is safe and sound, is protected. That’s the part I’ve been very, very excited about, it’s all been done the right way and the safe way, too.
“Those first three days it’s 9-to-5 and it’s just a lot of stuff, but it’s probably, and I don’t want to take away from the football part, but it’s probably the most important things we will do in the program for the whole year. I’m hoping Thursday is the first day. I think we’ll be all right to start that day, but I built it into the schedule that Thursday ends up being a catch-up day or a walk-through with some other things. The coaches are going to hate me for saying this, but it’s not the end of the world if we don’t have a full practice that day. I’m hoping we will, but I’ve got to go slow to make sure everybody’s cleared to go.”
The Mighty Oaks do have their full complement of coaches on board, but won’t announce them until top administrators return to campus at the start of the week and officially sign off on them. The program has been going through its beginnings and a limited spring practice with assistants Joe Dougherty, Chris Crowley and Damon Troy.
Once they get on the field, the first three days will be in helmets and shorts. The next three days they’ll be in shells. Aug. 12 is a scheduled off day with the 13th being their first day in full pads.
With all the things they had to worry about to get the program off the ground, one element Accorsi never doubted was the program’s ability to attract players. They are expecting 118 players from at least seven states to report Monday. Some ultimately will be grey-shirted, some will be redshirted and some, Accorsi said, are “really dynamic players” who have the potential to play at the highest levels of the college game.
When the program announced their signees on social media, most were listed as “ATH” to avoid being pigeonholed into specific positions before they are seen, but the coaching staff does have a preliminary depth chart. There are 29 defensive backs, 21 wide receivers, 12 running backs and “four and maybe five” quarterbacks.
“I knew junior college football would be different, I just didn’t realize how different it would be,” Accorsi said. “Coming from Division III, we had some players, don’t get me wrong, but not like the players we’re going to have here.
“The defense was talking about all the DBs and the defensive coordinator (Dougherty) was talking about we may be able to play man a lot. You usually can’t say that at a lot of places, but I think the athleticism and the talent is even higher than what I thought it would be and I thought it would be pretty high. We’ve got some guys.”
| ANNOUNCED SALEM CC FOOTBALL SIGNEES |
| PLAYER | HOMETOWN/SCHOOL |
| Aiden Alexander | Kingsway/Kutztown |
| Rabiou Alidou | Philadelphia/Audenried |
| Jayden Ali-Ward | Lawnside/Sterling |
| Maxwell Batten | Wilmington, Del./St. Marks HS |
| DJ Binck | National Park/Gateway |
| Jerrell Burks | Bridgeton |
| Quyan Cade | Pleasantville |
| Zahir Cobbins | Jersey City/Delran |
| Jadon Cowan | Baltimore/North County |
| Travon Crapps | Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas |
| Robert Daly | Pittsbrove/Schalick |
| Sam DaSilva | Delran |
| Jayir Davis | Camden/Eastside |
| Jeremiah Days | Mount Laurel/Lenape |
| Jordan Dozier-Pinkett | Wildwood |
| Josiah Evans | Collingswood |
| Sean Ferebee | West Deptford/Williamstown |
| Sean Gresham | Fairfax, Va/Falls Church |
| Ryan Goodmond | Newark, Del./Newark |
| M.J. Hall | Woodstown |
| Jacob Hand | Pennsville |
| Aidan Hill | Wilmington, Del./Brandywine |
| Kaden Hood | Swedesboro/Kingsway |
| Xavier Lee | Newark/William Penn HS |
| Jermar Jones | West Deptford/Chestnut Hill |
| Eric Jordan | Wildwood |
| Darion Joyner | Blackwood/Washington Twp. |
| Kahmaj Kearney | Smyrna, Del. |
| Stephen Little | Bridgeton |
| Ke-Marley Mason | Marlton/Cherokee |
| Lamar McCoy | Millsboro, Del./Cape Henlopen |
| Zaahir McNair | Wilmington, Del./Brandywine |
| Jamere Metts | Philadelphia/Clearview HS |
| Hayden Miller | Glendora/Triton |
| Andrew Mosley | Bridgeton/Cumberland |
| Jahfarri Payne | Wilmington, Del./John Dickinson |
| John Pettigrew | Bellmawr/Triton |
| Brian Pritchett | Bridgeton/Sussex CC |
| Jovanni Rios | Salem |
| Jack Robinson | Maple Shade |
| Kaleb Ross | Elkton, Md./St. Elizabeth HS |
| Sam Rowley | Penns Grove/Haddon Heights |
| Jeremiah Russell | Bridgeton |
| Jayden Sanchez | Sewell/Washington Twp. |
| Ben Secouler | Cherry Hill |
| Brody Selfridge | Sewell/Clearview |
| Noah Shields | Blackwood/Highland |
| Charlie Shute | Newark, Del./Conrad HS |
| Jamar Smith | Glasgow |
| Moses Tassy | Cherry Hill West |
| Raheem Tomoney | Philadelphia/Hudson Valley CC |
| Deven Tompkins | Bridgeton/Cumberland Reg. |
| William Torres | Willingboro |
| Tyler Walker | Manalapan/New Haven |
| Quaddi Walls | Clayton |
| Jamaad Washington | Pleasantville |
| Demere White | Millville |
| Demetris Williams | Clayton |
| Kielle Woodard | Bridgeton/Cumberland Reg. |
| Erik Worley | Sicklerville/Winslow HS |
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