Football: Penn makes Radnor's Andersen an offer he can't refuse

Radnor’s Alex Andersen could have waited until after his senior season to worry about where he would play football in college, but the opportunity to choose sooner than expected was too good to pass up.

The 6-2, 270-pound lineman told the Daily Times that he will be a University of Pennsylvania Quaker starting in 2015.

“I always told myself that I wanted to wait it out until the winter to make a decision,’ Andersen said. “But I also realized that it would be better for me and the team to get it over with now so that I could focus on the season.”‘

Andersen has made steady progress throughout his four seasons with Radnor coach Tom Ryan. While the team has struggled to gain attention and wins over the years, Ryan and line coach Dave Booth, who was a longtime assistant at Upper Darby, have quietly produced linemen that have excelled at Division IA and IAA programs.

For instance, Mike Staples is a sophomore at Cornell, All-Delco Dave Bowen is a junior at Boston College, and Greg DiCocco is beginning his junior campaign at Citadel. Several other of Ryan’s players have cracked a college roster in recent years including: Rob Collins, a walk-on reserve quarterback at Duke; Vincent Caniglia, a linebacker for Catholic University; and Tim Wilson, a wide receiver who played at East Stroudsburg in 2012-13.

Andersen is Radnor football’s latest success story.

“Ever since he was a sophomore, Alex has had those natural leadership qualities,” Ryan said. “He’s really made a lot of progress. He’s been here all this time along with (running back/linebacker) T.J. Hockersmith and (lineman) John Lord. The three of them were voted captains by their peers. Alex is definitely one of the leaders on the team.”

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