In pursuing this year's Penn men's soccer recruiting class, head coach Rudy Fuller wanted to emphasize quality over quantity.
So unlike past years where he has brought seven or eight players to Rhodes Field at once, the team's Class of 2008 only has four members- forward Jonathon Blackwell, midfeilder Derek Hobson, and defenders Joshua Hoffman and Jeffrey Livingston.
"We really felt like the kids we brought in we wanted to be good solid quality players that would make our program better," Fuller said. "We didn't care whether that was 1 player, 2 players, 4 players, whatever- we just wanted to bring in a couple of good players."
All four have impressive resum‚s.
Blackwell, who attended the Highland School and hails from Gainsville, Va., was a part of the Virginia Olympic Development Program for players born in 1986. He was also recently named the Most Outstanding Player at the Merseyside Soccer Festival in Liverpool, England.
Fuller described Blackwell as "not terribly flashy with his skill, but he scores goals and he works extremely hard to get those goals."
"He's a dynamic attacking player, because he's comfortable in a number of different spots in the attack," Fuller added.
Hobson, a native of San Diego, Calif., captained the La Jolla Nomads to three State Cups and the championship game of the annual Dallas Cup, one of the world's most prestigious youth soccer tournaments.
At the Francis Parker School, Hobson was named first-team all-league three times and twice earned selection to the All-California Interscholastic Federation first team.
"He's a good two-way midfeilder, he can be dangerous going forward but he's also very good organizing things, breaking up plays." Fuller said of Hobson. "I think it's going to be very interesting to see how quickly he gets himself in the mix with our team and where he ends up competing."
Hoffman attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, D.C., where he started all four years.
"I really think [Hoffman] was overlooked by a lot of people," Fuller said. "He was a guy that when you watched their team play he was doing all the little things to allow those other players to be special."
Fuller said that whereas Hoffman is more likely to be used as an outside back, Livingston is much more of a traditional central defender.
A 6-foot-3 native of Dunedin, Fla., Livingston led the Brandon Flames to the 2001 state title and the semifinals in 2002 and 2004. "Livingston's a pretty big guy, pretty thick kid, strong in the air," Fuller said.
Fuller acknowledged that his roots in the Washington, D.C. area helped him to find Blackwell and Hobson, who both played for the youth teams affiliated with Major League Soccer's D.C. United.
"I know both the coaches of the teams they played for," Fuller said. "I think highly of both of them- I think they are very good coaches and I think the players that they develop are good players."
As for the immediate impact that these players will have, Fuller expressed confidence in his current crop of players but was more than willing to leave the door open.
"Were in a great spot, we return essentially 10 out of 11 starters," Fuller said. "We're not relying on any of them to come in and be an impact player for us this year.
But he added that "it wouldn't surprise me if all four or any of the four played, and it wouldn't surprise me if all four played more reserve roles."
