Holmes has plenty of weapons when he goes to the air. Elijah Bratcher (15 receptions/four touchdowns as a freshman), Michael Richardson, an LIU Post transfer, and Khaneil Bruce form a superb receiving corp. Bruce recently helped the United States win the gold medal at the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) World Championship in Kuwait.  

“We’re pretty solid at the skill positions, and the guys up front that we brought in are talented,” Osovet said. “It’s a matter of them jelling into a unit that will make the difference. We have a lot of size on the offensive line.”

Calling the unit big is an understatement. Sophomore Shaheem Louis, a 6-foot-8 tackle from Huntington, is the lone returning starting on the offensive line. He’s joined by 6-foot-4 center Ian Bjuro, guard Paul Catalano, a pair of 6-foot-5 freshmen Chris Hawkins and Da’Keavis Wilmore, and 6-foot-7 tackle Malcolm Pridgeon from Central Islip.

The Lions are loaded on defense. Rasul Douglas, a shutdown cornerback from East Orange, NJ, who was one of the top-ranked corners in the country out of high school, had three picks as a freshman. Douglas is joined in the sceondary by Jaquan McCullough and Taurus Bruton. Linebackers Deon Wright and Luder Jean-Louis, freshman rover Sharieff Rhaheed Muhammad, and sophomore free safety Justin Farinola lead an athletic unit that should be very difficult to score against.

Nassau is talented and experienced on the defensive line. Returning tackles Demario Roye (Boys & Girls) and Daryl Webster (Flushing) will control the inside, while a pair of dominant freshman defensive ends, Ali Ali-Busa and Joey Hobbs, should wreak havoc.

Osovet is extremely optimistic. “If what we’re seeing in the early going carries over to the season, we should be in very good shape,” he said.

“We have a couple of goals,” Osovet added. “We want to take the conference title, and then compete for a national championship. You can’t have the second one without the first. The schedule plays out nice for us. Most of our toughest games are at home, and we don’t have to travel all that much. We’re looking forward to getting after it.”