PRZNY Team Previews: Aquinas Institute Little Irish

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Last Season (6-4)</h2>   <p>Last season, the Little Irish started multiple underclassmen across both sides of the ball, and they ended up having a really solid season with the youth they had. Two losses came against eventual Sectional Champions McQuaid, with the other two coming early in the season to tough squads in UPrep - Section V runner-ups and Pittsford, who had a strong group of seniors. Last season wasn't a bust or a disappointment but an indication of steady progress after a 3-win season in 2022. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top Prospect</h2>    <p class="text-gray-700">Gillians currently ranks as the top 2025 prospect from Rochester, and it was the way he dominated through last season with 10.5 sacks, adding some big plays from the tight end position, which lands him so high in the rankings. The Syracuse commit had several P4 offers heading into official visit season, and his measurables at 6'4 250lbs showcase a player who has the size to physically compete at the next level while on tape. You see, he moves well for his size and has some natural strength and punch in his upper body. </p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Next Five Prospects</h2>    <p class="text-gray-700">Battle returns as one of the top running backs in the state, and the Mercyhurst commit is a really smooth athlete who can operate on all three downs. He shows on film he can be a physical runner in between the tackles but also has the burst and ability to make guys miss outside the tackles and in space. He is one of the better backs in New York in terms of his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. Last season, he had ten receptions, which may seem low, but he tied for second on the team. </p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Collins-Howard is one of the best young sprinters in New York, and this helped him pick up an FBS offer after a freshman season where he was featured as the #1 WR for the Lil Irish. Collins-Howard is a really good athlete; he has the verified long speed but shows good sudden twitchy movements on tape. He stretches the field well averaging over 20 yards per catch and has some really nice ball tracking skills on tape. </p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Buttles started at safety as an 8th grader for Aquinas and moved to quarterback this past season, putting some quality stuff on film. He is a dual-threat prospect who moves well in the pocket and can extend plays with his feet beyond the LOS. For a freshman, his numbers were solid: 1,150 yards, 56% completion percentage, and a 13/1 TD/INT ratio. As a prospect for the next level, he can take a large step as a quarterback, but based on his safety film and athleticism, there is a place for him at the next level as he develops as an athlete. </p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Ernst, who is the 3rd Aquinas prospect to head into the season committed, will head to Gannon after this season, a player I have seen live in a 7v7 setting before Ernst has great length to his game at 6'1 with long arms. Ernst does his best work in zone coverage on tape, where he can keep everything in front and break on the ball. He shows some solid athleticism and can close on the catch point. Ernst also does a solid job of using the sideline to his advantage, rerouting WRs as they get 5+ yards past the LOS on 9 routes. </p>     <p class="text-gray-700">It feels like Leone has been on varsity forever, and it feels that way because he has. Although he had an injury at the tail end of last season, Leone has played in 34 varsity games headed into his senior season with the Lil Irish. As a sophomore, he had 90 solo tackles and has been one of the most physically dominant LBs in Section V for multiple seasons. He is a multi-sport athlete and also a multi-positional player for AQ, spending time on the OL and at LS - He is a 3-star LS on Kohls and is one of the top varsity contributors in Rochester. </p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Breakout Player</h2>    <p class="text-gray-700">Levans III showed some solid stuff on tape as a freshman as the 3rd WR regarding yards. Levans is a smaller slot prospect who wins with quickness and twitch in his route running. Levans III has no verified speeds, but you can tell he plays fast. He can stretch the field with his speed and has a solid double move from his speed and twitch. Although smaller, he high points the ball well, attacks it in the air, and consistently shows he catches with his hands away from his body. </p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Names To Know</h2>   <figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><thead><tr><th>Name</th><th>Position</th><th>Year</th><th>Notes</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Alexis Rosado</td><td>WR/ATH</td><td>2025</td><td>Impact player on offense</td></tr><tr><td>Sean Mayo II</td><td>DB</td><td>2025</td><td>Returning DB</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='505862' first='Tano' last='Auriuso']</td><td>LB</td><td>2026</td><td>Key LB on defense - a strong partnership with Leone - 50tkls, 8TFL last season</td></tr><tr><td>Brody Lenox</td><td>DE</td><td>2026</td><td>Returning DL</td></tr><tr><td>Colby Speight</td><td>DB</td><td>2026</td><td>Returning DB </td></tr><tr><td>CJ Flaherty</td><td>SAF</td><td>2026</td><td>Returning starter at LB/SS</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='606249' first='Amere' last='Brewer']</td><td>ATH</td><td>2026</td><td>Potential Varsity Contributor - WR/DB</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1649192' first='Robert' last='Carter']</td><td>WR</td><td>2027</td><td>Young WR prospect to know</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Losses/Commitments</h2>   <p>DE - Rodney Tull - Lock Haven</p>   <p>DB - Trent Hill</p>   <p>DL - Bobby Douglas</p>   <p>OL - Peter Toscano</p>   <p>LB - [player_tooltip player_id='743618' first='Jake' last='Smith'] </p>   <p>DB - Jaden White</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2024 Schedule</h2>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/AQ_football/status/1819202273915846993 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2024 Outlook</h2>   <p>HC: Maurice Jackson</p>   <p>It's a very cool matchup with Monsignor Martin's Bishop Timon to start the year, which will feature a really good QB matchup between [player_tooltip player_id='501394' first='Trent' last='Buttles'] and [player_tooltip player_id='505854' first='Dominic' last='Anzalone'] of Timon. Their schedule does not have too many runs of really tough consecutive games, but getting UPrep and McQuaid at home is undoubtedly a plus. If the dates are still accurate, I noticed one weird quirk: back-to-back games on short weeks against McQuaid and Pittsford. McQuaid will have an extra day of rest on them, while Pittsford will have only five days when they play. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">3 Things Going For The Lil Irish</h2>   <p>They return all of their offensive weapons</p>   <p>They bring back a very strong group of LBs</p>   <p>They have arguably the best young core in Section V Class AA</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">1 Area To Be Concerned</h2>   <p>Size - they won't be as big in the trenches as several Class AA teams they will face. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Last Word</h2>   <p>One of the best groups of skill players you will see in New York - especially offensively when you include Gillians at TE. I think they have a chance to have an extremely explosive offense with all the young guys on the team taking a step forward. Last season was an improvement, but they were a little too young to contend for a sectional championship - this season, I wouldn't be surprised at all if they end up in Syracuse in the final four in Class AA.</p>