2025 Team Preview: The St. Thomas Aquinas Trojans, Part I

<p>There may not be a single high school football program in the state of New Jersey that has had as an eventful end to their season, and subsequent offseason, than St. Thomas Aquinas. The Edison-based non-public school won their first playoff game since the year 2001 - a 23 year drought - last fall. Despite this and a 27-6 record over three seasons, head coach Tarig Holman was relieved from his role. Replaced by Jonathan Germano, Germano was hired in late January and stepped down in early May before ever coaching a game. A day after his resignation the Trojans moved swiftly, naming Shamir Bearfield their newest head coach. With as much change as there has been within their coaching ranks, their roster has reflected similar turnover. To the best of my research, here are a handful of prospects that are returning to St. Thomas Aquinas and figure to be impact players.</p>    <p class="text-gray-700">Last year [player_tooltip player_id='1054150' first='Ian' last='Roberts'] was an incoming transfer from Woodbridge. As he prepares to enter his second season at STA, Roberts should be more intrenched than ever as anchor on their defense heading into his senior year. Roberts is likely one of those outside the box star defenders who is an excellent form-fitting tacklers. He uses his shoulder pads to initiate contact, wraps, well, and drives his feet. In pass coverage he tends to hop a bit rather than take his drop. At his best, however, he backpedals and levels out from there. It seems as though Roberts plays team defense well, showcasing that he can play underneath routes well while a defender plays over the top. A player who demands the best of himself and leads by example, you can find Roberts as the first man down the field on kickoffs. With the versatility to play either back in coverage or at the line, we see him get hands on blockers, extends, and sheds. Although he is a bit more unsung, Roberts might just be the Trojans' best defender.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/TheeIanRoberts </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">For [player_tooltip player_id='751653' first='Zymere' last='Weaver'], his high school career got off to an unorthodox start. In St. Thomas' first game last year they traveled to Maryland to face Mount St. Joseph. In that game their offense stalled and struggled mightily under Roman Blanks and was jump started by Weaver. However, upon returning home Weaver was regulated to serving as a backup and relief the rest of the season. In the bit of film shows that he throws a very accurate ball up to 50-yards vertically, while also having a quick release. The best thing Weaver might do is throw the ball on the run, showing equal proficiency rolling out to either side. These type of play calls seem to compliment him well in terms of ball placement so his receivers can accrue yards after the catch. Despite a quick release, the freshman version of Weaver would benefit from getting the ball out sooner by making quicker decisions. For as strong as his arm is, I am not sure I see it explode out of his hand. Activating his lower half by throwing off of his front foot will help; yet I cannot help but think he is placing the ball to his targets.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ZymereWeaver </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">Traveling probably no more than 3 miles to a change of address will be [player_tooltip player_id='910090' first='Jaylen' last='Frias']. A transfer from St. Joseph Metuchen, Frias will not have to sit out as his transfer occurred prior to his senior year and this is his first transfer to my knowledge. Frias plays in space and has shown to apex #3 in 3x1 sets. His biggest strength his his tackling. We see time-and-time again Frias get himself in ideal position to make profile tackles where he wraps the thigh boards, uses his shoulder, and drives his legs. Although he does not take a diagnose/read step all the time, he has the speed to beat his matchup to the sideline. This speed and ability to rally helps him as his eye discipline/reading keys have opportunity to improve. I did not notice clips of him in taking pass drops on tape. </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/JaylenFrias0 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">With two outstanding defenders already in the fold, [player_tooltip player_id='1170231' first='Anwar' last='Witherspoon'] is perhaps the most acclaimed defender the Trojans roster. Although I think he can sink to his drop a bit more deeply, he is a bit longer of a linebacker and thus inherently does an outstanding job clogging passing lanes and getting his hands on passes you might not expect. It seems as though he reads down-down-kick to the outside a bit better than iso directly at him. Where Roberts and Frias before him where outstanding profile tacklers, Witherspoon has mastered leverage tackling a bit more, using his momentum as a weapon to bring ball carriers down. He uses his hands well to catch the ball, although when he does possess it Witherspoon carries it very low and loose away from his body. An area missing on Witherspoon's tape is his open-field speed.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/AnwarWtherspoon </div></figure>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2025 Team Previews</h2>   <p><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/08/2025-team-preview-the-bayonne-bees-part-i/">Bayonne Bees, Part I</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/08/2025-team-preview-the-bayonne-bees-part-ii/">Bayonne Bees, Part II</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/08/2025-team-preview-the-linden-tigers/">Linden Tigers</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/08/2025-team-preview-the-st-joseph-metuchen-falcons-part-i">St. Joseph Metuchen Falcons, Part I</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/08/2025-team-preview-the-st-joseph-metuchen-falcons-part-ii">St. Joseph Metuchen Falcons, Part II</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/08/2025-team-preview-the-st-thomas-aquinas-trojans-part-i">St. Thomas Aquinas Trojans, Part I</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/08/2025-team-preview-the-westfield-blue-devils">Westfield Blue Devils</a></p>

There may not be a single high school football program in the state of New Jersey that has had as an eventful end to their season, and subsequent offseason, than St. Thomas Aquinas. The Edison-based non-public school won their first playoff game since the year 2001 - a 23 year drought - last fall. Despite this and a 27-6 record over three seasons, head coach Tarig Holman was relieved from his role. Replaced by Jonathan Germano, Germano was hired in late January and stepped down in early May before ever coaching a game. A day after his resignation the Trojans moved swiftly, naming Shamir Bearfield their newest head coach. With as much change as there has been within their coaching ranks, their roster has reflected similar turnover. To the best of my research, here are a handful of prospects that are returning to St. Thomas Aquinas and figure to be impact players.