RPI football loaded with experience heading into 2024 season

TROY, N.Y. ( NEWS10 ) — Last year at this time, the conversation about RPI football was centered around how the team would adapt to an overhauled roster with a lot of new faces. And the Engineers still put together an 8-3 campaign. It’s a different story heading into the 2024 season.

RPI returns a combined 16 starters, and appears to have a legitimate chance to make a run at a Liberty League title.

Starting on the offensive side of the ball, eight starters are back, including quarterback Jake Kazanowsky, who missed the final two games of the regular season last year to injury. RPI lost both those games, leaving fans to wonder what could’ve been had he played.

But the senior gunslinger is back, healthy and ready to lead an offense that also returns a two-headed attack at running back in Kayden White and Christian Buckley, who combined to rush for over 1,000 yards in 2023, and features their 800-yard receiver from a year ago: Hayden Faraday.

“There’s no limit to how good we can be; the potential’s endless,” said Kazanowsky. “We got a ton of guys who can do a lot of good things. It just depends on how well we can…make it click, and how fast we can do that. Most of these guys I’ve been with for the past four years. Every day you…kind of realize how close [we] are. I mean, you’re in camp almost 12 hours a day every day. It’s easy to start getting that chemistry together. And honestly, how it almost melts into the younger guys…it’s awesome to see it kind of come together.”

Defensively, the Engineers are bolstered by the return of their top four leading tacklers, with senior linebacker Anthony D’Agostino being the focal point of that unit.

It’s a veteran defense – ideal for first-year defensive coordinator Rob Barbieri to lean on, and the leadership that group brings is something that’s stood out early in camp.

“The culture and the mindset of these…upperclassmen…it’s been different,” said D’Agostino. “It’s been a lot different, and…everyone’s on the same path and the same goal. Never seen harder workers so far.”

The experience that RPI has from top to bottom on the roster is one of the elements of this team that encourages head coach Ralph Isernia the most.

“There’s a tremendous amount of buy-in, and that starts with our seniors and our super-seniors,” said Isernia. “We’ve got about 27 guys in that role. They’ve got that leadership. They know the mentality; they know the culture of the team; they know what we expect. And that’s filtering down to the entire team. We’re fortunate enough to have a lot of talent, and there’s competition at every position. As a coach, you love that because now you’ve got guys that are hungry; guys that are fighting for playing time.”

The Engineers open up the season Thursday, Sep. 5, as they take on the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse – a quarterfinalist in last year’s Division III playoff tournament – in a rare Thursday night game at ECAV stadium.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NEWS10 ABC.