Dayton extends 1st Division I offers to 3 WPIAL football recruits

By: Chris Harlan
Monday, July 27, 2020 | 3:45 AM

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Three WPIAL football players drew their first Division I offers from the same Ohio school.

Dayton’s coaching staff extended offers last week to North Catholic’s Nick Maher and Seneca Valley teammates Jimmy Royal and Josh Miller.

All three are rising seniors.

Maher is a 6-foot-2, 200-pound wide receiver and linebacker. He led North Catholic with 46 catches for 853 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. Royal (6-3, 275) is a two-way tackle for Seneca Valley. Miller (6-2, 225) is a defensive end or linebacker.

Dayton went 8-3 last season in coach Rick Chamberlin’s 12^th season. The Flyers finished tied for second in the Pioneer Football League standings.

The FCS conference also includes Butler, Drake, Jacksonville, Marist, Morehead State, San Diego, Stetson and Valparaiso.

Along with three former WPIAL players on the roster, Dayton also has a Western Pennsylvania connection among its coaching staff. Assistant coach Brian Steiner spent 10 years coaching at Clarion University before joining Dayton’s staff before last season.

South Fayette’s Charley Rossi and Pine-Richland’s Eli Jochem, two of the WPIAL’s top receivers, also announced offers from the Flyers last week. Both players already had other Division I offers.

Blessed to receive my first division 1 offer from the University of Dayton ! @THECoachSteiner @aserventi_23 @wpialsportsnews @KeystoneRecruit @PaFootballNews @NCtrojansFB #GoFlyers pic.twitter.com/Uu1c1FABvD

— nick maher ⁹ (@nickmaher_9) July 21, 2020

Blessed to receive a D1 offer from the University of Dayton! @THECoachSteiner pic.twitter.com/5aBNDpOcbk

— Jimmy Royal (@Jimmy_Royal57) July 20, 2020

Excited to receive a D1 offer from the University of Dayton! @DaytonFootball @THECoachSteiner pic.twitter.com/62L7JNfr4t

— Josh Miller (@joshmilla_) July 20, 2020

Excited to be offered the opportunity to be part of the #1 scoring offense in FCS! @daytonfootball @TheCoachSteiner #FlightMis21on pic.twitter.com/QwTI9YmDeP

— Eli Jochem⁵ (@EliJochem) July 21, 2020

After a great talk with @THECoachSteiner I am thrilled to have earned an offer from The University of Dayton!!???????? #GoFlyers #FlightMis21on @C_Bry2 @RChamberlin_UD @DaytonFootball pic.twitter.com/flZAI4YBHs

— Charley Rossi (@CharleyRossi1) July 22, 2020

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: North Catholic, Pine-Richland, Seneca Valley, South Fayette