Lehigh ranks No. 17 in HERO Sports’ FCS Preseason Top 25.
The Mountain Hawks finished 9-4 last year, losing 34-13 at Idaho in the FCS second round.
Here’s a look at the 2025 Lehigh football squad.
Returning 2024 FCS All-Conference Players (8)
1st Team
OL Langston Jones
DL Matt Spatny
DL TJ Burke
DB Nick Peltekian
2nd Team
RB Jaden Green
RB Luke Yoder
WR Geoffrey Jamiel
OL Aidan Palmer
RS Nick Peltekian
D1 Transfer Portal Movement
Transfers Coming In From The FCS (0)
Transfers Coming In From The FBS (2)
Jake Macce (OL), Duke
Spencer Dow (OL), ODU
Transfers Lost To The FCS (1)
Jordan Adderley (DB) to Villanova
Transfers Lost To The FBS (0)
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Offensive Outlook
Last season, Lehigh led the Patriot League in rushing offense at 201.8 YPG and was tops in rushing touchdowns with 31. The Mountain Hawks bring back their duo of All-Patriot running backs, Jaden Green and Luke Yoder, as they threaten to assemble another leading ground game this fall. It helps that the offensive line welcomes back right guard Langston Jones, who has started all 35 games of his career and takes 754 snaps from a year ago into his senior campaign. Jones is 6-foot-3 and 325 pounds as he gears up for his last year of eligibility.
Left tackle Aidan Palmer (6-4, 285) recorded 653 snaps in 2024 and is back, as is right tackle Christian Curatolo (6-4, 290) with his 561 snaps from ’24. That makes this o-line a seasoned one even after the departure of longtime center George Padezanin. Both FBS transfers joining Lehigh this season are on the offensive line: Spencer Dow (6-3, 290 with center experience) chose the Mountain Hawks over seven other FCS offers, and Jake Macce (6-5, 290) is a former preferred walk-on at Duke.
All hands on that unit should be enough for Yoder to build his numbers as a junior, as he’s been productive since his early days at Lehigh. The Palm Harbor, FL native was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award in 2023 and was Lehigh’s first 1,000-yard rusher in seven seasons last year.
Green (777 rushing yards in ’24) is a sophomore this season, making him a classmate of quarterback Hayden Johnson. Johnson finished his freshman season in style, earning consecutive Patriot League Rookie of the Week awards to end the regular season before going 14-of-18 for 199 yards with two touchdown passes in the first round win at Richmond.
Johnson has at his disposal Geoffrey Jamiel, who took 742 snaps for a team-high 768 receiving yards a year ago. That’s not to mention receiving yards runner-up Mason Humphrey (587), also returning after starting all games last time out.
Minimal Division I portal movement for Lehigh checks out on this side of the ball, as retention was the story for this playoff-caliber offense’s continuity.
Defensive Outlook
Lehigh boasts the Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in DL Matt Spatny (6-2, 250). Spatny racked up 11.5 of his 16.5 career sacks last season in 12 games at defensive end. TJ Burke (6-2, 305) joins Spatny on the defensive line, having combined with him for 1,011 snaps in 2024 on the way to Burke’s 10.5 TFLs at nose guard.
Seven of the Mountain Hawks’ top 10 defensive snap takers from last season are in the picture in 2025, as DB Jordan Adderley (grad transferring to Villanova), LB Mike DeNucci, and DB Andrew Worthy are the only exits in the group.
Senior LB Brycen Edwards led Lehigh with 90 tackles as a junior, followed by DB Nick Peltekian’s 74 stops in third place (behind DeNucci).
Lehigh was No. 1 in the Patriot in scoring defense last year, surrendering 21.6 PPG and yielding fewer than 20 points eight times against FCS opponents. 2025 season opener foe and new league mate Richmond mustered 16 points in last fall’s first round despite gaining 345 yards of offense against the Mountain Hawks.
In short, the Spiders will be an interesting first test for the 2025 Lehigh defense, as Lehigh is the last unit that UR has seen in live action. Lehigh gets both Richmond and Holy Cross at home on the schedule.
More than half of Lehigh’s 14 interceptions that tied for first in the conference a year ago are back this season, including safety Peltekian’s four picks, which were second in the league.
The Mountain Hawks’ two staff changes entering this season are on defense, as former defensive line coach Demeitre Brim is now a defensive analyst at UCF, and former linebackers coach Ben Thaw joined Austin Peay as safeties coach. The new DL and LB coaches at Lehigh are Jeff Comissiong and Tom Jurkovec, respectively — both came from FBS Boston College.
The pair will appreciate having senior LB Tyler Ochojski, who turned in seven QB hurries for the 2024 team’s best.
2025 Preseason Preview Central
Lehigh Football Schedule
8/30 vs (RV) Richmond
9/6 vs Sacred Heart
9/13 at Duquesne
9/20 at Bucknell
9/27 vs Penn
10/4 vs Yale
10/11 at Columbia
10/25 at Fordham
11/1 vs Georgetown
11/8 vs Holy Cross
11/15 at Colgate
11/22 at Lafayette
Bold indicates Patriot League games
RV = Received votes in HERO Sports’ Preseason Top 25
