Koonce Banking on Senior Year

After spending nearly the entire summer participating with his team in 7-on-7 tournaments Carlton Koonce is now ready to get down and dirty as his team starts practicing on Monday. He currently holds two scholarship offers, but with a strong senior season that could change for the better.

Carlton Koonce, a 5-foot-8, 162-pound running back from Rancocas Valley Regional High School in Mount Holly, N.J., has been offered scholarships by Stony Brook and Hofstra and is hoping a strong September will be the difference between two options and three, four or five options.

“I have been talking to Pittsburgh, Albany, Connecticut, James Madison and Middle Tennessee a lot recently,” Koonce stated. “They have just told me that they want to see some senior film. I know right now that some of those schools definitely have me higher on their boards than others.”

“I do like Pittsburgh a lot,” Koonce explained. “I talk to Coach (Tony) Wise every single week and like to keep in contact with him. He said they will be taking a good amount of running backs this year, so I’m just trying to keep in touch with him. They said that they like me, but want to see how I look this season and then re-evaluate me. Like I said, I’m just trying to keep that steady flow of contact with Coach Wise.”

As a junior, Koonce carried the ball 120 times for 830 yards and seven touchdowns. On defense, he had 40 tackles and three pass breakups. He was named first-team All-Conference.