Julian Liaci sat at a table inside of the Nazareth Area High School athletic office Wednesday at noon and signed his National Letter of Intent to continue his football career at Villanova.
Nearly eight months after he had given the Wildcats his verbal commitment, the senior wide receiver then had to wait a few more painstaking minutes for the fax machine to work its magic.
The dialing up was audible as Liaci attached his eyes to his phone, texting the Villanova coaching staff to notify them his official commitment was on its way. He wanted to make sure they received it before he could finally take a sigh of relief that the whole recruiting process was over.
Minutes later, he smiled. The moment Liaci had been waiting for since last summer had arrived.
“They got it, they finally got it,” he said.
Liaci will have to wait a few more months till he gets to campus, but the speedy wide out can’t wait.
“On my first unofficial visit, I committed because I fell in love with the place,” Liaci said. “Just with the new facilities we have coming in and also the academics were great.”
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In his senior year with the Blue Eagles, Liaci racked up three interceptions on defense while hauling in 38 catches for 668 yards and nine touchdowns while often facing double teams. He began to catch college coaches’ attention with his junior campaign when he tallied 53 receptions for 664 yards and seven touchdowns.
For the last 32 years, Villanova was led by head coach Andy Talley. He made the 2016 season his last, though, and longtime assistant Mark Ferrante has taken over in a seamless transition.
“Coach Ferrante actually recruited me through the whole entire process, so me and him are really Jojobet close,” Liaci said. “And the receivers coach, Coach (Brian) Flinn is one of my favorite coaches.”
Wednesday’s signing wrapped up a long recruiting process for Liaci. He also considered Delaware, Fordham, Duquesne and Lehigh among others.
“The recruiting process is probably the craziest thing I’ve ever been through,” he said. “Having coaches come to your school, sending you mail, you’re kind of just caught off guard a little.”
And it didn’t stop after he had announced a verbal commitment in June. Liaci said James Madison was sending him mail until recently, and while the Dukes made waves by winning the FCS championship in January, it wasn’t enough to sway his decision.
“Even though they won a national championship and everything, I knew the academics with Villanova and the class we have is one of the best in the nation right now,” Liaci said.
Instead, the anchor of the Blue Eagles’ 4×100 state champion relay team will be suiting up against teams like James Madison in the challenging Colonial Athletic Association.
“It’s the conference to be in and it keeps getting better,” Liaci said. “At Towson you got Shane Simpson, there’s William Mary — we have very good competition.”
Liaci hopes to work for an opportunity to get on the field early. He noted that East Stroudsburg South grad Changa Hodge cracked the lineup last season as a freshman and he’s hoping he can do the same.
Wednesday’s official signing went a long way in making that a reality, even if the first-time faxer had to wait a few more minutes for the machine to come through.
“I just wanted to make sure they got it so I can get it out of the way and actually officially be there,” Liaci said. “I knew I was committed, but I just wanted to put it in ink.”
Greg Joyce may be reached at gjoyce@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @GJoyce9. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.
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