Nutley High School senior Craig Merkle (with cap) signs his national letter of intent
to attend Wagner College in Staten Island on a football scholarship. From
left are mother Nancy, sister Karly, brother Kevin and father Kevin.
There was never any doubt who was the most talented of the football-playing Merkle brothers of Nutley was, namely the youngest of the lot, Craig, currently a senior at Nutley High School.
Older brothers Chris and Kevin were grid standouts in their own right with the Maroon Raiders, but it was always believed that Craig was the one who stood out the most.
Last week, it was proven to be fact, when Craig Merkle signed his national letter of intent to attend Wagner College and play football for the Seahawks next fall.
Merkle rushed for 1,355 yards and scored 17 touchdowns last season for the Maroon Raiders, leading Nutley to the No. 2 seed in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group III bracket. The 6-foot, 220-pound Merkle also scored two touchdowns as a receiver out of the backfield.
Merkle had three games last season when he eclipsed 200 or more yards rushing with his high water mark being a 310- yard game against Belleville. He rushed for more than 3,000 yards in a Maroon Raider uniform.
“It feels great,” said Merkle, who signed his letter of intent with his father, Kevin, Sr., mother Nancy, sister Karly and brother Kevin present. “It feels like a weight has been lifted off my back. I had a lot of schools pulling out or coming in late. I had a few offers from some (NCAA) Division II schools and a bunch of Division IIIs. I didn’t think that getting a Division I scholarship was going to happen, but Wagner called me about four or five days after Christmas and told me that if I didn’t have any other offers, then they were willing to offer me.”
Merkle made his mark mostly as a running back in high school, but Wagner seems more interested in using him as a linebacker. Ironically, Merkle didn’t play much defensively this season because of a nagging injury that limited him to strictly playing offense.
“They may move me to offense,” Merkle said. “We have to wait and see.”
Merkle said that he visited the Staten Island campus recently and fell in love with the place.
“The campus is beautiful,” Merkle said. “They have small classrooms and I really wanted to have something small like that. I didn’t like a big school. The coaching staff there is great. They have a good bunch of guys there. It’s only 45 minutes from home, so my family can come up to the games.”
Merkle said that his final choices were Southern Connecticut and Pace, as well as Kutztown and East Stroudsburg on the Division III side.
Merkle admitted that he was a little shocked that he didn’t get more interest from colleges.
“I have to say I was a little disappointed,” Merkle said. “I sent out a lot of emails to schools. A lot of people said that they watched my films, but they wanted for me to have an exact time in the 40- yard dash that they were looking for. It started to get really frustrating when I saw all the other guys in the state getting offers, guys I played against. I didn’t understand it.”
More than likely, it was Merkle’s lack of height that cost him in the long run. If he was perhaps two inches taller and 20 pounds heavier, then there would have been more offers. It’s hard to tell by watching a highlight reel just how quick Merkle is. No one can put a stopwatch to a highlight reel. The game of recruiting is not an exact science.
But one thing is for certain: Craig Merkle is a football player and a very good one at that, the lone athlete in the Observer circulation area to be named as Athlete of the Week three times – once each as a sophomore, junior and senior. That alone says a lot.
Nutley head coach Tom Basile was excited that his player is getting a chance to play college football as a scholarship player, much like Matt Delmauro did for Bucknell and Craig Palma did for Lehigh.
“It’s great that Craig gets to go Division I,” Basile said. “I was glad to see Wagner get on the radar. I’m very excited for him. Traditionally, we’ve been pretty good in sending our kids to college and getting recruited. Wagner is a great school that started their season last fall playing at BYU (Brigham Young University in Utah). Wagner has put a lot of funds into their football program. Craig showed interest there and they showed interest in return. It worked out well.”
Basile said that Merkle’s signing serves as a motivation for other Nutley athletes.
“We have some kids who can play at the next level,” Basile said. “We’re taking some of our sophomores down to Rutgers next week for their sophomore day.”
Basile gave Merkle the highest of compliments.
“I’ve been involved with Nutley football for 12 years now and Craig Merkle is the best all-around football player I’ve had the pleasure of coaching,” Basile said. “He’s a great all-around football player in every facet of the game. Off the field, his leadership was tremendous. They come around once in a career, kids like Craig Merkle.”
Basile said that senior Nick Santamuro has declared his intentions to attend Kean University in the fall. Devin White and Devin Merritt should also play college football somewhere next fall, but have yet to decide.
Merkle is overjoyed to become a member of the Wagner program.
“All the hard work I put in has finally paid off,” Merkle said. “I’m getting a chance to play college football at a great school on a scholarship. I’m happy how it all worked out.”
Merkle said that he will major in business management at Wagner. He said that he also never got into a competitive aspect with his brothers about where they ended up in college, but Chris and Kevin both went to Montclair State (Kevin is still an offensive tackle for the Red Hawks).
“My brothers have been nothing but supportive of me,” Craig Merkle said. “I’m just proud that all three of us got Division I looks.”
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Jim Hague | Observer Sports Writer
Sports Writer Jim Hague was with The Observer for 20+ years — and his name is one of the most recognizable in all of sports journalism. The St. Peter’s Prep and Marquette alum kicked off his journalism career post Marquette at the Daily Record, where he remained until 1985. Following shorts stints at two other newspapers, in September 1986, he joined the now-closed Hudson Dispatch, where he remained until 1991, when its doors were finally shut.
It was during his tenure at The Dispatch that Hague’s name and reputation as one of country’s hardest-working sports reporters grew. He won several New Jersey Press Association and North Jersey Press Club Awards in that timeframe.
In 1991, he became a columnist for The Hudson Reporter chain of newspapers — and he remains with them to this day.
In addition to his work at The Observer and The Hudson Reporter, Hague is also an Associated Press stringer, where he covers Seton Hall University men’s basketball, New York Red Bulls soccer and occasionally, New Jersey Devils hockey.
He’s also doing work at The Morristown Daily Record, the very newspaper where his journalism career began.
During his career, he also worked for Dorf Feature Services, which provided material for the Star-Ledger. While there, he covered the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets.
Hague is also known for his announcing work — and he’s done PA work for Rutgers Newark and NJIT.
Hague is the author of the book “Braddock: The Rise of the Cinderella Man.”