‘Defensive stud’: CM grad Pentz looks to lead Lycoming defense once again
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When Ryan Pentz first arrived at Lycoming College, he expected to be finding himself in the Warriors backfield as a running back option. He ran for 845 yards his junior year with Central Mountain and averaged 6.6 yards per carry and 105.6 yards per game that year.
But he also was a solid defensive player in high school. One where he earned second-team all-state honors at cornerback. That's what caught longtime defensive coach Steve Wiser's eye.
Wiser told Pentz he should be playing defense.
"I was like 'ehh, I don't know,'" Pentz recalled of his first season at Lycoming. "As soon as I switched over, he kept harping on me so I was glad to do so."
And Lycoming is more than glad he switched to defense as well.
Sure, Pentz could be a solid running back, but being in the secondary is where he's a natural. The Central Mountain graduate transitioned to defensive back from running back and he became the team's top tackler last year with 47 stops and led the team and finished tied for second in the Landmark Conference with three interceptions.
"Now that I did switch over, I mean obviously when I was first doing it I was a little iffy about doing it. I didn't really know what to do, but as soon as I switched over, and especially after the end of my sophomore year and end of last year, I'm definitely glad," Pentz said. "Not only because I played well myself, but I was able to help out the team initially and continue to just keep playing hard and contribute to tackles,interceptions, stuff like that and make our defense better."
Pentz was a big reason that Lycoming held four teams to 20 or fewer points last year in Widener (12), HIlbert (0), Catholic (14), Juniata (0). The Warriors did have some lopsided losses last year, such as a 70-7 rout against No. 2 Cortland and a 55-7 loss to No. 6 Susquehanna, but the Warriors had talent on the defensive side of the ball. Playing nationally-ranked teams doesn't always allow that talent to shine through.
Pentz is hoping for another standout season this year to build off last year's 47-tackle performance.
"I definitely have those goals for myself. If I can replicate that again this year, that'd be amazing. That's definitely what I'm going to strive for," Pentz said. "The same goes for the back end. If I can break up a little bit more passes, continue getting interceptions and just making an impact on the entire game, that would definitely be a great thing to do this season."
Expectation wise though, Pentz expects the team to put wins on the board and be higher in the Landmark Conference after going 4-6 last year.
"To start off as a team, I expect to win. Come in and change the culture that we've been trying to build. Throughout the seasons, it just goes away. I'd like to start off strong, end strong and everywhere in between," Pentz said. "Individually, I can't really say much more than what I did earlier. I'm trying to compete, trying to lead the guys that are below me and help them learn how to play collegiate football and what needs to go on inside and outside of football."
Pentz noted that his mental game in football is one of his biggest strengths and being able to communicate with his teammates from the cornerbacks and linebackers to the defensive line.
While the season didn't end how Lycoming wanted to last year, Pentz did see positive takeaways defensively that the team can build off in 2025.
"I think we really did trust each other. I think we played well as a team and I think we can trust this team a little bit more this year, but especially during spring football, we just really came together," Pentz said. "I don't think there were any arguments. We are really playing as a team this year, so I think that's going to be a strength. We do have guys coming back that we had injured last year early that could have definitely made an impact, so we're definitely happy to see them coming back and see them doing pretty good."