Eichman, Duval make it official, will continue football careers at UNH

Two of the top high school football players from the Granite State finalized their collegiate plans Wednesday by signing a national letter of intent to play for the University of New Hampshire.

Merrimack’s Joe Eichman and Goffstown’s Andrew Duval both officially will be members of the Wildcats program in the fall, as they each signed about a week after announcing verbally that they had picked UNH.

Eichman, a running back and defensive back for the Tomahawks, posted on his Twitter account on Feb. 1 that he would be signing with the Wildcats, while Duval, a wide receiver and safety for the Grizzlies, did the same a day later.

The pair were two of 10 players who signed with UNH on Wednesday, bringing the team’s total number for the 2018 recruiting class to 18. This was the first time an early signing period was held in December, with the program announcing the other recruits then.

As a senior, Eichman led Merrimack with 1,715 all-purpose yards and scored 16 touchdowns, and finished his high school career with 4,735 total yards and 58 touchdowns. A captain for the Tomahawks as a junior and senior, in 2016, Eichman helped lead the team to its first playoff appearance in over 10 years, and it’s first playoff win in over 20.

“Joe is another highly productive, two-way player who is very explosive and dynamic,” UNH coach Sean McDonnell said in a press release. “He combines outstanding speed with great vision and quickness. Joe has a great knack for making big plays on both sides of the ball, and he will add athleticism to our team in many different areas.”

Duval, a starter for the Grizzlies since his sophomore year, was named New Hampshire’s Gatorade Player of the Year for 2017 and helped Goffstown reach the Division I semifinals. As a senior, he had 27 catches for 718 yards and also had five interceptions on defense. Duval added 16 total touchdowns, scoring on offense, defense and special teams.

“Andrew is an outstanding, multiple position prospect for us here at UNH,” McDonnell said. “He has the ability to make plays on either side of the ball. He has great vision and anticipation and his production has been off the charts. He had an outstanding high school career and has shown us his many talents and his competitiveness at many of our camps. He has a high football IQ combined with great quickness and speed.”

Both players were chosen to the West Team for the CHaD East-West NH Football All-Star Game in June. They will join 16 other former New Hampshire high school football players on the UNH roster for 2018.