For John Ferris, the choice of a college was made a little easier by taking the advice of a friend. Cameron Brooks, who was a year ahead of Ferris at Emmaus High School, made the choice to attend Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey.

Brooks’s head start in college allowed Ferris to get his thoughts on FDU and quickly close in on making a college choice.

“With my friend telling me what a great school it was, I kind of locked in on FDU fairly early,” admits Ferris. “When I went there on my visit and saw how great the campus was and found out more about the football program. I was really impressed.”

Another part of the decision to head to FDU was its location. Ferris investigated staying local and playing at Muhlenberg College, but felt it was a little too close to home.

“FDU is only an hour away, so it’s easy enough to get back to see my family but it doesn’t feel like I’m still at home,” said Ferris. “Plus, my family can still see me play and I actually have family in New Jersey, too, so it’s a great situation all around.”

While at Emmaus, Ferris played at both wide receiver and linebacker and has great memories of his time in the Hornets football program. He was impressed with how much help he received from the older players when he came in as a sophomore. By the time he left he had become one of the leaders. He remembers the younger players who were tasked with continuing to grow the program.

From the first time Ferris made his way into the starting lineup at Emmaus he found ways to make an impact.

He remembers that first game as one of his greatest memories.

“My first start came in the second game of my junior season,” said Ferris. “It was against Nazareth and I recorded a touchdown and we went on to win (43-42) in the final seconds. It was an amazing feeling and felt so great to contribute in a game like that.”

Ferris’ best game of his senior season was also against Nazareth when he pulled in four catches for 73 yards. In his senior season, Ferris finished with 18 catches for 207 yards.

Ferris is looking forward to new memories on the Knights football team. Academically, he will major in Finance at Fairleigh Dickinson University starting in the fall.