High School: Michael Landolfi talks about his decision to reclassify at Lawrence Academy

Posted By on April 13, 2022

Junior quarterback Michael Landolfi announced on Sunday that he was leaving Hanover High School to transfer to Lawrence Academy. Landolfi will reclassify at LA and repeat his junior year.

According to Landolfi, the decision to reclassify came down to two things.

“I chose to go Lawrence Academy because the school has a great athletic and academic program that will allow me to further develop the skills I will need for college.” Landolfi added: “I am very young for my grade and Lawrence Academy is giving me an opportunity to get to the next level. I feel confident this is my best opportunity for me at this stage of my life.”

The decision to transfer has been a difficult one for Landolfi. He is a Hanover kid. That coupled with the fact that his father Chris is the head football coach at the school made the decision even harder.

“Hanover is the only town and community I know and all my friends, teachers, and a lot of my family live in Hanover making my decision to transfer to Lawrence and leaving Hanover an emotional one filled with sadness and excitement.” Landolfi continued, “The decision was very difficult not just for me but for my family as well. My Dad is the head coach at Hanover, and I grew up with my teammates and classmates so this is all I know, but I also know that I have to stretch beyond my comfort zone and experience another environment. I love Hanover and all it has shared with me and will always consider myself a Hawk!!”

There is no guarantee that by reclassifying, Landolfi will get more offers. He knows it is all about his development as a player and what he does on the field that will generate interest.

“I have been grateful to have been asked to attend multiple recruiting events for various schools and it has been very fun and exciting. I am young for my age and reclassifying will allow me to develop physical, mentally, and emotionally allowing myself to be better prepared for college.”

Landolfi transferring not only benefits him but it benefits Lawrence Academy as well. The Spartans lost quarterback Ryan Puglisi after last season. The highly touted Puglisi transferred to Avon Old Farms.

Transferring to Lawrence Academy will allow Landolfi to work with head coach Jason Swepson. Swepson played at Boston College and was a long time FBS assistant and the former head coach at Elon. Swepson has plenty of experience with the recruiting process so he can certainly help Landolfi develop and position him to get offers.

It is not often that a player leaves a program where his father is the head coach to reclassify somewhere else. The Landolfi’s did what they thought was best for their son. I am sure that it was a difficult decision but one that could benefit their son in the long term.