Former Shrewsbury teammates reunite at Holy Cross

WORCESTER – Through the first two weeks of camp, Holy Cross junior defensive end Cooper Ackerman has taken the majority of his reps on the right side, which means he has been lining up across from senior left tackle Brad Blattner.

The practice matchup is a familiar one for the former Shrewsbury High teammates.

“It’s kind of like an age-old competition,” Blattner said during HC’s media day at Fitton Field Aug. 12. “At this point, we’ve taken a million reps against each other, but it never gets old. It’s definitely still fresh.”

Ackerman began his collegiate career at the University of Connecticut, but playing opportunities never materialized, the Huskies switched coaches after last season and Ackerman transferred to Holy Cross in January, reuniting him with Blattner, his two-year Shrewsbury teammate.

“I was super surprised,” Blattner said, “but really excited because he’s a great player and exactly what we need for the team. I knew he was going to fit in really good with the guys. He became part of the team really quickly.”

When Holy Cross coach Dan Curran was at Merrimack, he recruited Ackerman, and the former HC staff offered Ackerman when he was starring for the Colonials.

“I’m fitting in pretty well,” Ackerman said. “It was such a smooth transition. Our defensive coaches aren’t going to sugar coat anything; they’re going to push you and make you better.”

The 6-foot-6, 310-pound Blattner made his first career start as a sophomore at Syracuse in 2024 before 43,000 fans. He went on to start five games at left tackle that season. Blattner made 10 starts at the position last season.

“Brad’s care factor is through the roof and he plays super physical,” Curran said. “He’s a great teammate. The big thing we want to do is instill confidence in him so that he can play at an elite level all the time. What I’ve seen over the summer and the first two weeks of the preseason is that confidence is at an all-time high and the result is he’s playing his best football.”

Blattner, whose first sport was basketball, never played football before trying out for Shrewsbury his sophomore year. COVID and a broken arm disrupted his high school career, but he was a Division 1 Mass. High School Football Coaches Association all-star as a senior.

Blattner played in just one game as a freshman at HC, but he made remarkable strides the next offseason and earned a spot on the two-deep to open his sophomore year.

Blattner has continued to develop.

“I think over this past year I’ve been able to make some big jumps,” Blattner said. “I credit a lot of that to our new offensive line coach (Joe Kreinsen). He’s done a great job helping me work on my technique and my confidence as a player. I’m really excited to get out there and show what sort of strides I’ve made.”

The Crusaders open the season Aug. 29 against Lehigh at Fitton Field.

The 6-4, 260-pound Ackerman, who totaled 86 tackles, 4½ sacks and 2 forced fumbles his junior season at Shrewsbury, was one of 15 transfers HC brought in this year.

“He’s been an unbelievable fit in the locker room,” Curran said, “and he’s going to be playing significant minutes at both defensive end spots. He continues to develop and we’re excited to see where he projects, not just for this year but for next year as well.”

Senior edge Carlo Crocetti, who led the Crusaders with eight sacks in 2025, has been a great motivator, Ackerman said.

“Carlo is a big pass rush guy and that’s an area of my game I need to improve on,” Ackerman said. “When we go one-on-one with the offensive line, he’s always there giving me pointers and tips and tricks to help me out.”

At Shrewsbury, Blattner and Ackerman played for coach John Aloisi, a former Crusaders captain and 2000 Holy Cross graduate.

“When I was getting recruited he was super excited for me to get the opportunity to come here,” Blattner said.

The day Ackerman made his decision to transfer to Holy Cross, he talked with Aloisi.

“He was very on board with me coming here,” Ackerman said.

—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JenTandG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Former Shrewsbury teammates reunite at Holy Cross