LIU’s Going to Need a Bigger Boat: Gets 3rd OL Commit, Rob Yakovchuk
The offensive line factory on Long Island keeps humming.
After exporting four players to the FBS in 2024, the next batch of raw steel is heading in to be molded into the next great Sharks team. But you win football in the trenches in the Northeast, where the cold winter we’ve forgotten in July returns each season and turns football into a game of will and attrition. Speed kills, but you win with toughness here. The Sharks know that.
On July 2, Rob Yakovchuk became the third offensive lineman to commit to LIU in the 2025 cycle—and the third overall commit, period. At some point, it became evident that this is not a coincidence. It’s a factory blueprint.
At 6’4” and 302 pounds, Yakovchuk is the kind of physical presence you expect from someone raised in Brick, New Jersey—a town that sounds like it was engineered to produce trench talent. And LIU’s staff, led by OL coach Ian Pace, has been locking in those kinds of players early in this cycle. We had the chance to catch up with Yakovchuk about his commitment.
“Their upcoming class of recruits is strong,” Yakovchuk said. “And the coaching staff is top tier, with Coach Cooper, who was with Nick Saban at Alabama, and Coach Pace.” Nick Saban’s the best college football coach of all time- there’s no disputing this- but Coach Cooper isn’t exactly a slouch, either. He rates as probably a top 3 coach of all time at Eastern Michigan and parlayed that into the head role at Louisville. Now he’s building it up at one of the true sleeping giants in D1 ball. On his relationship with Pace, Yakovchuk told us he’s clicking with his future position coach. “We’ve built a good relationship ever since I met him at their camp I attended.”
It was at that camp, on the Brooklyn campus, where things moved from interest to offer.
“After I showed off my talents, both Coach Pace and Cooper were impressed and they decided to offer me on the spot,” Yakovchuk recalled. “I tried to keep a serious face while talking to Coach Cooper, but as soon as I turned to look at my dad on the sideline, my face lit up.”
Hard to blame him. LIU has become a landing spot for linemen looking to develop under one of the region’s most respected position coaches. And now, Yakovchuk joins a growing 2026 class that’s trench-built from the inside out.
And that factory in Brookville, NY keeps on humming, churning out another batch of stud OLs.
