Washington & Jefferson College football coach Mike Sirianni jokes that Nathan Harmotto is the least talented sibling in his family.

But Sirianni is certainly not complaining, considering Harmotto is entering his third year as a starter on the Presidents defense.

"We like to tease Nathan a little bit," Sirianni said. "His older sister, Christa, is one of the three best volleyball players in the country. She played at Penn State and will probably be playing for Team USA in the next Olympics.

"His younger brother will be the starting quarterback at Hopewell this year after starting on the basketball team last year as a sophomore. We're stuck with Nathan."

Harmotto is a 6-foot-4, 220-pound senior who graduated from Hopewell High School.

"Christa is in California training with the Olympic Team," said Harmotto, who is used to fielding questions about his famous sister.

"She is hoping to make the 2012 Olympic team. She actually played some professional ball in China. She's traveling all over the place. She does get to see a lot of the world. I'm proud of her and I'm proud to be her brother. I looked up to her when she was younger."

Sirianni chose Harmotto to accompany the W&J contingent to the Presidents' Athletic Conference preseason news conference.

"I had to bring Nathan. I had no choice. He lives one block from my house," joked Sirianni. "He's actually a great kid. Nathan is a perfect example of a Division III student/athlete. He is a Biology major with a 3.5 QPA, which is no easy task at W&J. He's also from a great family. He was raised the right way."

Harmotto was a three-year starter at outside linebacker and tight end at Hopewell.

"I got recruited by W&J the winter of my senior year," he said. "I was really intrigued by their pre-dental program, because I want to go into dentistry. I know they have a really successful pre-health program at W&J. That really drew me in.

"I was also impressed with the program and the great success coach Sirianni has had."

Harmotto is listed as a safety and linebacker.

"We run a 4-2-5 defense which uses three safeties: strong, weak and free," Harmotto said. "My role as strong safety is very similar to an outside linebacker. I do some blitzing, drop into coverage, and also provide support when the opponent runs the ball. It's very similar to the role I played in high school, but there wasn't as much pass coverage."

He is one of six starters returning on defense for the Presidents, who open their season Sept. 11 at Delaware Valley.

"I'm expecting a good year for us," Harmotto said. "We have a good group of starters returning on both sides of the ball and worked hard during the offseason.

"Our biggest concern on defense is that we lost most of our linemen to graduation. We also have a few other holes to fill, but I'm confident in the players who will be replacing them."

Washington & Jefferson had a 9-2 record last season, which included a 55-0 loss to Mount Union in the opening round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

"We didn't do as well as we wanted last season," Harmotto said. "We want to do better this year."

He will graduate in the spring, but still has a long way to go to complete his academic career.

"My plan is to attend dental school, so I still have four years of school ahead of me," Harmotto said. "I might take a year off before I start."

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