NEWARK — As a former quarterback, Ryan Carty sounds a little jealous of Jalyn Witcher.

The youngster was part of a Presbyterian College offense that believes in keeping its foot on the gas pedal all the time.

“He played in an offense that, man, they don’t punt,” said Carty, the first-year Delaware football head coach. “He knows how to play in a high-octane, fast-paced offense — which is what we hope to be.”

Carty believes that Witcher is one more player who can help the Blue Hens transition to their new style of offense.

The young wide receiver was one of three transfers that Carty announced on Wednesday as part of Delaware’s 2022 signing class. They join a group of seven high school seniors who signed letters of intent with the Blue Hens in December.

Along with Witcher, Delaware is bringing in a pair of grad students in receiver Michael Jackson, Jr. (VMI) and punter Ben Dinkel (South Dakota State).

As a freshman, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound Witcher finished with a school Division I-record 80 catches for 1,120 yards with 12 touchdowns. He had 100 receiving yards in six games, including five straight.

Witcher finished third in FCS in receptions/game (7.3), fourth in yards and sixth in receiving touchdowns. He was also a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the top freshman in FCS (finishing seventh in voting).

Playing in the Colonial Athletic Association should be a step up for Witcher, who will enroll at UD in time to take part in spring practice. Carty said he thinks the newcomer can line up either on the inside or outside.

“He’s a coach’s son,” said Carty. “He’s grown up in the game. He has really, really good ball skills and then he’s good with it after he catches it.

“Just the amount of catches he had — and it wasn’t always against the best competition in that league — but it is FCS ball. And as a true freshman, he produced. To be sure, he’s a guy who’s going to come in and add some value. We’ll see how much as the year goes on.”

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Jackson saw action in all four of his seasons at VMI. A year ago, he had 51 catches for a team-leading 695 yards with six touchdowns.

Dinkel punted only nine times last fall but averaged 44.6 yards. He punted a total of 86 times in his career over the last three seasons.

With the Jackrabbits, Dinkel punted against Delaware in the 2021 spring NCAA FCS semifinals and then against Sam Houston State — where Carty was an assistant — in the national title game.

The Hens might need a punter after starter Tyler Pastula announced in December that he planned to transfer. Pastula, though, hasn’t announced a new destination and is still on the Hens’ roster.

Asked if Delaware might bring in some more transfers, Carty said he sees recruiting as a year-round job.

“You’ll never hear me say anything other than we are actively trying to add value and talent to this roster at all times,” he said. “We are not going to stop recruiting.”

Carty also said he finds it pretty to recruit players to Delaware considering that he and some of his assistants are former Blue Hen players themselves.

“I think recruiting gets easy when you believe really strongly in your product,” said Carty. “It’s the same thing I learned in marketing and sales classes when I was at the University of Delaware.

“There’s enough guys on the staff that have gone through this process, have come to this university and have felt the kind of things that we’re trying to get these kids to feel. It kind of comes through. We’re all kids that wanted to come here.”

Follow Andy Walter on Twitter at @DSNSports.