Grade-A talent helps title chase
By Amalie Benjamin, Globe Staff | December 14, 2006
AMHERST -- Tim Washington remembers that, among his Syracuse teammates, Division 1-AA college football wasn't given much respect. They mocked it, looking at it as "a joke" filled with "guys that really couldn't make it." Since transferring to a 1-AA program -- like 14 of his University of Massachusetts teammates -- Washington has realized just how misguided that idea was.
With the caliber of play in Division 1-AA rising -- witness New Hampshire's victory over Northwestern and UMass's near upset of Navy this season -- it has become ever more crucial for schools in NCAA football's second level to attract 1-A talent. Whether they do that sooner (high school recruits) or later (transfer students), players must reach the field.
Because just as pro franchises use free agents, coaches in 1-AA can plug transferring players into voids, getting veterans of the college game and lessening the acclimation period for some freshmen.
"I look at this year's situation, we had a couple of needs where older kids could have come in and been good fits for us, either junior college or 1-A," UMass coach Don Brown said yesterday, before his team left for Chattanooga, Tenn., in preparation for tomorrow's national title game against Appalachian State (ESPN2, 8 p.m.). "When you can get guys that fill needs right away and you don't need to bring them through the development process, it helps you become competitive in a hurry. Those guys have made very solid contributions in our program that have lent to our success."
After adding 10 1-A transfers to their roster this season, Brown and the Minutemen have 15 on the team, though many haven't had extensive playing time. Some, though, are making an impact, including Atlantic 10 second-team kick returner Courtney Robinson (from UConn), A-10 third-team tight end Brad Listorti (Rutgers), and reserve tailbacks Matt Lawrence (UConn) and Washington (who transferred as a graduate student after finishing his degree at Syracuse). In all, 10 of the transfers have come from the Big East Conference, four each from Rutgers and UConn, plus one from West Virginia and one from Syracuse.
"A couple years ago, maybe not," Lawrence said of a school's need for 1-A talent to advance far into 1-AA postseason play. "I think it's starting to get that way. Everybody starts to transfer down, and you get more and more transfers. The league is starting to turn into [a branch of 1-A]. This year they even turned it into the Division 1 subdivision, instead of 1-AA. It's not a lower level of play anymore. It's starting to even out and balance out."
UMass, like most college programs, searches for players in four locations -- high schools, prep schools, junior colleges, and 1-A colleges. But players from 1-A colleges have something that others don't -- experience.
The transition, however, is not always easy. Because interspersed with a player's desire to tear through 1-AA competition and to reassert himself on the field, said Brown, can "come an arrogant attitude, like, 'I'm better than you.' "
But Brown quickly added that his current crop isn't like that. His 15 have banded together, helping to amass the 13 wins that have gotten the Minutemen to the brink of a national title. Fitting them -- and their desire and talent -- into available roster spaces has yielded a cohesive team, one that breaks ranks only to talk trash about their former schools.
"Definitely something to prove," said Listorti, who was stuck behind NFL prospect Clark Harris at Rutgers. "I know when I came here, that was the biggest thing with me, that's the reason why I came here. I always questioned myself. Can I be an effective player? You get to the point where you're not playing somewhere else and your confidence goes down. You really question yourself and you've got to prove it to yourself."
And, like all the transfers, to most everyone else. By coming to the Minutemen, they've given themselves another opportunity to show what they can do.
"This is a new breath of life," Brown said. "A second chance. They're certainly going to make the most of it."
And so, it seems, are the Minutemen.
UMass vs. Appalachian St.
What: Division 1-AA football championship
When: Tomorrow, 8 p.m.
Where: Chattanooga, Tenn.
TV/radio: ESPN2, WATD (95.9)
Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com.
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