Can UNH Football Keep It Going

(08) (Nat sound of practice drills for opening)

FOR THE PAST THREE WEEKS, THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE FOOTBALL TEAM HAS BEEN PREPPING FOR ITS SEASON OPENING GAME.

THEY PLAY SATURDAY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS.

THE WILDCATS ARE COMING OFF LAST YEAR'S CINDERELLA SEASON., IN WHICH A
FRESHMAN QUARTERBACK, RICKY SANTOS, AND A SOPHOMORE WIDE RECEIVER, DAVID BALL, HELPED LEAD THEIR TEAM TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT.

IN ADDITION TO SANTOS AND BALL, THE WILDCATS RETURN SEVERAL STARTERS FROM LAST YEAR’S SQUAD.

AND AS THE NEW CAMPAIGN BEGINS, HOPES ARE HIGH FOR ANOTHER NCAA TOURNAMENT BERTH.

BUT THIS YEAR THE TEAM IS COMING BACK AS A FAVORITE

AND HEAD COACH, SEAN MCDONNELL, ISN’T SURE HOW HIS TEAM IS GOING TO HANDLE IT.

Sean McDonnell
(track 33) (14 sec) “I don’t know how the pressure has hit yet. We’re working to keep our feet on the ground. That’s what I thought we did last year Jim. I thought our kids, our coaches, the whole program, kept its feet on the ground throughout the whole season.”

SINCE THEIR RECORD BREAKING SEASON LAST YEAR, SANTOS AND BALL, HAVE BEEN NAMED TO SEVERAL PRE-SEASON FIRST TEAMS.

AND THEY ARE TWO OF THE 16 PRE-SEASON FINALISTS FOR THE WALTER PAYTON AWARD.

THAT GOES TO THE DIVISION ONE DOUBLE-A PLAYER VOTED BEST IN THE COUNTRY.

BUT BALL SAYS HE TRIES NOT TO PAY TOO MUCH ATTENTION TO ALL THE PRE-SEASON HYPE?

David Ball
(track 20) (16 seconds) “The way I approach this season is kind of like I’ve just got to let it come to me. If I try too hard to make sure I become an All American this year. If I’m looking at the numbers more than I should, that’s only going to hurt me. It’s something I need to concentrate on, the team aspect. We need to have another good season as a team.”

SANTOS AGREES.

Ricky Santos
(Track 27) (17 seconds) “I don’t really think about that. I just want to go out there and play. I really enjoy playing this game. I think if you think about that stuff, it gets your mind off the game, and it kind of gets your focus away. So, I really try to stay focused on our next task. I focused all camp taking it one game at a time. Right now, we are into game week. We’re going to UC-Davis and that’s the only thing I’m thinking about right now.”

LAST YEAR SANTOS BROKE ONE RECORD AFTER ANOTHER.

(BRIEF LIST….MAYBE LIKE LITTLE BULLET POINTS…????)

BUT DESPITE THOSE NUMBERS, ASSISTANT OFFENSIVE COACH CHIP KELLY, SAYS SANTOS HAS MADE HIMSELF EVEN BETTER IN THE OFF-SEASON.

Chip Kelly
(Track 05) ((16 sec) “I think the one thing that goes unnoticed with him is his work ethic. I talked with him at the end of the season last year that he needed to be more flexible. He was in here every day taking yoga classes. He needed to work on his speed. He did extra running. He needed to lift more. He’s lifted more. He’s got an unbelievable work ethic.”

SANTOS SAYS THERE’S A REASON FOR ALL THIS HARD WORK.

(Ricky Santos)
(Track 25) (15 seconds) “My biggest thing is winning. Doing whatever I can to make this team win. If I have to hand it off 50 times a game, and McCoy has 300 yards, so be it. If coach needs me to throw the ball 55 times, or we need to get the ball spread out, I can do that too. I’m just trying to do anything Coach Kelly needs me to do with the offense to win the game.”

MIKE GRANIERI WAS THE STAR QUARTERBACK WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO LEAD THE UNH TEAM TO THE PLAYOFFS LAST YEAR.

A SECOND PERIOD KNEE INJURY IN THE OPENING GAME ENDED THAT.

WITH THE SECOND STRING QUARTERBACK ALSO INJURED, AND THE THIRD STRINGER TRANSFERRING TO ANOTHER SCHOOL, SANTOS BEGAN HIS IMPROBABLE SEASON.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES.

AND ACCORDING TO COACH MCDONNELL, FOLLOWING A SUMMER IN DURHAM WITH 60 OTHER WILDCAT GRIDDERS, SANTOS IS NOW THE TEAM’S CLEAR LEADER.

Sean McDonnell
(Track 38) (17 seconds) “ He was around and he led the 7 on 7s. And, now I think the team has fallen into Ricky Santos. Last year, and rightfully so, he was behind Mike Granieri the whole time. A step behind because it was Mike’s team. Now, it’s Ricky’s team on the offensive side of the ball.”

FOLLOWING SATURDAY’S GAME IN CALIFORNIA, THE WILDCATS HAVE AN OFF-WEEK BEFORE TRAVELLING TO MARYLAND TO PLAY TOWSON UNIVERSITY, A CONFERENCE OPPONENT.

SANTOS AND HIS TEAMMATES DON’T HAVE A HOME GAME UNTIL DARTMOUTH GOES TO DURHAM ON SEPTEMBER 24TH.

FOR NHPR NEWS, I’M JIM JEANNOTTE