St. Anselm has QB options
"The more athletes you have and the more leaders you have the better off you'll be in the long run."
-- St. Anselm coach Patrick Murphy
Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com
Patrick Murphy said one of his goals as St. Anselm College's head coach is to have depth at every position. It appears he's reached that goal in at least one area: quarterback.
The Hawks have talented QBs like Hampton Beach has sand. The depth chart at quarterback includes three new faces: University of New Hampshire transfer Mike Pierce; Matt Grimard, who led Dracut High School to the Division IA Super Bowl title last season; and Pat Orlando, a record-setting QB from Manchester Essex Regional High School in Manchester, Mass.
There's also holdover Marc Wilson (pictured), who was named the ECAC Division II Rookie of the Year last season, when he set St. Anselm single-game records for rushing attempts (36) and rushing yards (285) as well as the program's single-season rushing record (1,214 yards) in Murphy's first year as St. Anselm's head coach.
"We inherited a program that hasn't had a lot of depth," Murphy said. "I think we'll be pretty solid there (at QB) for the next four, possibly five years. We are going to recruit athletic quarterbacks."
Pierce, who has already enrolled at St. Anselm, played for Andover (Mass.) High School, and holds the Andover record for career passing yards (3,826) and career touchdown passes (37). He became Andover's starting quarterback with four games left in his sophomore season. UNH, UMass and Northeastern were among the schools that recruited him out of high school.
Murphy, who came to St. Anselm's after guiding the Dracut (Mass.) High School program, coached against Pierce in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Dracut and Andover both compete in the Merrimack Valley Conference.
"I got a call from one of Mike's assistant coaches (in high school)," Murphy said. "At that point we were operating under the assumption that Matt Grimard was going to be a Division I-AA recruit.
"UNH was looking to move (Pierce) to the defensive side of the ball. He wanted to play quarterback. We're looking at him as a quarterback."
Next came a commitment from Orlando in early February. While at Manchester Essex, Orlando set the school record for career touchdown passes (54). He threw 25 TD passes during his senior season, which ended with a victory over Tri-County in the Division IV Super Bowl.
"He knew all the things about our quarterback situation and he wasn't afraid to compete," Murphy said.
Grimard may have been the biggest surprise. Many thought Grimard would play a year of prep school before signing with a Division I program, but he passed on an offer from UMass and made a verbal commitment to St. Anselm earlier this month.
Murphy coached Grimard for three years at Dracut and called him a New England high school version of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow because of his size (6-foot-4, 240 pounds), his ability to run and because he throws left-handed.
Grimard rushed for 1,412 yards and 31 touchdowns last season, when he also completed 147-of-241 passes for 2,239 yards and 20 TDs
"I think all three of these guys are big catches," Murphy said. "We think all three are exceptional players. Football is important to all of them."
Murphy certainly hasn't forgotten about Wilson, who is one of the fastest players in the Northeast-10. Wilson helped St. Anselm post a 2-8 record in 2008, which was a step forward for a program that began the year with a 29-game losing streak. That streak ended at 34 games when St. Anselm defeated Merrimack College.
Wilson was primarily a defensive player during a year of prep school at Bridgton Academy in North Bridgton, Maine.
"He was a complete surprise," Murphy said. "He really made the whole thing go."
So Murphy will have some decisions to make between now and the start of the 2009 season. He'll have to decide who will play quarterback, and, perhaps, who won't.
"Could any of these guys play other positions and help us right away? Absolutely," Murphy said. "Will they? That's to be determined.
"With this type of competition at the marquee position, we can't help but benefit from it."
