DURHAM – Ryan Farrell could’t find the words at first, but it didn’t matter. His face told the story as he grinned with delight.
“It’s hard to explain because we’ve been so used to what we were and what we had before with the old stadium, and just the thought of playing in the new stadium, even thinking about it now, it gets me juiced up,” Farrell, a senior captain and linebacker for the University of New Hampshire football team, said during Tuesday’s media day. “I’m so excited for Holy Cross (UNH’s home opener on Sept. 10) and to be able to run out of that tunnel. The old dungeon was always electric, but I can’t wait to see what this place brings.”
Farrell, who is from Westwood, Mass., was talking about what the crowd in the new Wildcat Stadium will bring. Everyone will have to wait until 7 p.m. on Sept. 10 to find that out, but there’s plenty of facts currently available about the new digs.
Wildcat Stadium has a seating capacity of 11,015 with 512 club seats and four suites. The old place, Cowell Stadium, had a seating capacity of 6,500 with no club seats and no suites. The new place has 14 concession windows, a 14-speaker sound system, 24,400 feet of fiber optic cable and 30 x 50-foot HD video board. Cowell had no concession windows, a 1-speaker sound system, no fiber optic cable and an 8 x 23 scoreboard.
Even though the new stadium is on the same site as the old one, there’s really no comparison.
The Wildcats are thrilled about their new home, but they will always have a place in their heart for Cowell, or as they like to call it, The Dungeon. For the ‘Cats, The Dungeon represented their gritty, blue-collar persona, something they believe has been instrumental in their run of 12 straight Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances, the best streak in the nation.
“We always try to play in The Dungeon and have that mind set,” said Casey DeAndrade, a senior captain and cornerback who has been named to a slew of preseason All-American teams. “But it’s great for the whole state of New Hampshire to be able to come in and see us here. The old stadium, we liked it, but not a lot of other people did, so I think the new stadium will bring more people and that will definitely help us out.”
In the end, what the Wildcats do inside the stadium will be more important than all the new seats and technology. And the upgrades in Durham won’t matter one bit when UNH travels to San Diego State for the season opener on Sept. 3.
“The kids and everybody is energized by it, it’s an unbelievable facility, but right now everything is focused on what’s going on on the other field (the practice field),” said Sean McDonnell, who has posted a record of 133-78 in his 17 years as UNH’s head man, including last year’s 7-5 mark. “The kids, we’ve very rarely talked about it. My staff hasn’t even been through it. We just go about and do our business.”
The players took care of their business over the summer by staying on campus, working out and strengthening their camaraderie.
“Since I’ve been here this is one of the best summers we’ve had,” Farrell said. “Coach Mac told us yesterday that this is the best we’ve done with our conditioning test results, and our lifting went really well. And I think the most important thing is we all got a lot closer as a group of teammates and that’s a big thing for us. Team chemistry is really important for us.”
Developing chemistry will be especially important in the UNH passing game. Gone is four-year starter Sean Goldrich, who brought loads of experience and chemistry to the table. Senior quarterback and captain Adam Riese has the inside track on the starting job, and he was definitely looking to deepen the connection between himself and the receiving corps over the summer.
“With the coaches not being able to be with us for field activity (during the summer), it’s great to learn the ability of the new guys and also build on what you have with the older guys and to just build that chemistry and work day in and day out,” Riese said.
Sophomore Trevor Knight, a Nashua South High product, was also in Durham over the summer working with the pass catchers … and with Riese.
“The big thing is that Trevor and Adam get a relationship and they got a great one going,” McDonnell said. “We talk about it all the time, older guys helping the younger guys out. And our quarterback situation, if you’ve ever been at a practice you’ve seen (former quarterback) Andy Vailas say something to Sean Goldrich, you see Sean saying something to Adam Riese. James Brady was a third-string guy talking to both those guys. That position has to have communication and they’ve got to let their egos go and help each other out.”
The quarterback position isn’t the only one turning over for the 2016 season. The Wildcats lost a total of five starters on offense and seven on defense. Those are big numbers, but McDonnell likes the potential of the ‘Cats looking to fill all those cleats.
“I’m very pleased with the way we’re running around, flying around,” McDonnell said. “We’ve got a lot of young kids. The one thing about these young kids, they’re very athletic, they’re in great shape, they’re very quick. Team speed has improved on both sides of the ball.
“I really believe the biggest thing is that we’re going to have figure out, like we did a couple years ago, can these guys play? I know they’re good enough to play in this league, but can they play consistently enough for us to have the opportunity to win? That’s what’s going to be the big question.”