DURHAM – Before he arrived on campus, Pop Lacey believed he had a shot of playing football for the University of New Hampshire as a true freshman. That’s part of the reason he chose UNH. But after the first few practices, Lacey was making phone calls home to Reading, Penn., with doubts.
“The first week was mind-boggling. My head was exploding with football,” Lacey said. “It’s a lot different coming from high school where you play three coverages instead of now we’re playing 15. So I was talking to my dad after practices before I go to bed like, ‘Hey, it might be a good idea for me to redshirt.’ ”
But Lacey soon adjusted to the collegiate game. He was running with the first team by the middle of preseason. He played in the season-opener at San Diego State, losing his redshirt as soon as possible. An injury to starter Rick Ellison forced Lacey into nearly 90 snaps of action in the second game of the season against Holy Cross, and he finished with 14 tackles and CAA Rookie of the Week honors.
Since then, Lacey has started both games for UNH (2-2) and he’s expected to make it three in a row Saturday against No. 17/19 William & Mary (2-2). He leads UNH in solo tackles (21) and is second on the team in total tackles (25).
Lacey isn’t the only true freshman starting in UNH’s five-man secondary. Cornerback Prince Smith, Jr., who has a team-high two interceptions, has also started the last two games and is listed as the starter for Saturday. Asked about true freshman defensive backs who have started, the first name UNH Coach Sean McDonnell brought up was Corey Graham, the former Wildcat who is now in his 10th year in the NFL.
Lacey has a long way to go before he reaches Graham’s level, but the young safety seems willing to put in the work it takes to grow.
“Just learning from everybody who is above me right now,” Lacey said when asked what he needs to do to keep improving. “And just making sure I don’t get complacent. Keep striving for more and more and more, surrounding myself with the right guys, surrounding myself with the right people who are ready to strive for more and more.”
That kind of humility will certainly help Lacey grow, especially when it’s mixed with his confidence.
“When we met him in recruiting … first thing that jumps out at you is confidence. And it’s not cocky or arrogant, it’s confident, and he really, really is engaged in all that’s going on,” McDonnell said. “And it didn’t matter if he came in here as the number three or four free safety, he wanted to start, he wanted to play.”
And that confidence shines through when Lacey is on the field.
“The thing I love about Pop is if he makes a mistake, he’s making it going 95 miles per hour,” McDonnell said. “It isn’t hesitating going, ‘Oh, shoot, I’ve got to get here.’ He goes. Even when he makes a mistake, he makes pretty good plays, so we appreciate that about him.”
William & Mary is one of the few teams UNH has struggled against under McDonnell, now in his 18th year as the Wildcats head coach. New Hampshire is just 2-11 against the Tribe with Coach Mac at the helm, although those two wins have come in the last four years and both in Durham – 28-25 in 2012 and 32-3 in 2014.
The Tribe has used a simple formula to find success against UNH and most everyone else it has played – a physical defense and a potent running attack. That was the case last year as William & Mary ran for 325 yards on 49 carries (6.6 average) and held UNH to just three second-half points in a 34-18 win in Williamsburg, Va. And the ’Cats are expecting more of the same this year.
“They have some very physical linemen, they’re linebackers are very stout, they’re very downhill,” UNH running back Trevon Bryant said of the Tribe defense. “So right now our game plan is stay physical, hold onto the ball, run downhill one cut and go so that’s our plan right now.”
Redshirt freshman Albert Funderburke is the Tribe’s leading rusher (39 carries for 294 yards), but he left last week’s 27-10 loss to Elon late in the first half with a leg injury, did not return to that game and is not listed on the two-deep for Saturday. But the ’Cats won’t get much of a break with senior Kendell Anderson starting for William & Mary – last year Anderson ran for 174 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries against UNH.
Tribe quarterback Steve Cluely has not been his usual efficient self so far this year – seven interceptions, four touchdowns, 66-for-117 for 811 yards. But Cluely, a senior, is a proven player in the CAA and could snap out of that funk at any time, and he’s got one of the top targets in the conference in DeVonte Dedmon (19 catches, 366 yards, three touchdowns).
“We recruited (Cluely). He’s a competitive kid,” McDonnell said. “He’ll be looking to come back and make an impression on everyone here on Saturday.”
Early in the third quarter of last week’s game at Rhode Island, the Wildcats needed a spark. They were coming off a loss to Dartmouth where they had blown a 14-point fourth quarter lead and they had just seen their lead at URI trimmed to 15-10.
Enter the 5-8, 182-pound Bryant. The junior powered a 75-yard drive with four carries for 31 yards and a touchdown. But it was the way Bryant ran – bulling over and through bigger defenders – that hyped the UNH sideline and helped lead the way to a 39-17 win.
“Big lift,” McDonnell said. “They love watching him because he’s a small guy and he plays very, very hard. He’s not little. There’s a big difference between being little and small.”
“They get rowdy on the sideline,” Bryant said. “They bring a lot of juice to the game and it’s very exciting when that happens … it gets me going.”
For the season, Bryant has gained 164 yards on 27 carries, a nifty 6.1 average, playing behind senior Dalton Crossan (369 yards on 66 carries). The diminutive Bryant, who is from St. Augustine, Fla., has set records in the UNH weight room, which is why he doesn’t shy away from the rough stuff.
“I don’t think I look for it, necessarily,” Bryant said, “but I don’t mind it if it comes.”