My varsity letter sweater is in my room at home. I'm quite proud of it. I had visions of wearing it at a far-off reunion, but I got a medium, and the Food Court Philly cheesesteak is working diligently to make that decision a regrettable one. I walked on to the golf team at the beginning of sophomore year, and making the team was a pretty big accomplishment for me. Unfortunately, no one else seems to care.
In fact, a fairly significant percentage of the student body appears surprised to learn that we do, in fact, have a golf team. Everyone, however, knows we have a football team. So, rather than relay to you what it feels like to beat the snot out of Harvard in golf, I decided to find out what it's like to be one of the foci of campus attention. Ryan Fuselier '06 will give us a rundown on the experience.
The D: How does the team look going three games into your final season? You've gotten off to a tough start, can the team bounce back?
RF: Our team has made huge progress from last year. We had the two toughest opening games in all of D1-AA football this year with #19 Colgate followed by #1 UNH. Those two games have prepared us in the best way possible for Ivy League play. We are going to be very successful in the Ivy League this year. Anyone can win the league, there is no dominant team.
The D: How has the loss of Josh Cohen '09 influenced the team dynamic? Any concerns about how the quarterback position has been shaping up?
RF: [Tom] Bennewitz '08 and [Mike] Fritz '07 have done a great job handling the quarterback duties this year. They both have stepped up as leaders. The loss of Cohen has not affected the team dynamic at all. We have moved on and I wish him the best of the luck in returning next year.
The D: What it was like coming in thinking you were going to play quarterback and ending up as a wideout? Has your quarterback experience helped you as a receiver?
RF: I really thought I was going to be a quarterback here, but when I came in Charlie Rittgers '06 and Dan Shula '06 and the upperclassmen QBs had a step up on me. They came from passing high schools and I came from a triple-option high school. So I was already behind. The coaches had a meeting with me during preseason of my freshmen year and thought I was athletic enough to move to receiver. I was willing to do it because I wanted to get on the field so bad. Things turned out for the best after that switch.
Being a quarterback helps me read defenses better and gives me a better grasp of how routes are designed to find specific holes in defenses.
The D: How did the coaching change midway through your career impact the team?
RF: It was a fresh start that we needed. Coach [Buddy] Teevens and the staff he brought with him are the best coaching staff I have ever played for. The have the program moving in the right direction, and they have brought back the passion and toughness that Dartmouth football is known for. This program is returning to Ivy League dominance.
The D: What's it like being an '06 still on campus? Have you taken on the sage, team advice guy role at all? What would the '03's and '04s say about that?
RF: [Laughs] Yeah, it's weird being an '06, especially seeing how young and little all the freshmen look. It's nice to have [Mike] Rabil '06, Bash, [Brian] Osimiri '06 and [Mike] Shannon '06 returning as '06s as well. It's funny too, because it's us '06's that are so freakin' sore all the time. Our bones are brittle and we are already getting tendinitis all over our bodies. Go in the training room any day during the week and you will see the '06s in there. It's our new hangout place. We are keeping the football locker room traditions living and trying to teach the freshmen to quit being so uptight in the locker room and loosen up. I think the freshmen are intimidated by Mike Shannon's stunning body and God-like features; and his heroic shark bite story always impresses the freshmen. He is the true sage of the '06 football players.
The D: Are the '10's too young for you to hook up with?
RF: Got to admit the admissions did a great job with the '10's. No comment on the hooking up part, but yeah ... very impressed with the '10's this year. I think the rest of the football team would agree. I know that receivers Phil Galligan '09 and Andrew Von Kuhn '09 get caught staring at the '10's a lot at the Hop and Food Court, but they are too shy to introduce themselves, so they have me do it.
