NEW BERLIN – Milford Academy continues to send on NCAA Division I football prospects from lineman and linebackers, to receivers, defensive backs, and running backs.
While football insiders know the linemen, nearly every observer of college football knows about the running backs, especially Heisman hopefuls LeSean “Shady” McCoy and Shonn Greene.
McCoy is perhaps the most heralded University of Pittsburgh running back since Tony Dorsett. He rushed for over 1,300 yards as a freshman, and is on pace to eclipse that mark.
Greene, after two less-than-dynamic years at the University of Iowa and a year away from football due to academic problems, is having one of the best years in all of college football averaging over 140 rushing yards a game.
Add to the mix, Miami sophomore Graig Cooper, who is also on pace for a 1,000-yard season. “We’ve had some pretty special guys here, and we’ve built a tradition of 1-A running backs,” said Milford Academy head coach Bill Chaplick.
Greene was part of the first class that came through Milford Academy’s New Berlin site. McCoy and Cooper were actually on the same team two years ago before moving on in their college careers.
Greene, McCoy, and Cooper were all part of a exclusive selection process that Milford Academy uses each year in constructing its 70-man roster. As many as 1,600 football players each season have submitted applications for one of those roster spots, Chaplick said.
Chaplick, and his staff, go through each application, grade out game films, and eventually interview and work out players before making a decision. “We try to get the best 70 players possible,” Chaplick said, who also reviews players’ academic qualifications. “We now have a lot of linemen and linebackers playing division one football, but it’s the running backs and the quarterbacks that get the publicity.”
McCoy was recovering from an ankle injury sustained his senior year in high school when he entered Milford Academy. A five-star prospect, McCoy needed help in getting his grades up – which he did – and he also needed to drop about 25 pounds, Chaplick said. “He was on crutches the first day, but he had that big smile, and he wanted a career in the NFL,” Chaplick recalled. “We were able to clean him up and get him on the same page. I saw him recently at the Iowa-Pittsburgh game. He gave me a big hug and said he never would have gotten this far with me. You can’t get a better compliment than that.”
Cooper was a born leader and coach on the field, Chaplick said. He also served as a role model for McCoy. “LeSean never had a running back on the field who was an equal to him,” Chaplick said. “From the first game, after he stepped on the field, it was Graig’s team. He had the work ethic and heart. He also had great knowledge of football and knew every position.”
Greene has taken a winding road to his current standout status. At 5-foot-11 and 235 pounds, Greene runs north and south, and it’s served him well in his breakout season with nine straight 100-yard games and a 6.3 per carry average. “When Shonn left Milford five years ago, I thought he would already be in the NFL by now,” Chaplick said. “He’s a quiet guy, but he is totally focused on football and getting to the NFL. He got red-shirted for some academic problems, but he’s picked himself off the mat and is having a great season.”
Among this year’s running back class, Cam Artis-Payne, Jerome Larue, and Dominique Williams will likely sign a Division One scholarship in the upcoming months. They are now part of a fraternity of Milford Academy football players, and the ties run deep and long. “These guys stay in touch after they leave here, and wherever they go, the Milford Academy name stays with them until they reach the NFL,” Chaplick said.
That Milford Academy name may again be front and center in New York City at the Downtown Athletic Club when the Heisman Trophy winner is announced in December. Will Chaplick be there if Greene or McCoy are among the five finalists?
“Oh yeah,” he said.