After back-to-back road wins to start the year, the 2005 football team seemed poised to redeem a disappointing 2004 season. But an October collapse included a six-game losing streak, brought the Jumbos' final record to 2-6, and put the 2006 Jumbos in a similar position.
This time around, the Tufts has everything it needs to pull an about-face but has one main priority.
"We need to stay healthy," coach Bill Samko said. "That's something that's been a dramatic problem for us over the past two years. Some of that is just that it's football-it's a violent game, and people get hurt; that happens. But it seems to be happening to us a lot, so we're trying to change our approach."
If this year's Jumbos can avoid the injury bug, they could be ready for a productive season. At the heart of this year's squad is a solid core of returning starters on defense, led by senior defensive end Chris Decembrele.
Decembrele led the Jumbos with 74 tackles last season, and his 5.5 sacks were second in the NESCAC. He earned a spot on the New England Football Writers' Div. II-III All-New England Team as well as the All-NESCAC First Team.
In addition to Decembrele, junior linebacker Adam Arsenault and senior defensive backs Bryan McDavitt and Brett Holm all posted solid numbers in 2005 and should factor into the Jumbos' potential success this season.
On the offensive end, the team will be spearheaded by an untested quarterback, senior Matt Russo. Russo was sidelined last season with mononucleosis, and is being thrown into the starting role. But according to Samko, there's no need to worry about his quarterback, who has the poise and the intelligence to succeed this season.
"[Russo] understands the system," Samko said. "We're doing the same things we've been doing for the past three or four years."
Russo replaces 2006 graduate Casey D'Annolfo, who led the lackluster offense of the 2005 Jumbos. In addition to D'Annolfo, the team has to fill the void left by running back Scott Lombardi, a 600-yard rusher last season. Samko will look to sophomore Will Forde to carry the ball, while a receiving core of seniors Brian Von Ancken and Steve Menty and sophomore David Halas will be Russo's targets downfield. Meanwhile, an oft overlooked component of the Jumbo offense may prove to be the key.
"I'd look more at the offensive line than at the skill positions," Samko said. "And I like what I'm seeing in that group of guys."
That group includes several upperclassmen who will return their skills and experience to the O-line.
"[Senior Ryan] McGeary is doing a great job at center, [senior] Max Hatfield and [junior] Tommy Ames are really starting to gel together at left guard and tackle, and [senior] Tim Lind is doing well as always," quad-captain Brian Schurko said.
"We also have a couple of other guys, like [junior] Dan Walsh and [sophomores] Dave Libardoni and Geoff Kramer who could probably start at any of the other NESCAC schools," Schurko continued.
The Jumbos start off the season with two consecutive home games, taking on Hamilton tomorrow in the season opener and tackling Bates on Homecoming weekend-two teams who finished a combined 3-13 last year.
Tufts has a chance to pick up a couple of early victories, which it may need as it will face much stiffer competition on the road. After Bates comes Bowdoin, a solid team who finished last season 6-2, followed by the Trinity Bantams, who have dominated the NESCAC for the past four years and is in the midst of a national-best 30-game winning streak.
The Tufts squad will try to avoid a repeat of its 2005 collapse, but after those first two weeks, it won't be an easy task.
"The NESCAC is getting tougher, from top to bottom," Samko said. "There are no cupcakes out there, no pushovers. When I was coaching here in the '70s, as an assistant, it wasn't like that."
The season kicks off at noon tomorrow, as the Jumbos take on the Hamilton Continentals at Zimman Field.
