'You just have to play up to the standard,' These fast-learning freshmen have made impact on Holy Cross defense

The night before Holy Cross’ 2023 opener against Merrimack, freshman safety Stu Smith could not eat. His usual game day breakfast is overnight oats with granola and fruit, but his lack of appetite continued the next morning. All Smith could get down before his first college start was a couple strawberries and his customary two bottles of Pedialyte.

“I usually never get nervous,” Smith said before Tuesday’s practice at Kuzniewski Field, “but after that first snap, I realized I belong out there and I’m out there for a reason, so I just have to go out and play.”

Smith made four tackles and had a pass breakup to help the Crusaders beat Merrimack. Smith and his teammates celebrated the win with an Italian feast.

“It was an amazing feeling being out there,” Smith said, “something I dreamed of.”

Smith, who has 12 tackles and a quarterback hit, is one of two freshmen to start every game on the defensive side of the ball for HC this season. First-year Brice Stevenson joined sophomore Christian Ross, who didn’t play as a freshman, and seniors Dillon Springer and Brian Vaganek on HC’s starting defensive line.

“It comes with a lot of responsibility,” Stevenson said. “You just have to play up to the standard.”

Eight freshmen were on the team’s initial two-deep of the season. Seven of them were on the field at the same time in last week’s win over Yale.

“We’re lucky that a lot of our players are up here during the summer,” Holy Cross defensive coordinator Scott James said. “It allows us to indoctrinate them a little bit not only to the schematics, but also to the culture of the program, so when it comes their time to play – and for some of them it came faster than expected – they didn’t really blink. They knew what our standard was, what our expectation was, and they embraced it.”

The No. 6 Crusaders have pretty much played shutdown defense in the second half of their first three games. HC allowed 58 points in the first 30 minutes of those games and just 17 after halftime.

Holy Cross is hoping for a faster start on defense when it hosts Colgate in its first Patriot League matchup of the season and its Homecoming game at 2 p.m. Saturday at Fitton Field.

“Our coaches have prepared us right,” HC fifth-year senior linebacker Jacob Dobbs said. “It falls on us. We have to execute a little bit better, start faster and be more locked in. I think a lot of times we’re trying to do our job and fit it correctly. I think there needs to be a little less thinking and a little bit more running through people’s faces, which we’re going to emphasize this week and hopefully we take the next step as a defense this week.”

In 2022, Holy Cross led the Patriot League in scoring defense (21.5 ppg), but with the graduation of stars like Liam Anderson, Jake Reichwein, Dan Kuznetsov and John Smith, there were holes to fill.

Coach Bob Chesney said this year’s training camp was the most competitive of his Holy Cross tenure, and many of HC’s newcomers – there are 33 of them – proved themselves, including Smith and Stevenson.

The 6-foot-1, 198-pound Smith was part of the winningest class at Cathedral High in Indianapolis. The 6-2, 298-pound Stevenson was a two-time All-State and All-Big County honoree at Berkeley Prep in Tampa. Stevenson’s father, Robert, was an All-American at Florida State.

“When we started recruiting Stu,” James said, “we knew he was a pretty heady kid who could play multiple positions. We knew he could handle volume and play the game really well. Brice puts in a lot of time in the offseason and his development is probably ahead of some people because he’s been exposed to such good football, especially with his dad.”

Freshmen defensive backs Donovan Comestro (five tackles) and Eli Thompson (two tackles, two breakups) played extensively at Yale and, in the second half, helped HC hold the Bulldogs to a late fourth-quarter touchdown.

“I do love watching these guys grow in front of your eyes,” Chesney said. “It’s happening. We just have to continue that progression. Coach James and the defensive coaches do a great job of getting those guys confident and comfortable, and putting them in stressful situations all week so they can execute in game. The halftime adjustments and communication have been very good. I love the progress we’re making.”

HC’s veterans such as Dobbs and fifth-year cornerback Devin Haskins have played a major role in acclimating the freshmen.

“When I first got here in the summer,” Smith said, “I would sit in Williams Hall with Jacob Dobbs, and (junior free safeties) Jake Jarmolowich and Curtis Harris-Lopez, and not even with just defensive guys, but (senior quarterback) Matthew Sluka, too. They made sure I knew everything I needed to know coverage wise, and even away from football, the culture of this team. We watched film for hours and talked about what’s to come in camp, what’s to come before the season, and they gave me the confidence that I can go play.”

HC's Dobbs has been a defensive leader

In last year’s game at Colgate, Dobbs suffered a devastating, season-ending injury.

As the Raiders come to Fitton Field almost a year to the day later, Dobbs is back in fine form. The two-time All-American linebacker, who spent nine games on the sideline in 2022, leads the nation in total tackles.

“During his time off, he became like a coach being around us all the time,” James said. “That’s parlayed into a more mentally prepared player. He did a lot last year, and now he does even more. I just heard him say (at the start of practice), ‘I’ve got all the checks. We’re good,’ and there is nothing better than hearing Jake Dobbs say, ‘We’re good.’”

Dobbs tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, as well as his triceps tendon and a forearm flexor muscle. After surgery, he went through months of rehab.

“It took a lot of help from a lot of people,” Dobbs said. “I would not be here without (Holy Cross associate athletic director/sports medicine) Alicia Caswell, (associate strength and conditioning coach) Chris Grautski, Coach Chesney, (linebackers) Coach (Brian) Vaganek, my family, everyone involved. I had such a great support group and I wouldn’t be here today if I didn’t have everyone pushing me and having my back through it. God obviously got me through this time. He got me back here healthy. I’m just so blessed to be in this position.”

Dobbs expects a test from Colgate (0-3) and junior quarterback Michael Brescia.

“He’s a tough, physical quarterback,” Dobbs said, “and I think he’s taken the next step throwing the football. They are going to present some unique challenges. We will have to play our best to beat them.”

In each of HC’s first three games, Dobbs posted double-digit tackles, including a career-high 21 against Merrimack. After registering 17 tackles at Yale, Dobbs was the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week.

Dobbs, a four-year captain, has long been the heart and soul of HC’s defense and he is doing a tremendous job leading the Crusaders’ younger players. If it’s possible, his intensity seems to be at an even higher level this season.

“And he has a little bit more on his plate,” Chesney said, “as far as getting guys on the same page, as far as communication, as far as in play and to the whistle, and getting guys moving in the right direction. He has a lot to do personally and there is a lot he has to communicate prior to the play, during the play and right after the play. He’s the one with the experience. To be as productive as he is and to be wearing as many hats as he is and to communicate as much as he does let’s you know how great of a player he is.”

HC's Sluka honored by Patriot League

Chesney commended HC’s offense for its high level of execution at Yale. The Crusaders’ 49 points and 491 total yards were season highs.

Senior quarterback Matthew Sluka, who had a hand in six touchdowns against the Bulldogs, was the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week.

With 324 rushing yards, Sluka ranks eighth among all FCS players. He is second nationally in passing efficiency (186.1).

Senior wide receiver Jalen Coker, who caught three of Sluka’s four touchdown passes last week, leads FCS with four TDs and ranks fifth with 313 receiving yards.

Sluka, who has 33 career rushing touchdowns and is tied for second in program history with Steve Silva, needs five to break Joe Segreti’s all-time HC mark.

Coker, meanwhile, is three receiving touchdowns away from setting the HC career record in that category. Sean Gruber holds the record with 22.

Fitton Field will host students from Worcester Public Schools

The Holy Cross football program and the Worcester Public Schools have forged a strong relationship in Chesney’s six years as coach.

HC players regularly visit classrooms, and this summer, Chesney spoke at the Worcester Public Schools Leadership Institute. Chesney and his wife Andrea’s three children, Lyla, Hudson and Bo, are WPS students.

“We chose to live in Worcester and send our kids to Worcester Public Schools,” said Chesney, who has been a resident of the city since becoming Assumption coach in 2013. “That’s an important part of bringing (the HC-WPS relationship) together. It’s not only talking the talk, it’s walking the walk, and I think that is hugely important.”

In celebration of that relationship, the Holy Cross athletics department offered all WPS elementary and middle school students (high school students were not included due to NCAA regulations), as well as faculty and staff members one complimentary ticket to Saturday’s game against Colgate.

Members of the team delivered the tickets to Dr. Kareem Tatum and William Foley, both Worcester Public Schools managers for instruction and school leadership, at the WPS offices earlier this week.

“We’re now on such a national level,” Chesney said. “Sluka’s name is all over the United States of America, not only Worcester or FCS, Coker and Dobbs, too. When you can have that, what used to once exist here, in the community and now it’s back, I think there’s a responsibility that comes with that. For us, it’s to make sure (our players) understand that a lot of young kids are looking up to them and that partnership, that relationship, and doing things the right way is crucially important, and they get that. They all get that.”

Locals pile up the honors

Assumption linebacker Owen Fitzgerald of Auburn earned his second Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Week honor after recording nine tackles and a sack in the Greyhounds’ loss to No. 7 Grand Valley State. … Worcester State graduate Ryan Justin of Fitchburg finished with 9 tackles and 3.5 sacks for a loss of 27 yards in the Lancers’ 33-13 win over Fitchburg State and was the MASCAC Defensive Player of the Week. Freshman receiver Lance Williams, who had four catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns, was the MASCAC Rookie of the Week. … Anna Maria junior quarterback Ryan Russell, who led the AmCats past Mass. Maritime, was the ECFC Offensive Player of the Week. He was 27-37 for 302 yards and two TDs, and he rushed for a score.

—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter @JenTolandTG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Fast-learning Freshmen: Newcomers making impact on Holy Cross defense