The football team enters the 2006 season with a renewed sense of commitment. Coming off a 5-3 2005 season, Head Coach E.J. Mills' Jeffs are hungry for competition. Many players were unsatisfied with the 2005 record and are eager to reassert Amherst as one of the NESCAC's best. Senior center Ryan Smith, who was recently awarded pre-season all-America honors, described the team's swagger and sense of urgency as being the products of a mood of "supreme confidence." "We want to win every game," he said. "We want perfection."

According to numerous players, this determined attitude was present during the team's spring workouts when the intangibles in football-such as team unity and leadership-are established. "The team worked very hard," said offensive lineman Matthew Mascioli '07. "Everybody is aware we have a lot of potential to be a good team; that motivated us."

The offense returns several key players who were instrumental in posting 355.9 ypg of total offense in 2005, good for second in the NESCAC. Quarterback and quad-captain Nick Kehoe '07 will engineer a passing attack that was one of the most potent in the conference last year; Kehoe ranked second in the conference in passing with 174.2 ypg and was named first team all-NESCAC. Kehoe's favorite target is returning NESCAC Offensive Player of the Year and fellow quad-captain Mark Hannon '07. Hannon was a touchdown-producing machine, leading the NESCAC with 10 trips to paydirt.

The rushing attack begins with the superior play of the offensive line. With three seniors and four returning starters on the line, the Jeffs should be in good shape there. Tailbacks Erik NeSmith '09 and Will Beeson '07 will look to fill the gap left by graduating tailbacks Dom Cama '06 and Ngai Otieno '06.

Defensively, Amherst put up record numbers in 2005. The squad ranked fifth in the nation in both total defense (240.1 ypg) and scoring defense (12.3 ppg). Despite these impressive statistics, there are some question marks coming into the 2006 campaign. The defensive line returns only one starter in senior quad-captain Brendan McKee, who ranked second in the NESCAC in tackles for a loss. Mills will be looking for contributions from underclassmen, like juniors Jake Spadafora and Chris Mottau who both finished in the top 50 of NESCAC players in tackles per game in 2005. The secondary, which has long been a staple of stingy Amherst defenses, will include quad-captain Mike Salerno '07 and other coverage and run specialists like inside linebacker Greg Muecke '07, who led the NESCAC in fumble recoveries last season.

Amherst returns a number of starters on both sides of the ball who will provide the direction and stability which only experience can supply. With a schedule that includes difficult away games in weeks two and three against Bowdoin and Middlebury Colleges, respectively, it will be important for the Jeffs to play consistent football early in the season. Their goal is to finish the 2006 season with a perfect record, and nothing would be more satisfying than to enter the Homecoming game against Williams College on Nov. 11 looking to preserve an unbeaten mark.

NESCAC Notes

Juggernaut Trinity College won the conference in 2005 finishing 8-0. Every year the Bantams seem to be the team to beat. But competition in the NESCAC in 2006 will be fierce. Trinity, Colby College, Bowdoin and Williams all finished ahead of Amherst last season.