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SRA's Roussel ponders next step in football career |
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Thursday, 03 December 2009 |
By BRENDAN MCGAIR
Sports writer
PAWTUCKET – Jean-Daniel Roussel already had the day he would officially pen his letter-of-intent mapped out. Then came the phone call that currently has the Pawtucket native and St. Raphael Academy senior caught between reflecting on the decision Northeastern officials made to discontinue football and focusing on a tenuous future.
“In a few days I would be putting on a shirt and tie along with my Northeastern hat,” Roussel was saying on the SRA campus Wednesday afternoon. “I had heard some rumors, but you don’t want to believe it. Maybe it was just gossip.
“But the night before [former Saints standout and current N.C. State contributor] Jordan Monk contacted me, saying ‘I heard they’re going to end it there.’ Next morning I get a call from [Northeastern defensive coordinator Frank Forcucci] at eight o’clock in the morning. Usually when we talk, it’s around at eight at night. I was in homeroom and ready to start school.
“I answered my [cell] phone, and you could tell by the tone of his voice that he had some unfortunate news. [The purpose of the call] was to inform me that I had to find someplace else to go.”
Roussel admits the rescinding of the free ride he stood to inherit crushed him. He verbally committed to Northeastern in the summer shortly after raising his profile at a one-day camp on the Huntington Ave. grounds and taking a tour of the campus. By his own estimation, Roussel was projected to help the Huskies at cornerback while chipping in at slot receiver and the return game.
“What drew me in was that it might not be the best football in the [Colonial Athletic Association], but it’s the best education in the conference,” said Roussel. “It was a full, five-year scholarship.
“It’s disappointing and discouraging knowing that I had it all,” Roussel continued, “and now I have nothing. It’s an unfortunate way of putting it, but that’s exactly how I feel.”
The death of Northeastern football couldn’t have arrived at a worse time for someone in Roussel’s shoes, given college coaches around the country are busy with prospects they have undoubtedly been courting for some time. What also hurts Roussel is the perception that he’s been off the market for several months after word spread he was Boston-bound. Not to mention the stigma that comes with being uttered in the same sentence with a defunct entity.
“A lot of coaches are recruiting for 2011, not 2010,” said Roussel. “When I let some coaches know about the news concerning Northeastern, it turns them away.”
Knowing he had a free ride in his back pocket didn’t transform Roussel into a complacent soul for the Saints this fall. His 13 touchdowns and 592 rushing yards were tops, while the 373 receiving yards amassed placed him second. Roussel was held out of the Thanksgiving Eve contest against Rogers after sustaining a concussion 10 days prior at La Salle.
“Bryant University was actually at the [Rogers] game, so that wasn’t a positive,” said Roussel, who also mentioned Central Connecticut as a school that he’s been in contact with.
A massive mobilization geared towards spreading the word about Roussel is already well underway. Forcucci still remains in the picture and informed Roussel the reception was positive after his name was dropped at a meeting earlier this week at Northeastern, a gathering attended by 20-25 coaches that was no doubt geared towards finding the Husky players a football home for next season and beyond. Monk and Stanley Dunbar, another former St. Raphael teammate, have tapped their resources by making calls on Roussel’s behalf. A highlight reel, collaborated by Saints head coach Mike Sassi, is ticketed for the mail by the end of the week.
Roussel attended Northeastern’s swan song at URI on Nov. 21. At halftime he crossed paths with both coaching staffs. “URI was still in contact and always told me they wanted to offer, but they were always afraid I would turn them away for Northeastern.”
The interest once expressed by Rhody has not resurfaced now that Roussel is a free man. “They are looking at JUCOs and Northeastern players,” he said about the state university’s recruiting targets.
A fixture on the Saints’ varsity basketball team the past few winters, Roussel planned to spend the coming months lifting weights and run indoor track – a regimen geared towards prepping him for what was awaiting at Northeastern.
“With the Northeastern scholarship I planned to bulk up and put on 15 pounds of muscle and forgo basketball,” were the plans Roussel mapped out, “but regardless of what Northeastern did, I still plan to play college football. I plan to play with the big boys. I know I’m a Division I player.”
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 13 December 2009 )
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Go Tolman Baseball Team. Joshua Amado you Rock!! - Ana Kinsley
Good Luck to NORTHEAST Elite RI @the
BRUTE IMPIRE NATIONALS TOMORROW WE HAVE A LOT OF TALENTED WRESTLERS GOING SO WE WILL HAVE A FEW CHAMPS AND A LOTR OF PLACERS!! GO NORTH EAST ELITE!!! - Dawn Lariviere Go tolman high school go leanna fanning my favorite player
on the team well wishes for your uocoming games. - Shauna Marrow
Saturday night I attended the semi-final girls basketball
game vs Townies Girls team as an aunt of one of the EP players. It was an exciting
all-around game for both teams, and I give credit to my niece and the Townie girls
too for a great season. <br />I just have to say though, that I was
particularly impressed with the talent, poise and unflappable playing style of this
Tolman girls team! It can only speak well of a great coaching staff, and their love
and encouragement of these talented girls. After the game, the low-key humilty that
the Tolman girls displayed, showed real sportsmanship and class. I have a feeling
that this season is the "Year of the Tiger" and hope that they go straight on to
victory in the championship. No matter what the outcome though, they've gained a new
loyal fan in me, and I look forward to following the next seasons with real
interest. This is the way that high school sports should be played! You go Tolman
girls! - Regina Orio
THANK YOU TO THE PAWTUCKET TIMES AND THE WOONSOCKET CALL
FORV THEIR GREAT COVERAGE OF HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING IN YOUR PAPERS IT IS VERY MUCH APPERICATED!! A SPECIAL THANKS TO TERRY NEAU FOR HIS EXCELLENT COVERAGE OF CUMBERLAND CLIPPERS WRESTLING AND FOP ALL THE GREAT PICTURES YOU PUT IN THE CALL THEY ARE AWESOME!!!THANKS AGAIN!!! - Dawn Lariviere
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