The junior class may have understandably found it difficult to discuss this past football season.
The future? Now that's a frequent topic of conversation.
With all due respect to the team's graduating seniors, those who helped spearhead the restructuring of the program's fundamental framework, the past has long since evaporated into oblivion. It sure didn't take long following the season finale on Nov. 12 — minutes, even — for the torch to be passed on to 21 juniors, whose on−field experience and leadership capabilities have Tufts looking beyond the intangible improvements and towards a more concrete goal: wins.
"It's going to be really tough to fill their shoes, but of course we're ready to step in as leaders," junior defensive back Austin Crittenden said. "It's ours now. We recognize it. We've been waiting three years for this. We're ready. We're ready to take the reins of this team absolutely. How could you not be excited? There's no better story than going 0−8 and then turning the season around."
Throughout the season, the Jumbos talked about an evolving mindset, a change instilled when head coach Jay Civetti took over the program. The harder practices, the more intense weight sessions — it all reflected a new era in Medford.
That ultimately never materialized in the win column, as the Jumbos found themselves in the NESCAC cellar for the second straight season, stuck in football purgatory: that frustrating space between effort and results.
"It's time to lead and we know it's our team now," junior defensive back Tommy Castle said. "Last year's seniors did a great job taking over and filling that role, especially with all the changes that were happening in the program. They set the tone for what's really going to be a new era, and we're looking forward in continuing that."
Tufts held its first offseason weight−lifting session on Monday, which marked the official beginning for a junior class loaded with talent. And like this past season's linebacking corps — senior tri−captains J.T. Rinciari and Nick Falk and classmate and NESCAC−leading tackler Zack Skarzynski — many of the rising seniors live together, and nine of them will live in the same house next season.
After the season ended, during those couple of days without workouts, the juniors reflected on the program's direction and their vision for the future as they replace the 16 seniors.
It's their team now. Their turn to make a mark.
"It's now our voices, and those need to be heard the loudest," said tight end Nick Kenyon, who came on strong during his junior season after recovering from an ACL injury to lead the team with two touchdown receptions. "I think everyone can speak that we think the same way, we all have the same vision. We're just one tight unit. We all just know what we need to do to move forward."
No better example of the junior class's overarching talent exists than in the secondary, where some of the team's best playmakers have resided for the past three seasons.
Sam Diss is a two−time All−NESCAC player. Built like a four−door sedan, the 5−foot−11, 175−pound Castle hits like a Mack Truck. Crittenden was fourth on the team in tackles and third in tackles for a loss. And Vinny Lee, according to Crittenden, is Tufts' fastest player.
"It's a great group in the secondary, obviously bringing a veteran group is great," Civetti said. "They got better throughout the course of the year, but it's important that they stay hungry and they want to get even better than they are right now. But going forward, it's great to head into a season with four or five starters back there, because they've all played."
Couple that with a defensive line that, at least among juniors, returns Curtis Yancy (three tackles for a loss), Zak Kline (16 tackles) and Chris Toole, as well as an offensive unit featuring linemen Ralph Faia and Andrew Rayner, not to mention wide receiver/punter Marty Finnegan, and there's no reason for Tufts to not be intoxicated with the promise of returning to the field.
"Moving forward is the most important thing, because if we dwell on the things that happened whatever seasons ago, we're not going to get where we want to go," Crittenden said. "We know that we have the talent, and as seniors we know that this program is going in the right direction. We have to build a winning program, there's no other option."
The pieces certainly seem in place to move forward. Civetti received a vote of confidence from the administration when his interim tag was lifted earlier this year, and the Jumbos have reportedly been taking a more aggressive approach to offseason activities, from team workouts to recruiting. The offense will likely run the same system in consecutive seasons for the first time since the rising seniors arrived at Tufts, making it easier to focus on getting stronger in the offseason and build off the foundation laid this fall.
"There's a lot of things that go on in the locker room that maybe fans don't see as growth. We became much closer as the season went on, so I'm really proud of how the team stuck together," Kline said. "It's not going to get any easier, so we have to get back into it."
There will surely be plenty of doubters. After all, the Jumbos are 1−15 over the past two seasons and 3−21 dating back to 2009. And the juniors know that wins won't be gifted on a silver platter; only hard work and directive leadership will suffice.
"We don't have the luxury of counting on just the program to get us where we need to go, we need to step up ourselves," Crittenden said. "We worked hard last year and the year before, but we understand that we need to step it up to the next level, and that means being fully committed from now until August. You can kind of sense that mentality throughout the team. I'm sure everyone will be excited to prove people wrong, that's the excitement."
For the 21 juniors ready to take over, these days there's nothing but.