Strance in Charge for the Eagles
October 13, 2004

By Andrea Adame, AU Sports Information

The winner of this Saturday’s Ashland-Hillsdale game will receive the Traveling Trophy. Normally, that award isn’t presented to an individual player. But in reality, AU sophomore quarterback Nick Strance should have acquired that trophy after last season’s AU-HC game, even though the Eagles lost. That’s where he really began his journey as AU’s quarterback. He’s still traveling along the road to being a complete quarterback and his destination is still to be determined.

Nick Strance should be a candidate for the Traveling Trophy this week -- but he can't be.

Last year against Hillsdale, Strance was called in off the bench in a relief role to take over for injured starter John Szabo. Szabo hurt his leg on a running play early in the Eagles’ 24-21 loss to the Chargers. Strance took over the Eagles at that point and hasn’t relinquished control since.

After stepping into that starting role Strance completed 119 of 236 passes for 1,098 yards and three touchdowns. That completion total is the seventh highest in school history.

“Last year I got some experience at what it is like to be a starter,” said Strance. “Now, this year I am more comfortable with what’s going on and I believe in the coaches.”

The team seems to have a new belief in Strance as well.

“We’re all friends on the team and they all believe in me and I believe in them. We just go out and have fun and try to win,” said Strance.

The AU signal-caller has thrown for over 200 yards each of the last two weeks, including a career-best 237 yards two weeks ago in a 25-14 loss to Mercyhurst. Last week, Strance completed 15 of 30 passes for 210 yards at Northern Michigan. For the year he’s been on target with 109 of 208 passes (52.4 percent) for 1,084 yards and six touchdowns.

Making the transition from high school to college can be tough. Making the transition from one coaching staff to the next can be just as difficult a task.

“I was more excited than nervous when the new coaches came in,” said Strance. “It’s been a lot more fun learning the new offense because they spread the ball out more, which is a big challenge.”

Not only do adjustments need to be made by the players when a new staff comes in, but also by the staff itself. Having a young quarterback leading the team can become a huge task as well.

“We’ve had young quarterbacks before and there is a limit to what they can do. We don’t want to give too much to them too soon,” said offensive coordinator Tom Stacy.

“Coach Stacy has challenged me in every aspect,” said Strance. “He wants all he can get out of me and that’s a challenge. He doesn’t let up and wants me to continue to improve.”

To Stacy the improvements Strance has already made are impressive.

“He’s gotten better and made significant strides since the spring. He has more confidence and his arm strength has greatly improved. He’s made a big commitment to be a better player in the weight room and on the field. He’s still learning the system and to be a college football player,” said Stacy.

Strance trained in Ashland over the summer and received a lot of help from his old Willard High School teammate and current University of Akron quarterback Charlie Frye.

“Charlie and I have been good friends since high school and we worked together a lot during the summer,” reported Strance. “He taught me how to carry myself on the field and act like a winner.”

“The quarterback is the coach on the field, he is the leader of our offense,” said Stacy. “He is expected to make good decisions just as a coach would and Nick accepts this challenge and is doing the best job he can.”

With the team sitting at 2-5, the Eagles are looking to finish with a flourish.

“We are trying to overcome our losses. We think we should be better and we just need to win more, said Strance. “This team has confidence and the last few years we had no confidence. In years to come as we improve we know we will be on top.”

Strance is a big key in this team’s journey to the top of the league. In order for the Eagles to reach their goals he will have to continue to work hard at his game.

“Nick has a great temperament for the game and he really enjoys playing football. He has great potential and it will be interesting to see how he develops over the next few years,” said Stacy.