Changing times at Framingham State

August 25, 2011

By Lenny Megliola, Milford Daily News

Tom Kelley remembers how it was at Framingham State College.

Heck, he was there at the beginning, in 1972 (perspective: three years before Carlton Fisk's home run for the ages).

Nearly 40 years later, Kelley is still on campus at the school which has a new name (College out, University in) and a new outlook on football.

Kelley, a Milford resident, was a freshman at Framingham State in '72, the year Dennis Golden thought it was time the school had a football team. Kelley was one of his first players, a lineman. Kelley graduated, but never left. He coached the Rams' defensive line before the letters on his diploma had dried. He had a stint as head coach, stepped away to attend to his athletic director responsibilities and watched a litany of coaches try to get the program to click.

Nobody understood more than Kelley that Framingham State football was a hard sell. He took over as head coach again five years ago. The Rams went 2-7 that season. The next two seasons both ended 5-5. Better, but not exactly heady stuff. Framingham State hadn't had a winning season since 1986.

Then last year happened: a 9-2 record in the New England Football Conference finished off by a 27-21 overtime playoff win over Norwich.

How did this metamorphosis happen?

Even in the 2-7 season, Kelley could see a change. The Rams were in almost every game that fall. But after the second 5-5 season, Kelley wasn't satisfied. He felt the program had taken a step backward. Only half the mountain had been climbed. During the last preseason camp, he could see the top. There was more talent than usual.

"We were pretty excited," says Kelley. "The one missing piece was quarterback."

Oh, is that all? "We'd been beating the bushes (for a QB)." The hunt was over. Kurt Leone had arrived. He was at Merrimack, but was looking to transfer. Word got out. Merrimack coach John Perry gave Kelley permission to talk to Leone. The quarterback liked what he heard, and enrolled at FSU.

"We ran the same system as Merrimack, so it was a good fit for him," says Kelley.

Was it ever. Leone threw 33 touchdown passes, and somewhat channeling Brady-to-Moss in '07, James McCarthy, who played at Newton North, was on the end of 22 of those strikes. "We did some great things offensively," said Kelley.

Despite missing three games with a broken hand, McCarthy led the country, all divisions, in scoring. He's back this year, but Leone might not be unless he gets a redshirt year stemming from his freshman year at Merrimack when, according to Kelley, Leone only took a couple of snaps.

McCarthy, a 5-foot-10, 200-pound senior, was so impressive last year that "he's got some pro scouts sniffing," says Kelley. "They say he's got another gear. He's faster each 10 yards he goes."

Last year's success has been a big boost for Framingham State's recruiting. There are also a bunch of talented returnees. "We pretty much have the whole offensive line back, and they're pretty much all 300 pounds," says Kelley, with the exception of Bobby Donaghue, a mere 6-foot-3, 280 pounds. If Leone doesn't return, the QB job is up for grabs between Dino Mancinelli, a sophomore from Connecticut, and freshman Matt Silva of Dracut.

Kelley earned a few coach of the year awards after the 2010 season, but is always quick to pass the credit along. "I tell them it had nothing to do with me. Just surround yourself with good people."

Like fourth-year offensive coordinator and Framingham State grad Aynsley Rosenbaum. "We run a spread offense and he fine-tuned it," says Kelley. "He's also my main recruiter. He's tireless."

Kelley was an athlete at Hoosac Valley High School in Western Mass. He was from the same town, Adams, as Tom Lamb, who coached the freshman football team at Hoosac. When Kelley graduated, he set his sights on going to Salem State to play baseball. By that time, Lamb had moved on to Framingham State as Golden's assistant.

Kelley bumped into Lamb one day and told him he was headed to Salem State. But didn't Kelley want to play football, Lamb wondered. Kelley did. Salem State didn't have football. So Kelley became one of Lamb's first recruits at Framingham before moving onto a Hall-of-Fame high school career at Natick and Norwood.

Kelley stayed put. He's seen it all at Framingham State, and there have been more lean years than good ones in the fall. That's changed. The team that was perennially picked to finish last or next to last in the NEFC preseason polls is picked to finish second this season. Framingham State's thinking higher.

The Rams open the season at Endicott Sept 3. Last season, the Rams were 6-0 on the road. The home opener (against Maine Maritime) will be at Bowditch Field for the first time since the '70s. Endicott and Maine Maritime are powers in the two-division conference. They handed FSU its losses last season.

Kelley and his staff make it a point not to let success go to the players' heads. Opponents have the Rams circled on the calendar. It's a brave new world.

"They heard that a lot since spring," says Kelley. "We're no longer flying under the radar. People are gunning for us."

Know what? It's a beautiful thing.