Aug. 25, 2008

Note - The Patriot League is profiling one student-athlete from each of the seven football-playing institutions ahead of the 2008 season. The interviews were conducted at the 2008 Patriot League Football Media Day on July 31. Stories will be released in alphabetical order by school, and can be found here along with a video clip from a student-athlete from each of the schools.

Fordham's Loucks Hopes for Repeat Success

By Matt Dougherty, Patriot League Media Relations Director

Fordham defensive back Matt Loucks had a few days in the Football Championship Subdivision spotlight early in the 2007 season, winning three national player of the week honors after tallying 26 tackles in a 23-20 loss to Albany. The total was two tackles off the Patriot League record, and ended up as the top mark for an FCS player last season.

So how does Loucks feel about his attention-grabbing effort?

"Hopefully it never happens again," he said. "They were a real strong running team with power up front, and they were running the ball well on almost every play."

Albany ended up running for 315 yards in that contest, and dealt Fordham one of its losses in a 2-2 start. But that turned out to be the low point of the season for the Rams, who started a six-game win streak with a come-from-behind, 34-31, win at Colgate on Sept. 29. The Rams opened with five victories in Patriot League play to claim the first outright League title in program history.

It was an impressive feat for a team picked to finish sixth in the League's preseason poll, but Loucks saw the team coming together early.

"When we beat Colgate, we kind of knew how good we could be," he said. "We had a few tough losses to Albany and Dayton, but everything started clicking and we had confidence we could win after that game."

He added, "We really felt the guys coming back were getting stronger and we had a good group back to start the year."

The Patriot League title gave Loucks and his teammates a berth in the NCAA Division I Football Championship, where they acquitted themselves nicely in a 49-35 first-round loss at defending national runner-up Massachusetts. Fordham tied the game at 35 early in the fourth quarter after trailing by two touchdowns in the first half. Loucks had 14 tackles in the game.

"We were showing up in somebody else's stadium with nothing to lose. We were down early and came back and were proud to show that we can play with anyone," Loucks said."

The situation has changed for Fordham heading into the 2008 campaign, as the strength of last year's finish has the Rams picked first in the Patriot League and holding a spot in the top 25 of various preseason polls.

Though the outside expectations have changed, Loucks, a team captain in 2008, said the mentality inside the locker room remains the same.

"We're just going to try to push it the same as we did last year," he said. "We'll take the mentality that we are the underdog and compete hard in every practice and every game."

Loucks has succeeded on and off the field at Fordham. He led the Rams with 84 tackles a year ago, and earned his third spot in as many seasons on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. The Accounting major says a career in financial advising could be in his future.

The accomplishments have come a long way from his hometown of Port St. Lucie, Florida, but there's reason for Loucks to be comfortable in the big city. Fordham's roster features 15 players from the football hotbed of Florida as well as 15 from the equally gridiron-crazed state of Texas. The national reach of the Fordham roster also extends to a combined 16 players from Georgia, North Carolina, Louisiana, California, Illinois and Arizona.

Loucks said the Fordham community and the coaching staff led by Head Coach Tom Masella make everyone feel at home.

"They take us to Times Square and show us around the city, and everyone in the Fordham community gives great academic support. The campus itself is amazing, you don't even feel like you are in New York City," he said.

Loucks just hopes his last year in the big city is another success on and off the field.