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Dedication pays off for Greaves with W&J football team

4 min read
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Not many small college football players have their dedication tested the way Nick Greaves did.

When the Washington & Jefferson traveled to Mount Union for a second-round game in the NCAA Division III playoffs last year, Presidents head coach Mike Sirianni took more players than he was by rule permitted to dress.

Through some miscommunication, Greaves thought he would be suited up on the sidelines for this important game. He was completely in uniform when the coaches came up to him and said he would not be dressing for the game.

“I never imagined it would be me,” said Greaves, a graduate of Ringgold High School. “I didn’t know what to think. Being on the sideline for that game would have been awesome.”

Greaves could have used that as an excuse to quit the team, give up his dream of playing football and concentrate on earning his degree in accounting.

“I wasn’t mad at the coaches,” he said. “It just made me work harder.”

The Presidents, ranked as high as No. 4, open the season Saturday at Wooster (1 p.m.), and no one is going to tell Greaves that he is not dressing for this game.

Depending on the health of Jesse Zubik (hip), Greaves might even be the starting wide receiver in Sirianni’s high-powered offense.

“Greaves is such a good story because he hasn’t played for three years,” said Sirianni. “He has worked his tail off. He stayed in the program … He waited his time so I’m really excited for him.”

Here’s the delicious twist to this story.

Greaves was arguably W&J’s best offensive player in last Saturday’s scrimmage against – Can you guess? – Mount Union. That’s the same Mount Union team that ended W&J’s season with a 67-0 pasting in that playoff game and enters this season as the No. 1 or 2 team in the nation, depending on the poll.

Greaves caught a touchdown pass in 7-on-7 drills, caught another touchdown pass in Red Zone drills and pulled in a 15-yarder in regular scrimmage.

And quitting never entered his mind.

“I love football and I love competing,” said Greaves. “I didn’t play my freshman year and I regretted it. We have a group of guys here who are tight knit. They are my brothers and I couldn’t give that up.”

Greaves development makes one of W&J’s strongest position on offense – wide receiver – that much stronger.

“Even if Zubik plays, Greaves is going to get time,” Sirianni said. “His dad was here in the 80s and had the longest reception in school history.”

It was at one point. Now, it’s tied for fifth.

Jim Greaves caught an 81-yard pass from quarterback Rich Riotto against Bethany in the 1985 season. The longest now is a 91-yard completion from quarterback Chris Edwards to Mike Virgin against Waynesburg in 2003.

Nick Greaves had options after graduating from Ringgold.

“Both of my parents went here, so I’m familiar with the campus,” said Greaves. “It came down to W&J and Pitt, big versus small. At Pitt, I would be a number and that was just not right for me.”

Wooster is coming off a 4-6 season and seventh-place finish in the North Coast Athletic Conference. … Wooster has two local players: Matt Hartzell, a freshman offensive lineman from Washington who attended Bishop Canevin; and Sam Augustine, a defensive tackle from Waynesburg. … W&J, which is ranked 15th by d3football.com, leads the series, 8-1-1. … W&J is a 27 1/2-point favorite, according to the Born Power Index.

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