Stepping Up, Standing Out

Tufts junior Ryan McGeary has a starting spot on the football team this season and is stepping up his performance to help take the Jumbos to the top.

Medford/Somerville, Mass. [10.13.05] Tufts junior Ryan McGeary is a full-time starter on the football team this year, a first for the nose guard who earned Player of the Game honors in the Jumbos season-opener against Wesleyan. But the 295-pound, six-foot-two stand-out is happy just to have a chance to contribute to his team, he says.

“It felt like I was back in high school, playing every day – bruised up after a game – contributing to a win,” McGeary told the Sudbury Town Crier. “It felt great.”

The Sudbury, Mass., native, with five tackles and two tipped passes, had a strong hand in the Jumbos 16-6 win over the Cardinals on Oct. 1.

“He just dominated the middle,” Tufts coach Bill Samko told the newspaper. “[Wesleyan] had 40 yards total in the second half. They had 24 yards rushing…McGeary was dominant.”

McGeary, who played on the offense line in high school, has made the switch to defense at Tufts. According to the economics major, he enjoys being on the opposite side of the ball.

“You can be a lot more physical on defense, go 100 percent every play, all the time,” McGeary said. “On D, you make a big hit and the whole crowd erupts…I love it.”

But Samko said he is reserving the right to put McGeary back on the offensive line, if necessary.

“We have cross-trained him as a center,” Samko said. “We’re a little thin on the offensive line. And he’s a smart kid, and pretty athletic for his size.”

Anticipating a new, more influential role this year, McGeary spent the summer at Tufts, lifting four times a week, bulking up, according to the Crier.

And, based on his performance early on in the season, it seems as though his hard work off the field has paid off.

“It felt really good to be out there and help decide the outcome of the game,” McGeary said.