D’Urso Is Leopard’s Main Threat

Thirteen days ago, Lafayette’s starting running back left the game against Princeton late in the first quarter with an ankle injury. As the injured Leopard limped off the field, revealing a glaring vacancy in the Lafayette backfield, eyes turned toward the backup, Anthony D’Urso. The senior tailback was called upon as lead rusher, an unexpected role. One teammate went down, D’Urso stepped up, and performed nothing less than the greatest show of his career.

On the first play of the second quarter, Lafayette handed the ball off to D’Urso for a sweep to the right. But Anthony didn’t like what he saw approaching from the Tigers’ defense and cut back over to the left—a gutsy move for the new starting back, especially considering that it could have left D’Urso unprotected in the open field. D’Urso could have been blindsided and perhaps injured by an overzealous tackler.
The gamble paid off, though, and D’Urso not only made something out of nothing—a feat in itself—but he rode the sideline 89 yards for the touchdown. In the process, he set a school record for longest run from the line of scrimmage and was well on his way to recording a personal best 117 rushing yards on the day.

It was a big game in the football career of D’Urso, one that he won’t ever forget. The only thing that could have made it better was if the final score didn’t read 20-14, Princeton.

“It would have been much better if we won. I was just waiting my turn, and I got my opportunity. However it was, I had to make the most of it,” D’Urso said. “I could definitely get better. I did a decent job but there’s a lot of room for improvement.”
Of course, these words come from a veteran in his final season with the Leopards. This is the end of the line for D’Urso but even now he focuses on improvement for the benefit of his team. At Lafayette, D’Urso found a football program that shared his values of duty and determination. His second choice was the Naval Academy.

At his northern New Jersey high school, D’Urso had been a tailback and cornerback in addition to working on special teams. He was an all-purpose player, and he wasn’t playing bit parts. D’Urso was the first freshman at West Essex High School to start on the varsity squad. After four years as a standout on the team and an honor roll student, he earned the tribute of having his jersey retired.

Joining the Leopards was a significant transition for D’Urso. Besides the unavoidable adjustment to the speed and size of college football players, D’Urso’s time at Lafayette has meant that he has had to step out of the limelight while still maintaining his determination. He was a four-year starter during high school, but as of yet, D’Urso has not started a game in college.

“I came into camp with a pretty good attitude. I came in ready,” D’Urso said of this past offseason. “I knew it was going to be a long season. I knew we were going to need every running back from first on the depth chart to number four on the depth chart.”

Until the Princeton game, D’Urso was an unsung but integral member of the Leopards’ running game, taking between seven and 15 handoffs a game and averaging a sturdy five yards per carry in Lafayette’s three wins of the season. In the season opener against Marist, D’Urso scored his first collegiate touchdown. He has been a consistent producer for the 2007 team—arguably the best squad he has ever been a part of as they sit atop the Patriot League with a 3-1 record—and therefore the decision to make D’Urso the Leopards’ starting running back against Columbia this weekend was natural.
D’Urso has had luck against the Lions in the past—in 2005 at the “Mudbowl,” he had 21 carries and set a then-personal best 64 rushing yards against Columbia. The Leopards have had a bye week to rest, to adjust, and to ruminate on the jarring Princeton loss. This Saturday night, Lafayette plays host to Columbia, with a hankering for revenge on the Ivies. For Anthony D’Urso, in particular, it will be a special day in an intriguing career on the gridiron.