Sept. 18, 2000

EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Who would have thought that a three-time All-Conference high school basketball star, who set the school's all-time scoring record, would go on to college and become the football team's starting fullback? Those who know senior Ryan Mayo weren't surprised when he came to Lafayette to play football. After all, he was also an All-Conference pick in the sport three times at Western Beaver High School in Industry, Pa., as the team's tailback.

No one has been more thankful for that decision than the Lafayette coaching staff. Mayo averaged 3.7 yards per carry last year at his fullback position, gaining 249 yards on just 67 carries as the third leading rusher on the team. He also recorded 195 receiving yards on 22 catches, third-best on the team.

But what has impressed his coaches and teammates the most is his versatility. "He runs the ball well, he catches the ball well and he blocks well," said Lafayette running backs coach Matt Hachmann. "He exemplifies what a fullback should do and it comes easily to him."

Mayo is a football player in every sense of the word. He trains hard, he plays hard and he does everything he can do to help his team succeed. Not to mention his toughness.

"You need to be tough to play the fullback position," he said. "Your whole job as a fullback is to go up against players who are bigger than you and will do anything they can to stop you. I like going up against that, it's a challenge."

The challenges began for Mayo as soon as he arrived on College Hill three years ago. Recruited out of high school as a fullback, he was asked to split playing time as a tailback for the first half of his freshman season before playing at exclusively at fullback. It was a challenge he was eager to take.

"I love the fullback position," he said. "It's the only position on the field where you have three things to think about: running, catching and blocking. Everyone else just has to worry about one or two jobs. I enjoy taking all that on."

The decision to play football was not totally up to Mayo as kid, as his older brother played and encouraged Ryan to do the same. He doesn't even remember there being a decision to make when he joined a team in the second grade. It was just natural for him.

Mayo was a three-year letter winner in three sports at Western Beaver High: football, basketball and track. He captained both the football and basketball teams his senior year while earning All-Big 7 honors three times in both sports. He averaged 19.6 points and 7.2 rebounds on the court while averaging 6.3 yards per carry on the gridiron, and he finished his high school football career with 2,583 total yards and 28 touchdowns.

After the recruitment letters started arriving and the coaches started calling, Mayo looked forward to playing for a school with a strong football tradition, and Lafayette was on the top of that list. But the academic traditions of the school ultimately made Lafayette his final choice. The English major, who is minoring in government and law, is in the process of receiving his teaching certificate. His determination in the classroom will lead him to either a law degree after graduation or a high school teaching career.

That determination is carried over to the gridiron. "I feel honored to play for such a high-caliber school," said Mayo. "These past few years have been tough for our football program but we're all really focused on turning that around."

The Lafayette coaching staff believes that the senior is a key to making that turnaround possible. "Seniors have a sort of `built in' responsibility to be team leaders but Ryan leads by his incredible work ethic and he's a very versatile and willing member of our team," Hachmann said. "He is the first one to show up at practice, the first one at our meetings. And he's enthusiastic about it. Ryan is an incredible model for our young guys to look up to."

Getting to the point of being well-respected and admired was not easy for the fullback. Mayo saw limited action in his freshman season but came out in his sophomore campaign ready to prove his worth. He played in 10 games, starting three, and scored his first collegiate touchdown in the Leopards' win at Towson in a big Patriot League matchup. He rushed the ball for Lafayette's lone touchdown in its win at Fordham, and it was his only carry of the game. Mayo also recorded 60 receiving yards that season.

This season, however, is the only one that Mayo is thinking about and he's confident that his teammates and coaches want to win just as badly as he does. "Things are definitely looking up for the Lafayette program and everyone is real anxious to prove our critics wrong," he said.

As one of 15 seniors on the team, he shares the same goals as all the others. Mayo is more concerned with playing well in order to help his team win than he is worried about any individual recognition. He is approaching each practice, meeting and game as a do-or-die situation, eager to shatter the doubts of his team's skeptics.

Mayo sees every game this season as an opportunity for the team to improve and gain confidence, as well as teach the underclassmen how to be leaders. One of the games that he does admit to be anxious for is the Nov. 18 meeting with Lehigh.

"I don't want to be in one of the classes that graduates without beating those guys," said Mayo. "Right now I'm 0-3 in that series and I don't want to leave Lafayette winless against Lehigh."

The re-assembled coaching staff is a big reason Mayo has such high standards for the team this season. He thinks all of the different backgrounds that the coaches bring to the table will be good for the team's chemistry and will allow them to surprise both Patriot League opponents and non-league competition.

"The offense we have this year will shake things up because it's more of a pro-style attack," Mayo commented. "It's going to allow me to do a lot more on the field."

The coaches are confident that he will help lead the team this season and shatter his own personal records along with the doubts of Lafayette skeptics. Not overlooking any games on the team's schedule this season, Mayo plans to play one game at a time, fighting for every yard he earns, every block he makes and every pass he catches. He expects it of himself and he looks forward to the opportunities and challenges of adjusting to a new era of the Lafayette program.