By Mandy Housenick
GoLeopards.com Featured Columnist

With no scholarship offer in sight from any college, Dean DeNobile certainly could have walked away from football after high school. His love for the sport wouldn't allow that.

"I really just wanted to play," he said.

The quarterback's chances were few and far between in his freshman year at Lafayette College.That's what happens when you're last on the depth chart. Doing not just the big things right, but all the little things too, were a must, every single time he touched the ball.

It didn't take long for it all to click.

"He just kept working," Leopards' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach T.J. DiMuzio said. By the end of his freshman year, he worked his way up to third string. "There was a different focus about him," DiMuzio added. "Everything he did was competitive."

Fast forward to preseason camp. That's when the Morris Catholic graduate found himself No. 2 on the depth chart behind Ryan Schuster. DeNobile didn't expect to get a chance right away during the 2023 season. But that's the thing about sports. You've got to expect the unexpected. Schuster got hurt in the season opener against Sacred Heart and the sophomore took over with Lafayette trailing.

DeNobile was unfazed.

He helped orchestrate an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with 7:24 left to help Lafayette come from behind to win. When Schuster wasn't ready for the second game of 2023 against Duke, DeNobile wanted to put head coach John Troxell's mind at ease.

"Going into the Duke game, we knew Ryan wasn't going to be healthy, and DeNobile came up to me, and he said, 'Hey coach, I got this. Don't worry.' I said, 'I'm not worried. We wouldn't put you out there if we were worried,'" Troxell recalled. "We were all comfortable with him in there. It was hard to take him out then because he kept doing better and better and better. He really is one of the most competitive kids I've been around."

DeNobile led the Leopards to a 5-1 record in Patriot League play, which included an explosive performance against rival Lehigh, during which he threw for three touchdowns and ran for another. Before the season came to a dramatic end, he completed 170-of-255 passes for 1,997 yards with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions. His 66.7 completion percentage in 2023 ranks him sixth all-time at Lafayette and his 20 touchdowns are tied for the fifth-most in a season.

His season came to a crashing halt, though, when he broke his ankle early in the third quarter in the FCS playoffs against Delaware – a game the Leopards lost 36-34.

"I didn't know it was broken and thought I could get X-rays and play again," he said. "It was heartbreaking. It could have been our first playoff win in school history. It definitely broke my heart to not be out there with my teammates. To have it come to an end like that was very upsetting. We definitely have a goal in mind to get back into that position this season."

As difficult as that ending and ensuing rehab were, his heart, his dedication, his leadership and his talent went anything but unnoticed.

After seeing a surgeon in New York City about his ankle, DeNobile returned to campus and attended a team meeting where Troxell announced, in front of the whole team, that he was offering his quarterback a full scholarship. "After the playoff game against Delaware, we were talking and he said, 'What if I'm never a scholarship kid?' wide receiver Eli Steward said. "I was so emotional for him at that meeting because he deserved it."

So far in 2024, he's proved he's more than earned it. DeNobile has led the Leopards to a 3-2 mark, including 1-0 in league play. He's completed 110-of-154 with only three interceptions for 1,193 yards and nine touchdowns.

"He's played lights out for us," Troxell said. "We lost up at Buffalo, and we didn't move the ball really well. After that, I think the kids were disappointed. But Dean, that Sunday, got in the huddle and said, 'If you want to blame someone for the loss, blame me.' He took a lot of ownership and then he comes out at Monmouth and put his body on the line and played with passion. That's who he is. He accepts blame and deflects credit. He's everything you want in your quarterback."

DeNobile, whose older brother Jed played at Fordham, played the game of his life in a come-from-behind win against Monmouth earlier this season. The junior was 31-of-45 for a career-best 394 yards passing. Both touchdowns he threw came in the final minute to put the Leopards on top, 40-35.

"Every game," DeNobile said, "I am striving to throw for 400 yards a game. But in the end, I just want us to win."

With a player who has as much heart, leadership and skill as DeNobile, it's hard to imagine that won't happen.