Curry College football player shares thoughts on breaking NCAA record; "It was just a blessing"
A football player at Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts is speaking out after he made NCAA history at a game this month.
Up until this week, he had been running under the radar. Never before had he been asked to sign a single autograph, which is why running back Montie Quinn needed some practice before signing his initials into college football's history books.
522 rushing yards
"I believe in him so much, that I feel like every time he touches the ball, he's going to take it to the house," said Curry quarterback Anthony Santino.
Quinn found the end zone seven times last Saturday against Nichols College on his way to an NCAA-record 522 rushing yards.
"To be honest, after that game I was a little sore," said Quinn, who became the first player in all of college football to eclipse the 500-yard mark on the ground in a single game. "It still didn't really sink in but I've got to say, it was just a blessing to be out here on the field, playing with my teammates."
"This is new to everyone maybe just finding out about this because he hit a national record, but he's been doing this for four years," said Curry head coach Todd Parsons.
"Football is my life"
Parsons said he knew he had something special in his humble halfback going back to his freshman year.
"We all noticed something was a little bit different," said Parsons. "Just the speed he brought to it. His first touchdown, I think he broke 60 yards. It's kind of embarrassing to say but we only had 10 guys on the field. We didn't even have a tight end. Kind of made it happen by himself a bit. He's been getting better each day."
Now a senior captain, Curry's offense runs through Quinn, a decorated Division-III athlete, who has rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons.
"Football is my life," said Quinn. "God's first. I put football second. These guys out here, they're my family."
And Quinn has no intentions of slowing down until the Colonels finish what he and his senior class started at Curry.
"I felt like I built something," said Quinn. "There's really nothing else I could do but get this team a ring that we deserve. That's the goal right now, just focus on that and taking every game one step at a time."
Fair to say Quinn has already left a mark. He's etched his initials on a game ball now destined for the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.