The Paine College Lions will take to the gridiron this season for the first time since the program was disbanded in 1952.
But it’s not the first time coach Greg Ruffin was part of resurrecting a team.
Ruffin was on Lincoln’s inaugural squad in 1999 and was at the helm for Shaw in 2002 when the Bears went 7-3 in their first season since 1979.
He’ll need that experience this season. In the SIAC preseason poll, Paine was picked to finish last in the conference. But Ruffin thinks those coaches are making a critical mistake by assuming his first-year program is destined for dismay.
“We’re up and running already,” he said. “We’re on an even field with everybody else.”
Paine isn’t completely new to the gridiron, however. The school had a club team last season that competed against college programs and finished with a 3-1 record. Ruffin said it easily could have been 4-0.
Now with the structure and scholarship opportunities that accompany a Division II program, he expects improvement.
And he has the personnel to achieve improvement. Just like the Lions’ program, many of his players are seeking a new lease on life. They’re searching for a fresh start after their previous schools didn’t work out. Ruffin said his roster held 23 players who are older than 22.
“When I say we’re not a normal first-year football program, we’re not,” he said. “We’ve got experienced football players.”
Those experienced players and a coach experienced in first-year programs will be crucial if Paine is going to beat the preseason predictions. Ruffin himself had one prediction that he wanted to reiterate.
“We won’t be your typical first-year football program,” he said. “I think we’ll be pretty decent. We’ll be above average.”
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