Sept. 26, 2007

By: Billy Orndorff

Stats

Name: Deric Dudinski

Position: Running Back

Year: Freshman

Major: Business

Personal: Sterling, VA - Park View High School

One year ago, Deric Dudinski was in the midst of his senior year of high school rushing for first downs and touchdowns at Park View High in Sterling, VA.

One year later, Deric Dudinski is a freshman starting all over again. He's moved on from being the Virginia State 2A Player of the Year and breaking numerous high school records. He's moved on from being named as a two-way All-Met selection at running back and safety, an honor that's given out annually only to some of the nation's top recruits from the Baltimore/Washington-area hotbed. He's even moved on from opportunities he was given to continue his football career from other universities such as East Stroudsburg, Northwestern, James Madison and nationally ranked Shepherd (W.Va.) University. Bottom line: Deric Dudinski is looking to make just as much of an early impact on La Salle football as he is looking to make a positive one.

Some may wonder why Dudinski chose La Salle over his other options for college football. Was it the high quality and value of a La Salle education? Maybe it was the transition from a smaller town to the big city of Philadelphia that swayed Dudinski into choosing La Salle.

"Coach Miller is very intense, just like my high school coach was." said Dudinski. "A lot of his philosophies are the same, which made it a very easy transition from high school. It's almost like I didn't even switch head coaches. But I also have a great group of teachers here at La Salle, and I'm learning from them. I like the way they teach."

Dudinski entered football camp this summer, and made a quick transition from high school as he earned first-team reps at running back. The immediate future looked bright for Dudinski and the Explorers, until they found themselves looking back at a 0-3 record, with seven quality teams still on the schedule.

"A lot of our starters are young, and a lot of those young guys are freshmen." said Dudsinski. "We're definitely going to improve as a team once we get more experience under our belt. Our current record doesn't reflect how good we really are, or how good we are going to be."

Dudinski has lived up to the hype so far and has made a lot of the positive contributions to La Salle football that he's planned on all along. From splitting time as a starting running back, to starting on special teams as a kick returner, as well as being a leader in off-the-field activities- Dudinski is exactly the kind of individual that head coach Tim Miller wants on his squad.

"The thing that I'm most proud of about Deric is his ability to be a great teammate and overall contributor to La Salle football. He's very dedicated to the weight room, and he always jumps right in on the scout team in practice. Deric has also been very adamant about getting involved in Big Brothers/Big Sisters. I just saw him on his way over to Logan Elementary school earlier today to do that." commented Miller. "Football-wise, he's still learning the college game, but you see flashes of his abilities on the field."

A lot of people look forward to Deric on the field, but at the rate Deric is going, even more people may be just as satisfied to see him anywhere on the La Salle campus.

"I'm not used to seeing a lot of people on a college campus." Dudinski claimed. "Here at La Salle, there are always more than just students on the campus. I also like the location too because it's in the city where there are lots of people and opportunities around."

At the end of the day, lifting weights, scoring touchdowns and doing well in the classroom aren't the only things on Deric Dudinski's mind. Being a positive influence on anything and everything seems to be of utmost importance to the freshman, and that's something we can all look forward to.