Andrew Libby’s position on the University of Massachusetts football roster is not listed as running back. Or wide receiver. Or even fullback. It simply says: athlete.
“That’s exactly what he is,” said Marcel Shipp, the running backs coach for the Minutemen. “He plays special teams, he runs, he catches the ball, he can block like a fullback.
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“He doesn’t have a set position. He’s just a guy who can make plays.”
That Libby is making any plays at all right now is somewhat amazing.
Just a little over 13 months ago his senior season at Thornton Academy ended when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while returning a kickoff in the Trojans’ opener. Surgery and rehabilitation followed.
And while Libby returned to run spring track for the Trojans, and even to play in the annual Maine Shriners’ Lobster Bowl Classic last summer, it’s another thing to simply step onto the field of a Division I football program and contribute as a true freshman.
But that is what Libby is doing.
He has appeared in four games for the Minutemen (0-6) and rushed the ball twice (for 3 yards), caught one pass (for 7 yards) and returned five kickoffs (averaging 16.4 yards per return).
“I’m definitely happy with my role right now,” said Libby in a phone interview. “If the coach wants to give me another role to add on, I’m happy to do that too. They’re still trying to figure out how best to use me.
“The big thing for me is to be patient, and to do everything I want to do here.”
Libby, listed at 6-foot-1, 208 pounds, saw his first playing time in UMass’ second game of the season, against Colorado. He got his first taste of the big time two weeks later when UMass played at Penn State before 99,155 fans. He returned his first kickoff, for 20 yards 6:17 into the game. Later he got two rushes and caught his first collegiate pass.
“That was a little bigger than any crowd I played in front of back in Maine,” Libby joked. “It was one of the things on my list I wanted to accomplish. I’m glad to have it come true.”
Libby, who plans on studying landscape architecture, expected to be redshirted this fall. Not only was he coming off the injury, but being a freshman in a Division I program, he didn’t expect to see any playing time.
Early in training camp, he got the sense he might get a chance to play.
“I kept at it every day,” he said. “They gave me a chance to get on the field and I kept going hard.”
That’s what impressed the UMass coaching staff.
“Libby is a pleasure to coach,” said Shipp, who starred at UMass and then had a seven-year career with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals. “He’s got a lot of potential, a lot of upside. Fresh off the ACL, what he’s doing is amazing. It just shows how hard the kid works. He’s doing extra work when no one else is out there.”
Libby is often on the field by himself, said Shipp, running pass routes or completing drills on his own.
“That’s the sign of a player seeking greatness,” said Shipp. “He came in with a great work ethic and he shows it every day on the field. He’s on the right page and the right track to help us win games.
“He does all the little things. When he’s on the scout team, the coaches there rave how good he is. He always wants the ball. He wants to do too much sometimes. I have to tell him to slow down, to let it happen.”
Those who knew Libby at Thornton Academy – where he was Maine’s Gatorade player of the year in football as a junior – know exactly what Shipp means.
On the Monday after he suffered his knee injury, he approached George Mendros, the Trojans’ outdoor track coach, and told him he should be ready for the spring.
“That’s the last thing that should have been on his mind,” said Mendros. Libby returned, ran sprints and qualified for the state championships in the javelin.
“He’s probably one of the five best kids I’ve ever coached, and not just because of his abilities, but all the things he would do,” said Mendros. “If we were getting on the bus, and no one else picked up the water bucket, he’d be the guy to do it.”
Kevin Kezal, the Thornton football coach, said he is not surprised Libby has forced his way into the game as a freshman.
“Based on what he did here, I knew he was going to go there and put everything he had into it,” said Kezal. “That’s just the type of kid he is. He rises to the occasion. I’m sure he’s shown them a lot.”
Libby had his knee surgery on Sept. 23, 2013 – on his birthday – and was running by Christmas. He was driven to show everyone he would make it all the way back.
“Ever since I started playing, I knew what I wanted to do,” said Libby, who grew up in Dayton. “I wasn’t going to let the injury stop me. And really, after six months, I trusted my knee again.
“I wasn’t afraid to get out there and try it again. Anyone who is afraid of that is not able to focus on what you have to do.”
And that was to get back on the football field.
“This is like a dream come true for me now,” said Libby. “I’m enjoying every play I get.”
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