CHANGE IS IN THE AIR - New Stonehill coach shaking up the football program

By JOHN R. JOHNSON, For The Patriot Ledger

EASTON - When J.J. Niamkey catches his first pass this season, he'll need to make sure he runs in the right direction. After three years patrolling the field as a defensive back for Stonehill College, Niamkey will reverse course by spending his senior season at wide receiver.

First-year Stonehill coach Rob Talley hopes Niamkey's game-breaking speed will inject a shot of energy into a Skyhawk offense that ranked next to last in both scoring and passing offense in the Northeast-10 Conference last season. As a defensive back last year, Niamkey started all 10 contests, posting 32 tackles, 20 of them solo. His two interceptions led the team.

Now, Niamkey - a graduate of Quincy High - will set his sights on catching passes from his own quarterback, not the opposing quarterback.

‘‘In moving him to receiver, I just think we didn't have enough speed on the outside and J.J. definitely brings that element,'' says Talley, who took over the Stonehill program in February after Milton native Chris Woods took a position at Harvard as special teams coordinator and linebackers coach.

‘‘It was a pretty easy decision to move J.J. After three years at defensive back, he brings a certain element of toughness over to the receiver position. He's pretty excited about it.''

Niamkey will most likely catch his passes from one of three candidates at quarterback - sophomore transfer David Pringle, junior Cruz Parsons, who had success two years ago before being hurt last season, and Jon Kaloyanides.

After a 1-9 season a year ago and a ninth-place finish in the 2007 Northeast-10 pre-season poll, Talley is making no predictions when it comes to how successful his club will be this year.

‘‘The goal is to rebuild the program,'' said Talley, a Boston University graduate who spent the past two seasons as a special assistant and assistant offensive line coach for the San Francisco 49ers.

‘‘I don't know exactly where we'll fall as far as wins and losses. We just want to get better every week and have some consistency as we go forward. We're not playing just for this season, but to build a program, which can take longer. At the same time, I'm not too patient when it comes to wins and losses, and we owe it to our seniors to win as many games as quickly as we can.''

Helping to ease the sting of Niamkey's departure on the defensive side of the ball will be senior Sean Donohue, who will see more time in the defensive backfield this season. Donohue, who played defensive back at Plymouth (N.H.) Regional High School, will also handle Stonehill's punting duties. Last year, he was a first-team NE-10 selection after punting 68 times for a total of 2,583 yards. He also added 1,248 yards on 25 kickoffs. Although Donohue also converted five of 10 field goal attempts, including a 41-yard long conversion, Talley indicated that senior place kicker Brett Perrone will also get a look at that position.

Chris Regan, a senior outside linebacker from Hanson and BC High, should see plenty of action on defense after starting 10 games last year and finishing second on the team with 58 tackles. Senior Tom Bethoney of Hanover is competing for a spot on the offensive line after taking off last year.

The Skyhawks open their season at Assumption, which was picked to finish seventh in the conference, on Sept. 7. Stonehill's home opener is Sept. 14 against Pace, which was 3-7 last year.

‘‘Obviously the season opener is huge,'' Talley said. ‘‘When you look at our schedule, as far as who is ranked at the top of the league, the rankings (of our opponents) go higher and higher each week. It would be a great lift for the program to beat a team like Assumption. To pull out a win would do a lot for the program.''