William & Mary defensive end went up after falloff

By JOHN PACKETT
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
Published: October 1, 2008

WILLIAMBURG - When he arrived at William and Mary as a walk-on three years ago, Adrian Tracy had two goals:

“My main thing was working to getting a scholarship and proving that I belonged . . . that I was a good player,“ Tracy said yesterday.

Mission accomplished.

As a redshirt freshman, the defensive end finished second among conference rookies with 70 tackles and ranked in the top 10 for tackles for losses (15½) and sacks (six). The Sterling native was rewarded with a full scholarship.

So how to explain last season’s dropoff, when the 6-4 244-pounder was fifth on the team in tackles and wasn’t pleased with his performance?

“To be honest, I didn’t have the same drive,“ he said. “I didn’t have as much of a goal to aspire to, other than being good defensively and hope to win a championship.

“Being the person I am, I wanted to build off of each year, and I wasn’t able to do that. So I had to go back to square one, reassess everything, and I believe I’ve done that.“

Through the first three games, Tracy is third on the team in tackles (18) and leads the Tribe (0-0, 2-1) in sacks with three heading into Saturday’s Colonial Athletic Association opener with No. 14 Villanova (1-0, 3-1).

“The biggest thing with Adrian [in the past] is he’s shown sparks, but he hasn’t been as consistent as we’d like him to be, so far as doing everything as a defensive end,“ W&M coach Jimmye Laycock said.

“This year, he’s really developed into a very consistent player, plus he’s even upped his big-play potential, like making stops, making pressure, making sacks. One thing that’s helped him is having C.J. Herbert on the other [end]. Both of them have played very well.“

Tracy wasn’t the only one suffering a falloff last season. The Tribe’s defense allowed a school-record 427 points, with 63 coming in a loss to Villanova. It was the most W&M has allowed a conference opponent and the most since Virginia scored that many in 1990.

“It was a game that tested our mental toughness and unfortunately, we didn’t meet the challenge,“ Tracy said. “But we’re using that, especially the defensive line, as motivation, to get ready for this week. We want to prove something.“

So far this season, the defense has made a much better showing than a year ago. The Tribe is allowing an average of 21 points and 277 yards of offense (tops in the CAA).

“I think the main thing is we have a year under our belt, going against other competition,“ Tracy said. “We realize what each position entails and what they have to do. And also the big picture, as a defensive unit, what we’re trying to accomplish. We’re more mature.

“Last year, we had a lot of young players who were thrown into starting positions. Now we know what to expect and we can react and respond differently. We don’t want people to portray us like last year’s team. We’ve taken mental snapshots of those films, and we’re using them in practice and drills and scrimmages and now in games to help us play at a different level.“

Contact John Packett at (804) 649-6313 or .