BY ALEX KANTOR, CO-DIRECTOR OF SPORTS INFORMATION
During the 2008 preseason, the Amherst College football coaching staff began running competitions at the end of every practice that pitted groups of position players against one another. The competitions were anything from the athletic-related to the completely trivial. At the end of any given practice, you could witness 300-pound linemen taking on 165-pound wide receivers in a softball home run derby, egg-toss, tug-of-war or a game of rock, paper, scissors. In what is considered the highlight of these competitions, an assistant coach in a golf cart slowly drives across the football field while a player takes five throws at him with a football. Bonus points are awarded for threading the needle and hitting the coach inside the cart.
After spending his entire rookie season on Amherst's scout team, sophomore Alex Vetras was picked by his fellow quarterbacks to take the five throws for their group. Defensive back Vinny DiForte, who happened to be a former high school quarterback, forced the event into overtime after he and Vetras each connected on three of five throws. As the pressure mounted and the crowd of on-looking teammates grew louder and more abrasive, Vetras had to at least match the four conversions that DiForte had registered in his second chance. Despite carrying the weight on his shoulders of being the only quarterback in a throwing event, Vetras remained calm and collected. As an unknown just one year earlier, and as a player who had never taken a single snap in a college game, Vetras stepped up. As head coach EJ Mills recalls, "Vetras drilled that coach five times in a row without thinking twice about it. That was the moment he became our quarterback."
In his first collegiate start against Hamilton College a few weeks later, Vetras completed 25 of 34 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns in a 30-6 win. The Jeffs finished the 2008 season at 5-3 with Vetras starting every game. Last season, Vetras led the Lord Jeffs to their first 8-0 season since 1984, winning the program's first NESCAC Championship along the way. Vetras has been even better this season as the Jeffs head into the final weekend with a chance to win a share of a second-straight conference title.
Amherst's record book is littered with Vetras' name. He is the program's all-time leader in career passing yards (5,141) and holds records for pass attempts in a game (54), season (296) and career (848), as well as completions in a game (35). He needs only one touchdown to tie the single-season record of 16.
With a 19-4 record as a starter, Vetras led Amherst to 14 straight wins before last Saturday's loss at Trinity. Only one other time in the 131-year history of the program have the Jeffs won that many consecutive games. This weekend, Vetras will lead the Jeffs out onto Pratt Field for the final time, looking to clinch a share of the NESCAC crown. Vetras and the Jeffs will be trying for the fifth time to spoil a Williams bid for a perfect season.
But while Vetras and his classmates have helped shift the power balance within the conference in Amherst's favor, the undisputed leader of the Lord Jeffs is even prouder of the change in culture he has helped to cultivate. For the first time this season, Vetras says, he is having fun on the field, taking the time to let everything soak in. In his first two seasons under center for the Jeffs, Vetras was workmanlike in his demeanor between the lines. Prior to this year, onlookers would see Vetras jog to the sideline without a reaction after a touchdown. This year, on the advice of classmate Brian Murphy, Vetras is enjoying every memory in his senior season. After each Amherst score this year, Vetras has sprinted to the end zone to celebrate with his teammates. His favorite moment this fall? Looking around the stadium at Middlebury's Youngman Field—a place this year's seniors had never won prior to this season—before taking a knee to cap another win.
This season, Vetras and his teammates relish the fact that they are playing at four different homecomings. The 2010 Jeffs enjoy the opportunity to play in front of large crowds and showcase their explosive offense. Amherst has already played the role of villain at Wesleyan, Trinity and Middlebury, and now has the opportunity to take the stage against their archrivals from Williams to write the final chapter in this story.
But Vetras is proudest of the changes off the field. Each Thursday night since his sophomore season, Vetras has joined every quarterback on the Amherst roster at a local sushi restaurant. Even players who have changed positions since the dinners started in 2008 come along for the ride. The restaurant always has a special table waiting for them, as well as new specials for them to try out. Each player has his turn talking about the best and worst part of his day. "Even though it sounds kind of cheesy," says Vetras, "those dinners really are the best part of my week."
Dan Pozner '11, now a student-assistant coach working with the wide receivers, began his collegiate football career as a quarterback alongside Vetras. The two studied abroad in Madrid last spring, and Pozner still attends the weekly dinners with the group, partly because of Vetras. "When Vet addresses the team, people listen," explains Pozner. "He speaks straight from the heart—always honest and genuine. His passion for this team inspires the rest of us to do everything we can for one another."
Vetras' ability to lead those around him was evident even before the season began this year. At a leadership symposium for Amherst's captains in late August, Vetras was selected by the group of trainers running the session as the best leader during the event that put the student-athletes through two days of grueling workouts.
After Amherst's 14-game win streak was snapped last Saturday, Vetras once again showed his true colors. During film review on Sunday, Vetras had his teammates focused on the task ahead. This weekend the Lord Jeffs are playing for both Little Three and NESCAC titles against Williams, with Vetras looking to write the final chapter on what has been one amazing story.
