Attleboro’s Strachan signs with URI
ATTLEBORO — Being a high school coach can be chaotic, especially with all the added duties the job entails.
Yet, whenever the opportunity presented itself, Attleboro football coach Mike Strachan Sr. would take the opportunity to stroll over to nearby Hayward Field, so that he could catch his son Michael’s youth game.
On Wednesday afternoon, Strachan Sr. could not help but become emotional as he watched his son sign a National Letter of Intent to play at the University of Rhode Island. The two glanced at each other, smiling as a new chapter of their lives came to life.
“I wanted to stay close to home,” Strachan Jr. said. “That was a big part of my decision. I was getting recruited by a lot of Div. I-AA schools, but one of the driving factors of me committing so early was Coach (Mike) Flanagan. I just felt really at home when I met him.”
Strachan Jr. received offers from eight schools in total, including Boston College, Brown, Central Connecticut, Duquesne, Harvard, Holy Cross and Sacred Heart in addition to URI, but decided to follow in the footsteps of another Attleboro High legend. After seeing Kyle Murphy make it to the NFL this spring, Strachan Jr. chose to make Kingston, R.I., his home for the foreseeable future, just as someone he had long looked up to did.
His recruitment picked up in June 2019 when Strachan Jr. stood out at a Boston College camp. Among the coaches in attendance were
URI head coach Jim Fleming, and his recruiting coorbOstOn dinator, Flanagan. Plenty of athletes had flashes, but Strachan Jr. really caught their eyes and got onto their radar.
A week after his junior year, the Rams offered Strachan Jr. a scholarship. On Feb. 17, 2020, the junior made his commitment.
“I’m so proud of him,” Strachan Sr. said. “I had the opportunity to coach him when he was a kid, growing up through Pop Warner, and he’s such a hard worker. I look at that in every athlete, and you see kids separate themselves. Michael is really one of the hardest-working players I’ve had that has come through here at Attleboro.”
In other local recruiting news, UMass landed a pair of tight ends, Eni Falayi (St. Mary’s/Williston Northampton) and Ryan Mosesso (Noble & Greenough) along with the Milford tandem of quarterback Brady Olson and linebacker Dominic Schofield.
Holy Cross received commitments from a pair of Governor’s Academy stars, running back/linebacker Jordan Fuller and two-way lineman Kevin Gillis. Linebacker Trey Cavaan of Springfield Central and running back/defensive back Myles Wilson of Thayer Academy will play at Merrimack.
On the national front, Michigan made its presence felt locally as it secured the talent of a pair of All-Scholastics, defensive end T.J. Guy of Mansfield and tight end Louis Hansen of St. Sebastian’s as well as former Milton Academy offensive lineman Greg Crippen.
Coastal Carolina recruited its second Everett kid in recent years as defensive end Josaiah Stewart is heading south. Acton-Boxboro running back Alex Berrouet is joining former BC coach Steve Addazio at Colorado State, while BC High offensive tackle Erik Russell signed with Wake Forest.
St. John’s Prep defensive end Collin Taylor is one of three locals heading to the Ivy League as he committed to Princeton. St. John’s (Shrewsbury) tackle Sean Sullivan will play at Yale, while two-way lineman John Iannuzzi of Dexter Southfield is going to Columbia.