Gough's role isn't secondary to Crusaders

Forget the hype. Preseason honors are nice and all, and what Holy Cross coach Tom Gilmore said about him being the best cornerback in the league was flattering, even though it put a little pressure on him.

The only thing that really matters to Casey Gough is Georgetown. And it's not just because it's the first game of the season.

It's the program that, four years ago, treated him less like a starting cornerback and more like a backup prom date.

``I mean it's a great school academically," Gough said. ``But in terms of football, I didn't like the program. I don't know the program now. I've heard great things about the coaching staff, that they're real respectable guys. I just didn't like the staff before. I didn't feel welcome there. I really just don't like that school."

Georgetown essentially put Gough on hold while it waited for other recruits to make up their minds.

``I was like a third-tier recruit there," Gough said. ``They told me, `We've got some other guys we're looking at before you, but if they say no, we'll call you.' I said I want to go to a place where I'm wanted, and I came here, and they wanted me. [The Hoyas] kind of pushed me aside. So ever since then Georgetown's always been the game."

So Saturday's opener means more to Gough than perhaps anybody else on the Holy Cross roster.

As a freshman in 2003, Gough and the Crusaders sent the Hoyas back to D.C. with a 42-34 loss. The next year, in the final game of the season, the Crusaders went to Georgetown and left with a 31-28 overtime win. Last year at Fitton Field, the cake, the icing, and the cherry all came in a 48-6 thrashing of the Hoyas in the Crusaders' second game.

Each of those games is a reminder: Georgetown lost, not Gough.

``Boy, did they miss the boat," said Gilmore, who called Gough not only the best corner in the Patriot League but also one of the league's most dangerous returners.

``He gets the ball in his hands with lots of space around him, and he can take it to the house," Gilmore said. ``Casey's fast. He's a very physical football player. He's a guy we can put on an island if we need to at the corner spot, and he can cover anybody in this league. So they really missed the boat on him."

Gough is a playmaker by nature. Forty of his 45 tackles last season were solo. His three interceptions ranked him fifth in the league. He averaged 33.9 yards on nine kickoff returns last season and even blocked an extra point in a 22-19 win over Yale. He also had an interception and a safety in that game.

For a team that will rely heavily on its defense -- one drastically improved after giving up nearly 40 points a game three seasons ago -- Gough is key.

``Casey's a very capable player," said middle linebacker Dan Adams, a cocaptain along with Gough. ``He's an unbelievable talent. He's got speed, he can catch the ball, he's a good player, he's a good special teams player, and the biggest thing is putting it all together. And I think as a team we'll be able to do that."

On a team full of hungry players -- the offense is full of fresh faces, three of whom are battling for the starting quarterback job -- Gough is starving. At his position, it's a mentality he has to have.

``You've got to want the ball," he said. ``You can't be sitting on the field saying, `I hope they don't throw my way.' You have to want the ball every time, and you have to be the one wanting to make the plays."

The pressure will be on the defense to make those plays.

``It's the kind of pressure I think our defense wants," Gough said. ``We want to be the guys that they look to. If the defense has to do something we'll be willing to step up. I think teams will see right away that we don't have a weak link in our defense. It's not going to be 10 guys are good and this guy is bad. We're solid all over the field. We have a really good defense and I'm confident people will see that."

Georgetown will get the first viewing.