NICK OF TIME! Quarterback Nick Doscher, 25, has led Wagner to a 5-1 record in the Northeast and only three wins away from earning the college’s first NCAA Division I Football Championship berth. (Wagner College Athletic Department)
Nick Doscher is Staten Island’s version of Tim Tebow.
Doscher’s appearance at Wagner College football spring practice four years ago was met with scoffs and doubts.
Many of the Wagner College players joked the former minor league catcher resembled a fullback rather than a quarterback because of his stocky 6-foot-2, 225-pound build — the same assertion made of Tebow’s attempt to play the position in the NFL.
Then spring practice started — and everyone within the Wagner College football program realized how wrong they were as Doscher put on a show, flashing surprising speed, power, accuracy and arm strength.
“We were stunned,” senior offensive lineman Steve Ciocci said.
Doscher, a Staten Island product who spent three years after high school playing professional baseball in the Royals organization, quickly earned the job and has not only held on to it, he’s led Wagner to one of its best seasons in program history. The Seawolves are 5-1 in the Northeast Conference and in control of their own destiny, three wins from their first NCAA Tournament berth.
Everyone at Wagner now swears by the 25-year-old Doscher, who is known affectionately as “grandpa” and “old man.”
“He’s the type of guy you love playing for,” Ciocci said.
Entering Saturday’s first-place NEC showdown with Albany, Doscher is among the program’s leaders in several categories — total yards (first), passing yards (second), completions (second), passing touchdowns (fourth) and rushing yards (ninth) — and is the top dual threat longtime coach Walt Hameline said he has ever had under center.
“When you go to war with him, you feel darn good about whatever situation [you’re in],” Hameline said who is in his 32nd season.
Doscher was a two-sport star at Moore Catholic on Staten Island, the quarterback on the football team and catcher for the baseball team, which he led to a city championship his senior year. The day after winning the title, he signed with the Royals who drafted him in the eighth round, but he batted just .208 in three seasons before he was released outright.
“Obviously, it didn’t work out, but I feel like I’ve had life experiences almost no one can compare to,” Doscher saidwho has considered coaching when his playing career is over or going into business, his major.
Experiences, he said, that have contributed to his success at Wagner.
As dangerous with his right arm as his feet, Doscher has inspired teammates with the toughness, leadership skills and grit he said he got from toiling in the minor leagues. He’s had three separate operations — one on his right shoulder, two on his left ankle — but has yet to miss a game.
“You can count on him no matter what,” said David Crawford, Wagner’s playmaking wide receiver.
Doscher is a commanding presence in the huddle, the offense’s unquestioned captain. One game, a few offensive linemen were arguing about a missed assignment before Doscher slammed their helmets together and said, “shut up, this is my huddle,” Ciocci recalled with a laugh.
Ciocci will always remember a come-from-behind win over Sacred Heart last year when Doscher was drilled out of bounds, landing hard on his shoulder. He figured his quarterback was done, but Doscher didn’t miss a play and led Wagner to a game-winning touchdown.
“You could see he was in pain, but he refused to say anything about it,” Ciocci said. “That showed his toughness and who he is.”
Doscher’s journey is coming to an end. Four regular-season games remain to put an exclamation point on a memorable career, to reach the NCAA Division I Football Championship— a goal Doscher set when he earned the starting quarterback job as a freshman.
“He doesn’t want to just be the baseball player who came here — he wants to be the baseball player who won,” Crawford said.