Nathan Robitaille
Journalism
Mr. Tierney
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Who really is #8?
A sneak peek into Stonehill College Football’s Zaire Reiph
You may have seen him on the gridiron of W.B. Mason Stadium tearing up the opposing defenses in his beloved purple Skyhawk jersey. You may also catch him in the colonial courts on a Saturday night with his shirt off dancing with the ladies; or even in the library trying better himself in the classroom. Wherever it is you happen to run into this fun loving young man, you’ll always be greeted by his pearly white, wide smile. You definitely can’t miss it.
There are many things that standout when you see Mr. Reiph, such as his many tattoos, which his parents do not approve of; or his ripped abdominal muscles that everyone gets to see when he wants to impress the fairer of the opposite sex. One thing that sticks out the most though is his very uncommon name, Zaire.
When asked about how he obtained the name, he said, “When I was born, my parents had trouble coming up with a name for me. At the time he was being born, his older brother Serge was learning about Africa while he was in school, and “he mentioned the name Zaire to them”. This then sparked a light bulb in his father’s mind to go on”. My father is a big Mohammed Ali fan. He has a bunch of videotapes of all his fights and he has the “Rumble in the Jungle” in his collection. I’ve seen that one a few times”, said Zaire. This boasted two of the best heavyweight boxers in the history of boxing, between Ali and George Foreman. The country the fight was in was the country of Zaire. This is what his parents decided to name him. Although he was born eighteen years after the match, Zaire knows all about “The Rumble in the Jungle”. Now 38 years after Ali beat George Foreman for the heavyweight crown in 1974, Zaire Reiph is doing his own ‘rumbling”, on the football field that is.
Zaire graduated from the St. Luke’s School in New Canaan, Connecticut where for two years he was a two way starter at running back on offense and safety on defense. He attended this private school in eighth and ninth grades, then he transferred in his sophomore year to Brien McMahon; a public school where he was part of their football program as well. He then returned to St. Luke's his junior year where he was welcomed back to the team and named team captain upon his return. The coaches and teammates of Zaire for the Crusaders of St. Luke’s were certainly glad he came back. Zaire rushed for 1,034 yards and scored 13 touchdowns, while recording 68 tackles on defense. Dante Brito a teammate of Zaire now at Stonehill, but an opponent in high school, said,” he is extremely talented, with a lot of speed and from what I’ve seen from our junior years in high school until now, he hasn’t reached his potential”.
After having a stellar junior season, Zaire started to get some recognition for his play on the football field from many schools across the country. In fact, before even suiting up for the first game of his senior year he was named the MVP at Schuman's National Underclassmen Combine, which attracted 250 top players to New Jersey from all over the east coast. After winning the MVP of the combine, that earned him an invite to the Ultimate 100 East Combine in Matawan, New Jersey. This featured the top 100 high school prospects in the Northeast. These accolades made Zaire work even harder in trying to go play football for a division one program at the highest level. However calls stopped coming in and the division one schools lost some interest in him which led Zaire to begin to doubt his skill set. Small injuries started affecting his play and his senior year went from all he ever hoped for to somewhat mediocre. He was still named to the All Connecticut State team and played alongside his current teammate Joe DellaVecchia in multiple all-star games. In which they developed a strong bond together knowing they were going to play at the same school after the all-star festivities subsided. “He’s a hard worker, great teammate, friend and a good football player”, said Della Vecchia.
Even though the division one schools weren’t showing any interest anymore, the next highest level which is division two came into play and Zaire took full advantage of the schools recruiting him. One of them happened to be a prestigious liberal arts institution in Easton, Massachusetts called Stonehill. Zaire was the number one recruit on their radar and he was offered a scholarship which was the main thing he wanted to get. After taking a few visits and coming on a recruiting trip to the school he fell in love. The coaches, the players, the academic prestige and even some recruits he met while visiting, made the choice that much easier for him to decide to sign his letter of intent.
Now a Stonehill Skyhawk, Zaire came in freshman year wide eyed and ready to take on any challenge thrown at him. He started every game his freshman year scoring 2 touchdowns and making big plays when the Skyhawk’s needed them. His roommate Nate Morris said, “Zaire is very talented, always positive, very football orientated. He works hard in all he does”. But while he's proven to be a talent on the gridiron, Zaire is anything but one dimensional.
He also excels in the classroom with a love for math and science and carries a 2.8 grade point average as of right now. Though he does not know what he wants to major in, after interviewing him, he said that he came in as a communications major. Unfortunately he decided he would drop communications and would like to try healthcare courses because of his caring spirit for others. Teammate and good friend Tom Linden said, “After getting to know him this year, we became much closer and he truly does care for all of his friends and loved ones around him”. Some of his buddies tend to joke that he cares a little too much about the girls around him, but they all say that’s his choice. “As long as it doesn’t affect his play for us we don’t care what he does”, Nate Morris said with a chuckle.
So far Zaire has been living the life and loving the choice he made of coming to Stonehill. Everyone here, students, teachers, coaches, lunch ladies, they all love Zaire. His good personality, positive attitude make him so easy to get along with. The friends he’s made, the troubles (with girls mainly) he’s gone through has made him a better person overall. Zaire said, “I’m a firm believer of you have to know where you came from to move further in your life”. He’s learned from his mistakes and plans on taking advantage of his opportunities and living his life to the fullest to make his parents and brothers proud.
Coming off a decent sophomore campaign for this high spirited young man has him hungry for the future in his craft. Football will forever be this student-athlete's calling card and he hopes that his final seasons at Stonehill College are memorable for him and his teammates. “We definitely want to get a winning season for the upcoming year. We haven't had one in a long time," Zaire said. "We have plenty work to do, but we've been working hard in the offseason, putting a lot of effort in so we'll be ready for the next season. I'm going to make sure I do all I can. I can't wait for the season to start and get on the field”.
It sure sounds like #8 Zaire Reiph is ready to rumble.
Zaire Reiph-Profile Story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPIkpeh6DGQ&feature=plcp
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