Maxwell Club Honors Tri-State Coach Of The Year Andy Talley
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (CBS) — Andy Talley embodies Villanova football. The long-time Wildcats' coach is a national champion, and usually gets Villanova in position to win the FCS national title each year. This past season, Talley led the Wildcats again to another successful run, going 7-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association Conference and 11-3, reaching the FCS quarterfinals.
For the second time in six years, Talley was awarded the Maxwell Club's Tri-State Coach of the Year—and received his third overall trophy from the prestigious football club.
Talley didn't want to talk about himself and his many accomplishments. Instead, Talley wanted to talk about his team and his one very special player, junior quarterback John Robertson.
"It's good to see the Maxwell Club thriving, because it recognizes football at every level, and it's good to see good people getting awards, like a guy like (College Coach of the Year) Dan Mullen, a local guy, who played for Ursinus and Bruce Arians coming back and doing well," Talley said. "We have a great team, and we have a great player coming back in our quarterback, John Robertson. I think he has pro potential. I think he has the same kind of ability of one of our other former players, Brian Westbrook.
"John can turn a game around by himself. He's a 1,000-yard rusher and a very, very accurate passer. He has great leadership savvy, and 6-2, 220 pounds, there's not many quarterbacks in the NFL like him. And he can definitely play in Chip Kelly's offense, because we run that offense. Hopefully Chip will be looking for a quarterback by the time John gets out, because he's definitely a pro prospect. He's a draftable player."
Villanova could start next season as a top-five FCS team. The Wildcats open with Connecticut and then play Fordham.
"We play a FBS and a top FSC team back-to-back, but I like what we have returning, starting with John and the guys we have surrounding him," Talley said. "We get out of the box with those two, we'll be a team to be reckoned with."
