Photo by: Mark Palczewski
A chance meeting changes course for Lopez, Marauders
10/19/2018 7:00:00 AM | Football, Features
Millersville, Pa. - Matt Sutjak didn't find his starting cornerback by watching a high school game on a Friday night or while pouring over a recruiting video. Nope. He found his starting cornerback in a Jiffy Lube.
Yes, Ray Lopez was changing oil, working in the Willow Street Jiffy Lube when a chance meeting with a Millersville assistant coach altered his course. Now, Lopez, in his second season with the program, leads the Marauders with four interceptions, was named PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week after the win over Lock Haven and helps anchor a secondary that ranks first in the PSAC in pass defense, allowing just 178.9 yards per game and a 51.9 completion percentage against.
Lopez is tied for second in the league in interceptions, and one more would give him the most by any Marauder since his defensive coordinator (Sutjak) led the Marauders with five in 2010.
Lopez is contributing at such a high level and has so seamlessly transitioned to the position that it is hard to believe he went five years without strapping on a helmet.
But even in the summer of 2016—more than three years removed from high school--Lopez wasn't your run-of-the-mill Jiffy Lube employee. He was a former Division I baseball player, a supreme athlete, who once appeared on Sportscenter's Top 10 segment with a diving catch in the outfield. Lopez started two years (missing his sophomore season with a broken hand) for the VMI Keydets, stealing 34 bases and hitting .269 over 98 games.
While he was a talented high school wide receiver and defensive back, baseball was always the first choice for Lopez. He played his high school baseball for Millersville alum Todd Garber at nearby Lampeter-Strasburg--the same school where Millersville head coach Jon Shehan played. The Millersville coach was plenty familiar with Lopez.
"Great athlete," said Shehan of Lopez. "Fast, terrific arm strength and a dynamic offensive player."
Lopez claims he was the No. 1 high school shortstop on Shehan's board in the fall of 2011, although Shehan says he never seriously recruited Lopez because he committed so early to VMI. Lopez entertained the idea of playing football in college but the recruiting cycle for baseball forced him to make a decision as a junior.
Lopez spent three years at VMI, living a military-style life; waking up to a reveille bugle at 6 a.m., putting on a uniform every day and going to bed at curfew. But he left VMI and headed back home to Willow Street short of completing his psychology degree. Accustomed to drilling, classes, training and competition, Lopez filled his newfound free time by picking up a job at the local service station and intensely started lifting heavy weights, building a wiry 190-pound body up to 225 pounds.
Then, around Christmas time in 2015, Sutjak received a call from Lampeter-Strasburg High School football coach John Manion. Manion told Sutjak that Lopez was back in the area and would consider playing football again. However, Lopez had not yet enrolled at Millersville.
"We didn't know much about him," said Sutjak. "We asked some people that we knew in the area who knew him and they gave us a positive recommendation, but we were deep into high school recruiting at that point and didn't take it much further."
Six months later, Lopez had started classes at Millersville while still working at Jiffy Lube. That's when then-Millersville assistant Rod Holder stopped in for a quick oil change and crossed paths with Lopez.
"Coach Holder had a Millersville football sticker in his car, so I started talking to him, telling him that I used to play football and wanted to play again," said Lopez.
Two days later, Lopez got a call from Sutjak, and Lopez ditched his work shirt with a name tag for an Under Armour Millersville jersey.
"I was just excited," said Lopez. "There aren't many opportunities where you get to put the pads back on."
Lopez arrived at camp in August. But going five years without playing a sport competitively is a long time. Lopez, however, quickly found his footing.
"It was interesting," said Sutjak. "We weren't sure what we were getting when he came to us. As he started going through camp last fall you could see the athleticism. But he was so unsure of himself because he hadn't done it in a long time. It wasn't even the first game when he was ready to go. He was getting better and better every practice. By game four or five we started giving him more and more playing time. You could see then that we had a kid who could play football. Each week he earned more playing time because he proved he could do it."
"Getting the football IQ back, getting rolling with terms--that was most challenging," said Lopez. "The collegiate level it is so much faster. Adjusting to the speed of the game was a challenge."
Still, Lopez was an immediate contributor. He played in 10 games, made 22 tackles and broke up five passes. In the week six shutout of East Stroudsburg, Lopez broke up two passes. He made three pass breakups against Cheyney.
"(Lopez's performance) was really surprising to us," said Sutjak. "When you take someone like that you are never 100 percent certain how it is going to go. Sometimes you bring in guys, and they are a body and never become contributors. But he just took off."
Lopez parlayed that solid first season into a breakout 2018 season. After missing the first two games with an injury, Lopez made his first career interception against nationally-ranked West Chester. The following week, he helped Millersville shut out East Stroudsburg for three quarters. Against Lock Haven, Millersville won its second consecutive game, largely because of the five turnovers the defense created. Two of them were interceptions by Lopez. Two days later, he was named the PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week.
Lopez downplayed the recognition, but Sutjak wouldn't.
"That was outstanding. He played a great game against Lock Haven," said Sutjak. "That was kind of like everything building to that; all the work he had done of the past year paying off. It was awesome to see him win that award."
With Lopez locking down one side, Brendan Sherman on the other, and seniors Jhet Janis and Kendle Pitts manning the safety positions, Sutjak deploys a secondary that is as experienced and skilled as any Millersville has fielded in recent history. What Lopez brings to the unit is athleticism and the ability to track the ball—much like he did as an outfielder at VMI.
"His reaction speed is incredible," said Sutjak. "He is fast--not the fastest guy in the league--but he reacts so well, and he has a longer body so he can get his hand through the receiver's hands and make a play on the football. A lot of his interceptions come on long throws where he accelerates on a post route, gets himself over the top, goes up and wins the football."
Sutjak identifies Lopez's strength as a man-to-man cover corner.
"When you put him on an outside receiver, you can trust that he will stay in the receiver's hip pocket because he has good change of direction skills," said Sutjak.
If only Sutjak could find similarly talented players without fighting recruiting battles and visiting service stations instead of high schools. Lopez's journey to Millersville was unique. And while he is making a difference for the Marauders, Sutjak also recognizes the difference Millersville football is making on Lopez.
"The best part of the story is that it helped him get back into school," said Sutjak. "Coach Holder running into him that one day and us talking to him, getting him here for a visit--now he is going to get his degree."
Lopez also recognizes that he has learned much from playing football again.
"Adjusting—it was a challenge but something I took head on and I think I've done alright," said Lopez. "It's given me confidence in myself, knowing that there are going to be obstacles in life, and I can battle through and still be successful."
In the winter of 2015, Lopez never imagined that he spend 2017 and 2018 playing football at Millersville. Now, set to graduate soon with a degree in psychology, Lopez isn't entirely sure what his next step in life will be, but it seems he is ready for anything. Just as long as it isn't changing oil.
"Definitely not," laughed Lopez.
Yes, Ray Lopez was changing oil, working in the Willow Street Jiffy Lube when a chance meeting with a Millersville assistant coach altered his course. Now, Lopez, in his second season with the program, leads the Marauders with four interceptions, was named PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week after the win over Lock Haven and helps anchor a secondary that ranks first in the PSAC in pass defense, allowing just 178.9 yards per game and a 51.9 completion percentage against.
Lopez is tied for second in the league in interceptions, and one more would give him the most by any Marauder since his defensive coordinator (Sutjak) led the Marauders with five in 2010.
Lopez is contributing at such a high level and has so seamlessly transitioned to the position that it is hard to believe he went five years without strapping on a helmet.
But even in the summer of 2016—more than three years removed from high school--Lopez wasn't your run-of-the-mill Jiffy Lube employee. He was a former Division I baseball player, a supreme athlete, who once appeared on Sportscenter's Top 10 segment with a diving catch in the outfield. Lopez started two years (missing his sophomore season with a broken hand) for the VMI Keydets, stealing 34 bases and hitting .269 over 98 games.
While he was a talented high school wide receiver and defensive back, baseball was always the first choice for Lopez. He played his high school baseball for Millersville alum Todd Garber at nearby Lampeter-Strasburg--the same school where Millersville head coach Jon Shehan played. The Millersville coach was plenty familiar with Lopez.
"Great athlete," said Shehan of Lopez. "Fast, terrific arm strength and a dynamic offensive player."
Lopez claims he was the No. 1 high school shortstop on Shehan's board in the fall of 2011, although Shehan says he never seriously recruited Lopez because he committed so early to VMI. Lopez entertained the idea of playing football in college but the recruiting cycle for baseball forced him to make a decision as a junior.
Lopez spent three years at VMI, living a military-style life; waking up to a reveille bugle at 6 a.m., putting on a uniform every day and going to bed at curfew. But he left VMI and headed back home to Willow Street short of completing his psychology degree. Accustomed to drilling, classes, training and competition, Lopez filled his newfound free time by picking up a job at the local service station and intensely started lifting heavy weights, building a wiry 190-pound body up to 225 pounds.
Then, around Christmas time in 2015, Sutjak received a call from Lampeter-Strasburg High School football coach John Manion. Manion told Sutjak that Lopez was back in the area and would consider playing football again. However, Lopez had not yet enrolled at Millersville.
"We didn't know much about him," said Sutjak. "We asked some people that we knew in the area who knew him and they gave us a positive recommendation, but we were deep into high school recruiting at that point and didn't take it much further."
Six months later, Lopez had started classes at Millersville while still working at Jiffy Lube. That's when then-Millersville assistant Rod Holder stopped in for a quick oil change and crossed paths with Lopez.
"Coach Holder had a Millersville football sticker in his car, so I started talking to him, telling him that I used to play football and wanted to play again," said Lopez.
Two days later, Lopez got a call from Sutjak, and Lopez ditched his work shirt with a name tag for an Under Armour Millersville jersey.
"I was just excited," said Lopez. "There aren't many opportunities where you get to put the pads back on."
Lopez arrived at camp in August. But going five years without playing a sport competitively is a long time. Lopez, however, quickly found his footing.
"It was interesting," said Sutjak. "We weren't sure what we were getting when he came to us. As he started going through camp last fall you could see the athleticism. But he was so unsure of himself because he hadn't done it in a long time. It wasn't even the first game when he was ready to go. He was getting better and better every practice. By game four or five we started giving him more and more playing time. You could see then that we had a kid who could play football. Each week he earned more playing time because he proved he could do it."
"Getting the football IQ back, getting rolling with terms--that was most challenging," said Lopez. "The collegiate level it is so much faster. Adjusting to the speed of the game was a challenge."
Still, Lopez was an immediate contributor. He played in 10 games, made 22 tackles and broke up five passes. In the week six shutout of East Stroudsburg, Lopez broke up two passes. He made three pass breakups against Cheyney.
"(Lopez's performance) was really surprising to us," said Sutjak. "When you take someone like that you are never 100 percent certain how it is going to go. Sometimes you bring in guys, and they are a body and never become contributors. But he just took off."
Lopez parlayed that solid first season into a breakout 2018 season. After missing the first two games with an injury, Lopez made his first career interception against nationally-ranked West Chester. The following week, he helped Millersville shut out East Stroudsburg for three quarters. Against Lock Haven, Millersville won its second consecutive game, largely because of the five turnovers the defense created. Two of them were interceptions by Lopez. Two days later, he was named the PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week.
Lopez downplayed the recognition, but Sutjak wouldn't.
"That was outstanding. He played a great game against Lock Haven," said Sutjak. "That was kind of like everything building to that; all the work he had done of the past year paying off. It was awesome to see him win that award."
With Lopez locking down one side, Brendan Sherman on the other, and seniors Jhet Janis and Kendle Pitts manning the safety positions, Sutjak deploys a secondary that is as experienced and skilled as any Millersville has fielded in recent history. What Lopez brings to the unit is athleticism and the ability to track the ball—much like he did as an outfielder at VMI.
"His reaction speed is incredible," said Sutjak. "He is fast--not the fastest guy in the league--but he reacts so well, and he has a longer body so he can get his hand through the receiver's hands and make a play on the football. A lot of his interceptions come on long throws where he accelerates on a post route, gets himself over the top, goes up and wins the football."
Sutjak identifies Lopez's strength as a man-to-man cover corner.
"When you put him on an outside receiver, you can trust that he will stay in the receiver's hip pocket because he has good change of direction skills," said Sutjak.
If only Sutjak could find similarly talented players without fighting recruiting battles and visiting service stations instead of high schools. Lopez's journey to Millersville was unique. And while he is making a difference for the Marauders, Sutjak also recognizes the difference Millersville football is making on Lopez.
"The best part of the story is that it helped him get back into school," said Sutjak. "Coach Holder running into him that one day and us talking to him, getting him here for a visit--now he is going to get his degree."
Lopez also recognizes that he has learned much from playing football again.
"Adjusting—it was a challenge but something I took head on and I think I've done alright," said Lopez. "It's given me confidence in myself, knowing that there are going to be obstacles in life, and I can battle through and still be successful."
In the winter of 2015, Lopez never imagined that he spend 2017 and 2018 playing football at Millersville. Now, set to graduate soon with a degree in psychology, Lopez isn't entirely sure what his next step in life will be, but it seems he is ready for anything. Just as long as it isn't changing oil.
"Definitely not," laughed Lopez.
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