Bridgewater State Sophomore Alex McLaughlin Switches to Quarterback

By Jim Fenton, The Enteprise (Brockton)

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The plan was for him to play football at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina beginning last year.

Alex McLaughlin made the trip there in the summer to take courses and work out with the team in preparation for training camp.

When August rolled around, though, McLaughlin got the feeling that Coastal Carolina wasn't where he really wanted to be.

"I went down for summer ball and I took classes and they had me playing safety and I wasn't really interested in playing safety,'' said McLaughlin, a graduate of Littleton High School. "I started looking into my options. It just didn't work out there for me.

"It was a great place. The coaches were nice. They were all nice. It just wasn't a fit. I wasn't mad. I just knew it was probably better for me to move on instead of just wasting a year there.''

McLaughlin decided to return home to Massachusetts and joined his Littleton High classmate and football teammate, Travis Bassett, at Bridgewater State University.

He enrolled for the fall semester in 2014 and became a running back on the Bears' football team, gaining 324 yards with six touchdowns as a freshman.

One year later, McLaughlin has settled in at BSU and is switching positions, going back to the spot he played at Littleton High.

McLaughlin is listed as the starting quarterback on the BSU depth chart heading into Friday night's season opener against Curry College at Swenson Field.

"I'm excited,'' said McLaughlin, who was used in wildcat formations a bit last season.

"Quarterback is my first love as a position, so I was definitely excited to get back and work at it.

"It took a little while to get everything back in shape and transition back to quarterback from running back, but it's worked out so far. I feel pretty good about it.''

BSU coach Chuck Denune said he is planning to use three quarterbacks at various points during the season with last year's starter Danny Higgins and sophomore Nick Cidado of Easton also in the mix.

McLaughlin offers the ability to be a playmaker with his running ability.

"He can pick up a bad snap and run it for 30 yards,'' said Denune. "He gives you a chance every play. He's a very talented football player who can make things happen.''

Said McLaughlin: "I just think of myself as a dual threat quarterback. I like to run the ball a lot, but I'm not afraid to throw it. I feel like have a good arm and I can make good enough reads to get the job done in the air as well.''

Having Bassett as one of his wide receivers will help McLaughlin because of the familiarity they have from Littleton High.

Bassett was named the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference offensive rookie of the year in 2014 after catching 38 passes for 528 yards.

"It's cool,'' said McLaughlin. "We go from throwing the ball in high school to coming here and doing the same thing. It's funny how some things work out. It's definitely a lot of fun and we have good chemistry, so that helps.''

After arriving at BSU just before the start of training camp last summer, McLaughlin has a full year of experience under his belt and is back manning his old position.

"It was a little bit different to go to a school for only about a month and transfer back right away and get to camp here on time, but it all worked out,'' said McLaughlin. "It's definitely a lot more comfortable being here a year. You know everybody on the team now. You build friendships and all that.''

The start against Curry will be the first at quarterback for McLaughlin since his senior year at Littleton High.

"I'm sure it's going to take me all of the warm-ups,'' said McLaughlin, "to settle myself down.''