University of Connecticut Athletics
Slicin and Dicin With Feldeisen
10/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
From Walk-On to Captain
When UConn senior wide receiver Shaun Feldeisen was named a tri-captain for the Husky football team before the 2003 season, it marked the full transition from being a walk-on as a freshman to the ultimate compliment a teammate can receive from his peers.
But, if some folks in England have their way, the captainship won’t be the biggest honor a member of the Feldeisen family receives in the near future.
Feldeisen’s grandfather, Bill Nicholson, is a soccer legend in Great Britain. He is a former player, manager and coach for Tottenham Hotspur and now serves as president of the club. A grassroots organization has been formed to raise support for the knighthood of Nicholson. That group even has a website at .
Feldeisen's grandfather, Bill Nicholson (right)
in his debut match with the English National Team
All that attention on his grandfather is fine with Feldeisen as he calls Nicholson his “inspiration.”
Feldeisen and his Husky teammates return to the gridiron on Saturday as the Huskies travel to North Carolina State.
“I know how hard he worked at playing soccer,” says Feldeisen, who played that sport on the club level during his high school days. “He knows sports so well. He came over to the United States to watch me play a high school football game and I was returning punts. At the end of seeing his first football game, he made suggestions that actually made sense.”
As far as Bill Nicholson’s grandson goes, things have worked out just fine. He’s a perfect example of that fact that the so-called recruiting experts can miss a fine player come out of high school.
Feldeisen enjoyed a fine career at Nashoba Regional High School in Bolton, Mass., for head coach Ken Tucker. The Stow, Mass., native earned all-league and all-region honors in his junior and senior seasons and the team played in three state Super Bowls during his career.
“I went to a very small high school that played in a small conference, so even if you played well you didn’t get too much attention,” says Feldeisen.
As his high school career ended in the fall of 1998, it was time to decide on college and few schools came knocking on Feldeisen’s door.
“I was looking to play Division I-A football and considered joining some other BIG EAST teams as a walk-on,” says Feldeisen. “They all basically said I wasn’t good enough to even walk-on at wide receiver. They all said I could come as a kicker, but I wanted to be a wide receiver.”
Ever determined, Feldeisen looked at several Division I-AA schools for the opportunity to play on that level.
“I got a few recruiting letters from UConn and found out they were going to the Division I-A level,” says Feldeisen. “I guess I didn’t even know that at the time. But, he school was close to my home and I knew that if I got a chance to play I would want my parents to come to the games.”
Feldeisen joined the Huskies as a walk-on in the fall of 1999 and was redshirted. He spent the 2000 season as a place kicker, but again did not see any action. During the 2001 season, he moved back to wide receiver, made nine catches for 107 yards on the season and started his first game – against Middle Tennessee.
Last year was a breakthrough season for the marketing major as he was second on the team with 425 receiving yards and 33 receptions. He played in all 12 games and made five starts. Feldeisen was elevated to a scholarship player at the beginning of the season.
He started out the season with a bang as he scored the first Husky TD of the season with a reception at Boston College – not far from his Stow home. Feldeisen ended the season pretty well too as he made eight catches for 85 yards in UConn’s eye-opening win over Iowa State.
“I didn’t have any expectations when I came to UConn, but I had some goals that I had set for myself,” says Feldeisen. “They do parallel the success the team has had. When I came here, I don’t think I was a Division I-A football player and we were not a Division I-A football program. I wasn’t quite ready yet, but I wanted to be. The team wasn’t quite ready yet, but it was a goal of the University’s. It takes hard work and dedication and over time it has paid off and my abilities improved and I learned more about the game.”
Feldeisen credits current Husky assistant coaches Vinny Marino and Rob Ambose with teaching him much about the game of football.
“The entire coaching staff has helped me so much with learning the game,” says Feldeisen. “That has what made me a better football player. I don’t have the natural ability that a lot of other kids have. I now know what the defenses are going to do and it allows me to catch the ball and make plays.
“I wish I could take the knowledge I have now and go back to high school and early in my college career. I didn’t know anything about defense or how to be a wide receiver. My high school ran the wing-t and I was pretty much a big blocker in high school.”
Feldeisen has enjoyed being part of the emerging UConn Division I-A program as his career continues.
“I didn’t know if we would get to this stage during my career,” says Feldeisen, who growing up enjoyed following the New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders. “We are a good team right now, but we have to go out on the field and do what we are capable of doing. Potential does not win any games unless it is released. I think this program can go anywhere it wants.”
He also sees the interest in the program at a new, never-achieved level.
“There are a lot more students interested in UConn football,” says Feldeisen. “They come up to me and ask me a lot of questions. I’ve actually been approached a couple of times in the grocery store and in Wal-Mart and asked about the team.”
As the UConn football program grows, he has also seen change on the physical campus in Storrs.
“There is a lot of pride in this school right now,” says Feldeisen. “There is always a new building popping up. The business school has been recognized by The New York Times and Business Week. The reputation of the whole place has changed both academically and athletically.”
Following his football career, Feldeisen is interested in working in sports marketing and perhaps starting his own sports marketing firm.
His future plans for marriage are already set as he is engaged to Sabrina Nowell, a graduate student at UConn in allied health.
“She’s my biggest fan,” says Feldeisen, who also includes his parents Linda and Jerry in his rooting section. “Sabrina is an expert in diet and has helped me really changed mine around. I eat only the most healthy food now and it has helped my strength tremendously.”
Feldeisen looks for a successful 2003 for the Husky football team and then will head off into the future. His development as a player and a person at UConn should make that future very bright.
