First Posted: 4/15/2015
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Rich Musinski had a chance to play football in his home state. Instead, he chose a full scholarship in the south.
After passing on a “preferred walk-on” from Penn State, the 2000 Wyoming Area graduate selected the College of William and Mary to continue his career and was inducted into the college’s Hall of Fame on April 11.
“It was a very humbling experience,” Musinski, of West Pittston, said. “I did well down there but those accolades are just personal. When you’re playing football, it’s a team sport. If I wasn’t playing on those teams, I wouldn’t have those records or anything.”
Musinski is considered one of the best athletes to come out of Wyoming Area and continued that prowess for the Tribe.
Having graduated from William and Mary in 2004, he is the school record holder in receptions (224), receiving yards (4,168) and receiving touchdowns (31). His average of 18.6 yards per reception is the highest among Tribe players with more than 75 career catches. He is also the school’s record holder in 100-yard receiving games with 21.
In every career start at William and Mary, he had at least two catches. He played in 44 games and never missed one.
Musinski picked a full scholarship to attend William and Mary over full scholarship offers from Princeton and the University of Maine. Once a team hit him with a full-ride offer, the Penn State idea soon became an afterthought.
“I definitely have no regrets,” he said. “Once I got a full ride, the walk-on thing at Penn State didn’t appeal to me. I feel like the other schools wanted me more. William and Mary was a better fit for me.”
In Musinski’s sophomore season, he averaged an impressive 23.6 yards a catch with 56 catches for 1,393 yards and 12 touchdowns. He is the only receiver in school history to be named First-Team All-League in three straight seasons. He was named Rookie of the Year in 2000.
When Musinski graduated from William and Mary, he was just one of three players to reach the 4,000-yard plateau in NCAA Division 1-AA, the other two being Florida A&M’s Jacquay Nunnally and Mississippi Valley State’s Jerry Rice.
During his time at Wyoming Area, Musinski was a key ingredient in the Warriors’ success. He was an all-conference defensive back in 1997 as a junior and caught 64 passes for 1,032 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior. He also scored five rushing touchdowns and another by punt return.
In the PIAA District 2 Class AA championship game win against Montrose, he caught 11 balls for 126 yards. He had nine more for 120 yards in the Eastern quarterfinal.
Since graduation, Musinski has been part of several different coaching staffs at Wyoming Area, including football. He’s currently an assistant coach to Wyoming Area Secondary Center Principal Vito Quaglia for Pittston Area’s softball team.
“I never though I would say I was a Pittston Area coach,” Musinski laughed. “I tease the kids all the time about it. To go back and help other kids be successful, that’s why I do it. It keeps that competitive edge going. It keeps me involved.”
The Patriots and Warriors will square off in softball action on Tuesday, April 21.
“That will be fun,” Musinski said.
Musinski spent several seasons playing professional football as he was signed by the Tennessee Titans in April 2004 and played three preseason games. He caught a touchdown from New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel in a preseason game in 2005, then spent two season with the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe. From 2008-2010, he played for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers of the Arena Football League.
Currently, Musinski works for the Knights of Columbus as a financial advisor. He said most of his time now is dedicated to his two children.
