“Win.” It’s the word Rams’ star running back Darryl Whiting, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’12, used most to describe his goal for this year’s team, as he looks to lead them to victory following their third consecutive losing season.

Whiting has led the Rams in rushing yards each of the past two seasons, improving each year, as he set career highs last season with 739 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Personal accolades are not what matters most to Whiting, but  rather team success. “My goal for this season is to win. I’m going to do whatever it is I got to and whatever the team needs me to.”

The Rams football team will need Whiting to continue to lead them, as the team has struggled greatly over the past three years, finishing each season with a 5-6 record. Their last winning season came in 2007 when the Rams finished 9-4.

Despite the Ram’s recent failures, Whiting expects the team’s losing streak to be a thing of the past. “I expect for us to win a lot of games this year” Whiting said. “Last year we were underachieving and this year we are a closer team.”

And although the Rams finished last season winning three of their last four games, the team’s star running back doesn’t think it will have any affect on the squad’s mentality for this season. When asked if their end of season success would help generate momentum for this year’s team Whiting said, “No, not really. I think that that was last year and it’s a new year. It’s a new start for us to win games this year. We’re going to take it every game at a time.”

The running back’s feelings are probably justified, as this year’s squad is not the same as the last. The Rams will have many holes to fill since the team lost some of its most productive players to graduation. The loss of Jason Caldwell, the team’s leading receiver, FCRH ’12, Xavier Martin, the team’s third leading rusher and the school’s all-time leading rusher, FCRH ’12, and Stephen Skelton, the team’s second leading pass catcher, FCRH’12, means that many of this year’s young guys will have to step up.

However, Whiting has great belief in his teammates, as he doesn’t think the young Rams will miss a step. Whiting said of the losses, “I don’t think it will hurt us. We’re a lot closer and we’ve got good freshmen, [wide receiver] Sam Ajala, [FCRH ’15], and [wide receiver] Brian Wetzel, [FCRH ’15]. They’re going to play good and step up to replace what we’ve lost.”

The biggest change of all will be the move of last season’s startingquarterback Blake Wayne, FCRH ’13, to wide receiver. The move was made in order to fully make use of Wayne’s athletic abilities. Wayne finished second on the team with 544 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

Whiting felt the change was a smart move. “I think it’s a good move. He can do a lot for us. He can play wide out and some running back. He’s going to do good stuff for us.”

Wayne’s change of position leaves a question mark on the team’s starting quarterback job. The battle will come down to Ryan Higgins, FCRH ’13, and Griffin Murphy, FCRH ’14. Both are relatively inexperienced with Higgins starting just the final four games of last season and Murphy never starting a game. Whichever quarterback is chosen will need to mesh well with this mostly new young core.

The one main positive the Rams of this season have over last year’s squad is a close bond. Whiting said, “I don’t know what it is really. The coaches want us to be closer and mentally tougher. And with our conditioning we just feel good. We feel comfortable with everyone. It started last year when we brought in army guys for judgment day. It brought us closer as a team.”

The results will be seen soon with Whiting and the Rams beginning their season on Sept. 1 at Connecticut on ESPN3.