Daily News-Record

A BLT sandwich cost Sean Connaghan a national championship.

Last year should have been the Pennsylvania native's senior season on the James Madison football team.

But instead of taking the field in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Dec. 13 when the Dukes beat Montana to win the Division I-AA title, Connaghan spent last season on the practice squad, forced to redshirt because of food poisoning and JMU's depth at tight end.

"It was horrible," Connaghan said Thursday after practice at Bridgeforth Stadium "What did I get out of it? I got 15 weeks of practice against a national-championship defense."

Coming out of last year's spring practice, JMU coach Mickey Matthews knew he had an overload at tight end. Senior Tom Ridley and junior Casime Harris had already redshirted earlier in their Madison careers.

Connaghan played in six games as a true freshman in 2001 before injuring his knee. Both he and Matthews agree that Connaghan - like several of the 2001 Dukes - was pressed into action before he was ready.

Connaghan caught just eight passes for 109 yards over the next two seasons and planned on battling Ridley and Harris for the starting job last year.

But on a Memorial Day visit to the New Jersey shore with his girlfriend, his path crossed with the fateful sandwich - a bacon, lettuce and tomato breakfast from a convenience store.

That was around 8 a.m.

"Five hours later, I had a 105 fever," Connaghan said. "Like a stupid guy, I held off for about two days and then finally I gave up and went to the hospital."

He stayed there for six days - and lost 30 pounds - before doctors realized he had salmonella poisoning. They gave him antibiotics and released him, but he weighed 210 pounds instead of his 245 playing weight. It would take him 10 months to recoup the mass.

"Salmonella poisoning, you usually get it from unsanitary practices," Connaghan said. "It's really transported by the maker of the sandwich."

And Connaghan hasn't been back to the chain establishment since.

"I won't step foot in one," he said without a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

He's a little more cautious about his eating habits now too.

"I order everything well done," he said. "When I cook my eggs at home, they're black."

But how do they taste?

"They taste better than being sick," he said.

Connaghan reported to preseason practice at JMU last summer weakened by his illness, a factor in Matthews' decision to redshirt him. But the coach said the main reason was that Connaghan could still redshirt while the other two tight ends could not. And there wasn't enough playing time to satisfy three players at the position.

"There was no question in my mind that was the best thing to do," Matthews said. "It was a no-brainer that it was best for Sean and it was best for our football team. Now, convincing him it was best for him took a little doing."

While neither Connaghan nor Matthews knew the Dukes were about to embark on a remarkable championship season, the decision still didn't sit well with Connaghan. He describes his coping the way a psychologist describes the stages of grief.

"At first, you're really mad," Connaghan said. "Then, you're upset. It's all the different phases. And then at the very end, you're kind of like, 'This is good and I'm going to go on from here.'"

That's where Connaghan is now. A double major in marketing and finance, he won't graduate until May 2006. Had he played last season, he would be out of eligibility.

Instead, he's preparing to battle Harris for the starting tight end job for next season.

"I sacrificed a lot," Connaghan said. "I gave up a national championship. All I can do is come out here and play as hard as I can and let the coaches decide."

Harris, a 6-3, 250-pounder who caught 10 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown last year, expects a battle.

"There's not one day that you can come out here and play around because somebody's after your job every day," Harris said. "Sean has experience and he's pretty good. I don't expect to win the job straight like that. I'm going to have to work for it. I don't expect it to be handed to me."

Obviously, both Harris and Connaghan want to be the starter but they agree there's plenty of playing time for each of them.

"Coach is always saying about putting the best players on the field, not just playing the best plays," Connaghan said. "Well, we have two good tight ends and, hopefully, they'll put two tight ends in there."
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Record Number: 10ABB6D471BB56E7