Just like he did at Nashua North, Mike Loveless has made sure to continue to be a running QB at Worcester State. (Courtesy photo)

Patience is certainly a virtue, and that’s what former Nashua High School North quarterback Mike Loveless has had plenty of.

This year his patience has paid off.

Loveless, in his senior year at Worcester State, finally has what he’s worked for his entire college career, but was willing to wait for: A starting role. He had to exit last weekend’s game vs. national power Union with an injury, but hopes to be back to that starting role. He’s 15 of 24 for 166 yards, a 120.6 efficiency rating. He’s also rushed 11 times for 20 yards and a TD, and that’s his specialty – he’s rushed for 314 yards and 13 TDs in his two-plus seasons for the Lancers. With his arm, in his Worcester State career he’s completed 79 of 153 for 883 yards, seven TDs and four INTs, an efficiency rating of 110.0

“I kind of carved out a role for myself the past few years, as kind of a short yardage, goal line quarterback,” he said. “Also on special teams. And if a quarterback got hurt, I’d get in the game, and we wouldn’t skip a beat, I felt the guys had confidence in me. And I was always there ready.”

The 210-pound Loveless was the predecessor, if you will, to Curtis Harris-Lopeztaking over at quarterback for the Titans after thriving as a running back during Loveless’ time there. Ironically, Harris-Lopez is making a name for himself in Worcester as well in the Holy Cross College secondary.

Loveless began his college career at Stevenson University in Pikesville, Md., near Baltimore, and saw the difference right away from high school.

“Just seeing how those guys work,” he said of his time at Stevenson, where he majored in business. “Everyone is in it to be the best. You kind of get a mindset. So I said, ‘OK, I have a year or two to work before I get to where I need to be. COVID kind of gave that to me.”

Loveless actually took a year off from school after the students were all sent home from Stevenson during all the COVID restrictions and on-line class era. He was eager to get back to school, back to football, and felt a changed was in order not only in majors but schools. He went to Worcester State as a criminal justice major, because “I just couldn’t go with the day-to-day. During COVID, police were always in the news. When you’re young, you don’t think that’s a realistic goal. But it’s a real field with a lot of career opportunities.”

So his plan is to work eventually in law enforcement, possibly as a state trooper or U.S. Marshall, perhaps in fugitive apprehension, especially while he’ young.

At Stevenson, they had planned on moving Loveless to defense, as a safety. He had played that at North, a strong safety role.

“But I know deep down in my heart I wanted to push myself for the opportunity to play quarterback, and I knew I’d have that opportunity at Worcester State,” he said. “Worcester was second on my list, if I hadn’t gone to Stevenson I would’ve gone there.”

And also, he knew Worcester State was struggling on the field, and eventually he’d have the chance to play.

And loved the culture at Worcester State, noting that at Stevenson there were 130 players on the roster, and at Worcester it was a little smaller, about 95. “I felt like I had 100 new family members, everyone knows everyone,” he said. “It just builds as a community. I feel that everyone at Worcester is tight knit, it’s great.”

Loveless knows that he’s in the right part of the country for small school football, that in the south and midwest the opportunities are few and far between. And he’s seen a couple of players on opposing teams when at Stevenson that got opportunities in the NFL. But that’s not on Loveless’ mind. He’s grown with the college game, and knows how different it is from the high school level.

“In high school I was a running quarterback, we really didn’t go in depth learning the nitty-gritty of defenses, etc.,” he said.

He learned from a player or two at Stevenson, one a transfer from a Division II school, and that helped a lot. He became more of a thinking QB.

“It’s just being more intelligent as a quarterback,” he said. “Knowing what to read, where to throw, how to check a pass protection, where the rush routes are. As a passer is where I think I’ve really grown, And I’m still the athlete that will still burn you with his legs. Nothing’s worse than chasing a kid around the field.”

The dedication he found at the college level is so much more intense. Also, Loveless found himself at Stevenson with even older players. “We had guys like 25, 26 on the team,” he said. “And you start to really see these guys put in the work after practice, for them it’s a craft. You might have five guys in high school who are that into it; in college it’s like 130 kids who are really into it, makes you want to be better and push yourself. Your bar raises along with theirs.”

Of course, that takes a lot of hard work and time – conditioning, lifting, filmwork, etc. Loveless moved in with some friends into a place in Worcester and is a mile from campus, his second home. That helped him with his off-season preparation.

“We’d spend four hours a day on the field getting our bodies right,” he said. “And film doesn’t stop. Once Sunday hits, right after the game on Saturday, you’re in film (study) for the week. It’s a non-stop grind but I love it.”

Stevenson said he made the decision to leave Stevenson even before COVID hit, and said the coaching staff was aware of that. “They knew I had the passion and desire to play quarterback,” he said. “And they were open arms, genuinely good guys who wished me well.”

As a freshman there were eight QBs on the roster and Loveless was in the middle of the depth chart. When he got to Worcester, he simply waited his turn and competed for the backup role and won it, the other QB switching to tight end.

“If anything ever happened, it was me (going in),” he said. “Any running packages late in games, I’d find my way on the field. Go seal the game, get a first down.”

And now he’s the full time guy. What was the off-season like knowing he was the guy going into the preseason camp?

“I knew everything’s a competition, nothing’s ever handed to you in football,” he said. “So once spring ball started, I was one of the older guys. But I never viewed it as it’s mine. I had to go and take it. I took every opportunity I had to take every rep, push myself as hard as I could, and have the mentality that I’m in a fight.

“Even now, I feel I’m in a fight with every other quarterback in the conference to push their team to see who can be the best.

But there was something else Loveless wanted to accomplish.

“It was really important to be a leader,” he said, “and gain the respect of the guys.”

Loveless feels he’s a different quarterback now than he was when he was at Stevenson.

“It’s just a matter of being older and understanding the game,” he said. “I’m going to go make plays, but now it’s ‘Where is the play to be made?’

“Now it’s more mental. It’s learning what their defense wants to do, and what our offense needs to do to beat that. Seeing where my mental game has come, that’s the biggest thing. Physically, I’ve always felt no one can compete with me on the football field, but you need that mentality, that push, that you’re that guy. Mentally I know I can push my body even more, because I can think faster on my feet.”

Loveless knows that players who move on from this area to play college football don’t always succeed. That’s why he has simple advice.

“My advice would be to not get lost in the grind,” he said. “Enjoy where you are, and understand it all does come to an end and it happens so fast.

“Enjoy the grind, be happy you have the opportunity, because what is it, three percent of high school kids go play college sports? You made it, go push yourself, go be happy to push yourself, and don’t lose yourself in the process. You’re still young.”

Of course, easier said than done. In college, you’re on your own, you have to adjust and balance the game with academics, especially at the Division III level.

“What I found worked always best for me was getting myself out of the room I was in,” he said. “When you’re with your friends, you want to hang out, watch TV, have a good time.”

So instead, Loveless would do his academic studying in the locker room, with no one there, and then go watch film. Then if there was time he’d go hang out with his buddies.

“I know what I need to get done,” he said, “in order to be successful.”

Loveless has no regrets about his college career, and why should he? The best decision he made, he said, “was betting on myself. Deep down I wanted to play quarterback, had that push, and not let someone else choose my path.”

Loveless is savoring what is likely his final year in the game.

“It’s a young man’s game, there’s no men’s league or whatever,” he said. “My body hurts, I’ve taken a lot of hits, but every time I have to pick myself up off the ground, I’m going to enjoy it all.”