ODUSports.com will do several stories throughout spring practice on the Monarchs. Today's feature is on freshman defensive back Justin Noye. Noye is an early enrollee from Rochester, N.Y.
How has the transition as an early enrollee been and what challenges have you faced? I really didn’t have to do much. High school was easy for me and I was always ahead of everybody. I decided to enroll early the first day of my senior year. The transition from high school to college was a little hard for me, learning how to use blackboard and stuff. I was never showed how to use it before and now I’m getting the hang of it, so it’s getting easy.
How are spring practices going? They are good with just getting out of high school. I’m just now learning how to really play defense. It started off hard but now it’s getting easy for me.
Is there anything in particular you wish to work on during this spring season? Getting used to playing safety I’ve never really played there before, learning the schemes and learning how to read the quarterback better. Just the basics. Being on the other side of the ball is so different, so just getting used to that.
How do you like the change from quarterback to safety? I like it, it’s something new, and at least I’m getting to play football.
How excited are you about the upcoming season? Real excited, I have a good chance of playing. A lot of kids that come in as a freshman usually redshirt and I have a good chance to get on the field so I am really excited.
What challenges do you think you will face in Conference USA? Just me, playing football fresh out of high school, everyone is good and the game is faster. Usually, in New York, there is one good player on the team, but at this level everyone is good and everyone plays at the same level. Overall just getting used to how fast the game is compared to high school.
How different is New York in comparison to Virginia? It’s very different, everyone here is really nice. The weather is a lot nicer since it’s starting to warm up. I went home for spring break and there it was a snowstorm with 19 inches of snow, so the weather is different.
Why Old Dominion? When I was committed to UConn the head coach got fired, I decommitted and all the other schools backed away from their offers because they were not aware I was a mid-year student. Coach Whitcomb always stayed in touch with me, and one day he told me, he doesn’t care what school I go to, he just wants to make sure I get out of Rochester, and that showed me that he cared about me so that’s the main reason why I came here. My brother also lives down the street, so that made it easier.
Have you decided on a major yet? Right now, I am undecided, but I was thinking about doing chemical engineering, but that program is really rigorous and with football it would be hard, so I am not sure yet.
What do you like to do in your free time? Sleep, I do not get that much sleep anymore, so whenever we have free time, sleep is the way to go.
In high school, did you play other sports? I played baseball, basketball, and ran track. I really love track.
Dream vacation: California, I would just love to go there for a vacation.
Favorite restaurant: Red Lobster.