Richard (Ricky) Santos (born April 26, 1984) is an American former

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

who is currently the head coach for the

New Hampshire Wildcats football The New Hampshire Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of New Hampshire. The Wildcats compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Coastal A ...

team. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at New Hampshire, and was signed by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2008.

Early years

Santos attended Bellingham High School in

Bellingham, Massachusetts Bellingham () is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,945 at the 2020 census. The town sits on the southwestern fringe of Metropolitan Boston, along the rapidly growing "outer belt" that is Interstate 49 ...

, and was a letterman in football, basketball, baseball, and track and field. In football, he was a two-time Tri-Valley League MVP, was twice named the Division V Player of the Year, a two-time

MetroWest MetroWest is a cluster of cities and towns lying west of Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financia ...

Player of the Year, and, as a senior, won all-State honors. In November 2002, during the first annual Thanksgiving Day game against Norton, he threw for seven touchdown passes all to his cousin Stephen Wood, which is still one of the best high school performances in Bellingham history. He broke the state touchdown record and led his teams to two Massachusetts High School Super Bowl titles (2000 and 2001). He graduated from Bellingham High in 2003.

College career

Santos attended the University of New Hampshire and was a four-year starter at quarterback. He originally came to the university as a walk-on, and said that if it did not work out for him, he was going to try for basketball. Santos studied Kinesiology/Sports Management while at the university. During his college career, the Wildcats went a combined 37–14, winning one

Atlantic 10 The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located mostly on the East Coast and Midwest of the ...

Football Conference Championship, two Northern Division Championships, and made the NCAA I-AA/FCS Playoffs all four seasons. A three-time All-America selection, Santos won the

Walter Payton Award The Walter Payton Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports ...

in 2006, as the top offensive player in FCS (formerly Division I-AA). Santos finished his college career third on the NCAA all-time career passing yardage list with 13,212 yards, and third on the NCAA all-time list for career touchdown passes with 123. After the 2007 season, his no. 2

uniform number In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to id ...

was retired by New Hampshire. This jersey retirement marked the fourth Wildcat in history to see their football jersey number retired. In 2016, Santos was inducted to the university's athletic hall of fame.

Professional career

;Kansas City Chiefs After going undrafted in the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

, multiple teams such as the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

(formally Washington Redskins) and

expressed interest in Santos. Santos ultimately agreed to join the

as an

in April. However, he was released the same month. ;Montreal Alouettes In May 2008, Santos was signed by the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

. He appeared in zero games for the Alouettes. ;Winnipeg Blue Bombers On September 21, 2009, the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

acquired Santos from the

in exchange for non-import

defensive ends Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

Riall Johnson and Shawn Mayne. He was released by the Blue Bombers on May 17, 2010, after appearing in seven games during his tenure. ;Montreal Alouettes (second stint) After an injury to

Adrian McPherson Adrian Jamal McPherson (born May 8, 1983) is an American former professional football quarterback. He was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL draft. He played college football at Florida State before being dism ...

, the Montreal Alouettes re-signed Santos on June 22, 2010, to serve as the third-string quarterback. Santos saw the most action in his CFL career, appearing in 29 games. He compiled 94 passing yards, and 58 rushing yards, throwing for three touchdowns during this time. On June 9, 2012, he was released by the Alouettes. ;Toronto Argonauts On June 16, 2012, Santos was signed by the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

. He was released four days later.

Coaching career

After Ricky's tenure as a football player came to an end, he decided to stay with the game of American Football and start to coach. He began in 2012 back to where it all started. Bellingham Highschool. He then went back to his

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

to coach wide receivers from 2013-2015. Santos was quarterbacks coach for three seasons (2016–2018) with the

Columbia Lions The Columbia University Lions are the collective athletic teams and their members from Columbia University, an Ivy League institution in New York City, United States. The current director of athletics is Peter Pilling. History Intercollegia ...

. Santos joined the New Hampshire coaching staff in March 2019, as associate head coach and quarterbacks coach. When Wildcats head coach Sean McDonnell took a leave of absence for health reasons in late August 2019, Santos was named interim head coach for the team. The 2019 Wildcats finished with a record of 6–5. McDonnell returned to the team for the 2020 season, with Santos resuming his role as associate head coach and quarterbacks coach. McDonnell retired on December 1, 2021; the following week, Santos was formally named the next head football coach for the Wildcats. Santos and the Wildcats have compiled a 23-13 record over his first three years including a share of the

Colonial Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

regular season title in 2022, where he won the 2022 Coach of the Year award for the CAA. Santos has led the Wildcats to two FCS playoff appearances in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and 2024. The Wildcats made it to the second round in 2022 where the team eventually lost to the

Holy Cross Crusaders The Holy Cross Crusaders are the athletic teams representing the College of the Holy Cross. They compete in NCAA Division I, primarily as members of the Patriot League. In ice hockey, a sport not sponsored by the Patriot League for either sex, th ...

35-19. The wildcats finished their 2024 season with a 41-10 loss to the

UT Martin Skyhawks The UT Martin Skyhawks (also known as Tennessee–Martin Skyhawks) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Tennessee at Martin (UTM) in Martin, Tennessee, United States. The Skyhawks athletic program is a member of ...

in the first round of the

FCS playoffs The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was ca ...

. The wildcats ranked #16 in the 2024 NCAA Division I Football Championship. The Wildcats went into the 2022 NCAA Division I Football Championship unranked.

Personal life

Ricky Santos was born in

Norwood, Massachusetts Norwood is a town and census-designated place in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Norwood is part of the Greater Boston area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,611. The town was named after Norwood, England. Norwood is ...

to parents, Debbie and Richard Santos. Santos is a cousin of racecar driver

Bobby Santos III Robert Santos III (born October 3, 1985) is an American professional racing driver from Franklin, Massachusetts. He graduated in 2004 from Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School. Santos, nicknamed "Bobby New England", is the grandso ...

. Ricky and his wife, Ulyana Santos are parents of two children, a four-year-old daughter, Rya, and a seven-month-old son, AJ. He resides in the Seacoast Region of

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

near the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

New Hampshire profile

Montreal Alouettes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santos, Ricky 1984 births Living people American football quarterbacks American people of Portuguese descent Sportspeople of Portuguese descent Players of Canadian football from Massachusetts Canadian football quarterbacks Columbia Lions football coaches Kansas City Chiefs players New Hampshire Wildcats football coaches New Hampshire Wildcats football players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players High school football coaches in Massachusetts Walter Payton Award winners Sportspeople from Norwood, Massachusetts Players of American football from Norfolk County, Massachusetts