Rarely does a player that transcends a program walk through an athletic department’s doors. For Husson University football, Ernest “Ray Ray” Wiggins ’13 was that type of player. A dominating disruption on the defensive line for the Eagles, Ray Ray’s impact on the football program and New England football are two of many reasons he’s being inducted into the Husson Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022.
During his four years with the Eagles, Ray Ray put up astonishing numbers between the hash marks, racking up 278 total tackles, 23.5 sacks, 70 tackles for loss, 13 forced fumbles and two blocked kicks while playing all over the defensive line for Husson.
The two-time New England Football Writers DII/DIII All-New England honoree ranks tops in program history in forced fumbles and career tackles for loss. His ability to change a game at the point of attack gave Husson the ability to disrupt opposing offenses.
“My strengths as a player were definitely how quick I got off the ball, my quickness and my speed,” Wiggins said. “I wasn't really much of a bench presser; I had a lot of power in my legs and my calves. … I think it was the quickness and the strength, coach gave me the freedom to move around and I'm not going to lie to you. I was more of an instinctive player, if I felt like the play was going that way, I was going that way. It had to do from watching film, I studied my opponent very well on film. I was really focused on the guy in front of me, how fast was he, where his hand placement was as soon as the ball snapped, where his feet were placed.”
His full strengths were on full display during his junior season when he racked up a program-record 35 tackles for loss, 12 sacks and eight forced fumbles. Ray Ray’s 35 tackles for loss ranked tops among all division III players. His commanding numbers led to Wiggins being named to both the Beyond Sports Network Honorable Mention All-American and the American College Football Network All-American Third Team.
Ray Ray’s quickness off the line and his lower body power led to one of the most dominating performances in Husson football history his junior season. Against SUNY Maritime on the road, Ray Ray forced an NCAA single-game record five fumbles and recorded 9.5 tackles for loss. His performance was so disruptive that SUNY Maritime who was a triple-option team at the time switched to a shotgun system in the second half and went through several centers in an attempt to find a way to slow the defensive tackle down.
However, SUNY Maritime could not find a solution for Wiggins and the frustration continued throughout the game ending with Ray Ray forcing a fumble with 1:24 remaining in the fourth quarter down 14-7 that Husson returned 40 yards to the house, forcing overtime. Wiggins finished the day with 15 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, one sack, five forced fumbles and one fumble recovery and the folk lore surrounding Ray Ray took off.
His selection into the Husson Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 caps off an illustrious career for the green and gold and is the missing piece to the puzzle for Wiggins.
“It’s an honor, I worked hard throughout my whole college career and I guess it paid off,” Wiggins added. “I always wanted to be great. I wanted to be above average. I wanted to be the guy as soon as you step in the room, you knew who I am, because of my work ethic. I wanted to be grateful, it's exciting to accept an award, the final award from my colleagues.”
Wiggins followed up his stellar junior season be earning preseason All-American honors from D3 Senior Classis, Beyond Sports Network, Cutting Edge Sports Management, Lindy’s Sports and Football Gameplan. He would go on to finish the year with 74 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks and two forced fumbles earning Eastern Collegiate Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
Additionally, Wiggins efforts would earn him the 2013-14 Husson Del Merrill Male Athlete of the Year adding to an already impressive trophy case for the Bridgeport, Connecticut, native.
It was in Bridgeport that Wiggins began his love for football, starting at the young age of seven, Ray Ray played Pop Warner, but during his freshman year of high school he began to believe he could play at the collegiate level.
“Probably when I got to my freshman year of high school, I was played Pop Warner since I was seven,” Wiggins noted. “I felt like at the time, I was an average player, in my city where I'm from, there's a lot of people that are good and a lot of people had talent. That's the only thing we had, either we were playing sports or you were a rapper or singer. When I was playing football, everybody had talent, everybody was good. I never thought that people knew I had talent until I got to high school. I was actually good; I was a dominant player. My freshman year I was starting in high school and I thought to myself ‘I can do this,’ all I had to do was look up to the right, people follow the right people, because in order to lead, you have to follow. I think my freshman year was when I decided, ‘Yes, I can do this, I can go and play college and I could do something, make something of myself make my mom proud.’”
It was during his junior and senior years that Wiggins vision of playing collegiate football became a reality. Like most high school seniors, Ray Ray had dreams of playing for a division I or division II program. An offer to play football at division III Husson at the time was not even on Wiggins radar, but like many dreams sometimes your last resort turns into a true-life altering blessing.
“I think Husson chose me to be honest,” Wiggins joked. “When I got the acceptance letter from Husson. I was like, I'm not even coming to the school because I had other schools I wanted to go to, but unfortunately, that did not work out. Husson was pretty much my last resort. I was kind of disappointed, in a way because I wanted more. I was expecting more of me because I put so much work in high school, I was expecting to go to Division I or Division II. But my coach told me to go experience Husson, see if you like it, so I went to Husson.”
It was Wiggins true love for the game of football that brought him to Husson. He knew that Husson was his chance to continue to play the sport he loved and he was going to make the most of it.
It was at Husson that Wiggins took his talents to an entirely new level, elevating his game from good to hall of fame caliber while understanding that he needed to be a leader in order for the team to become successful. It was because of this that Ray Ray not only elevated himself, but the entire Eagles football program. Although he never won a championship, Wiggins helped pave the path for his teammates to bring home a conference title in 2014.
“At the time I felt like there was a responsibility of me,” Wiggins stated. “I knew we weren't all the way well put together. But my last year when coach Gabby Price came in I was like maybe something can happen, maybe something can't. But at the end of the day, I just knew I had, as well as a few other seniors and other players, a responsibility to uphold the Husson University athletic football department. I had heard a lot of stories about coach Price when he was first here. I heard a lot of good things and when he left the program kind of went downhill. … But when coach Price stepped back in, it changed the whole dynamic and thought process, to ‘we can actually do this, we can make something happen.”
“Things began to change; we got a new coach,” Wiggins continued. “I had a responsibility as a senior to change the culture of the football program. It was a fulfilling year, we didn't get to where we wanted to be, but at the same time, I was happy with the turnaround. Obviously, the next year they got a ring. As much as I wanted to ring, I couldn’t be selfish or think about myself anymore, I was part of the growth process and it was about the future.”
In the end, Wiggins decision to attend Husson paid dividends for the defensive tackle, understanding that if you have true talent, it doesn’t matter where you put on your pads, teams will find you.
“I ended up getting a few phone calls from a few NFL teams and some arena league teams. I ended up playing overseas so something flourished with me staying at Husson, something happened. I'm glad I had the opportunity to stay and play at Husson”
Now, nearly a decade removed from his playing career with the Eagles, Wiggins has moved on from playing football and put his business degree he earned from Husson to use. The former teacher is now a self-entrepreneur that owns several startup businesses and has decided to invest in himself.
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