Boucher trying to carry on tradition for Milford football

[Editor’s Note: This story also appears in the 2017 Football Prospectus.]

Michael Boucher has one goal in mind for the upcoming football season.

After the Milford High School football team just missed out on a playoff spot in 2016, the senior lineman wants to help lead his team not only back to the postseason, but all the way to the program's first championship in 14 years.

It would be quite the finish to Boucher's career as a Spartan, one that didn't seem likely during his freshman year.

As a member of the Milford junior varsity, Boucher played in just one game in that first high school season, and spent most of his time manning the sideline.

But after the season, a senior-to-be got in the ear of his younger teammate and got him headed down a different path.

"I wasn’t ever the greatest player," Boucher said. "That offseason, (Kody Palladino) worked out with me and brought me under his wing. He taught me how to play and what it takes to be a football player. Honestly, I looked at Kody as mentor and role model to me."

Palladino, who was about to be a three-year starter as a senior in 2015, helped get Boucher working in the right direction so that he's now about to be starting on the Milford offensive line for the third year in a row. Boucher also plays on the Spartans' defensive line, where he'll be a starter for the second straight season.

"All freshmen are the same, they’re big and happy and not really sure of themselves," Milford coach Keith Jones said. "Kody molded him. He went from being soft to hard. He grew up quick. Being with Kody and having to go against him in practice, it made him grow up fast. Better to be the hammer and not the nail."

Boucher has now also become part of a Milford tradition.

"The one thing Kody told me was that what he brought to me was what (Kody's brother) Trevor (Palladino) brought to him," he said. "He told me the one thing is to pass it on, and honestly, I think I’m doing a good job."

And he's the kind of leader that Jones likes to have, one who doesn't scream and yell to get his point across.

"Michael is more of a lead-by-example guy," the coach said. "He always goes hard. He doesn’t take plays off. During games, he plays sideline to sideline. He excessively blocks. He’s not a yeller or a screamer."

After starting out at offensive tackle, Boucher moved inside to right guard last season and has more experience playing on the offensive side of the ball. But his best chance at playing at the next level might be as a defensive player, and that's where Boucher put a lot of his focus during the offseason.

"For defense, I’ve been all around," he said. "I love defensive line. I love being able to smash kids. I know I’m more built for defense for college, and I think it’s a better position for me. I’m trying to get the hang of things."

The biggest things Boucher needs to work on is technique, according to Jones.

"At the next level, it’s all about technique and hand placement and things like that," he said. "He’s got to focus on becoming a better player in that aspect. At the next level, they’re all his size. You’re weight doesn’t give you an advantage where it does now sometimes.

"He started to show moments of greatness at the end of last year. He stopped playing what we called peek-a-boo. He stopped looking for the ball."

Boucher received a verbal offer from Saint Anselm College over the summer, and while he's intrigued by the possibility of reuniting with Palladino - he'll be a freshman for the Hawks this fall - he also wants to know what other opportunities are out there.

"I’m not the biggest kid for Division I, but if I could get the chance and it’s right for me, I’ll do it," he said. "I want to play at the highest level. I don’t think I’ll have decided until after the season. I have a good amount of options. We’ll see what happens in November."