By By Joe Pantorno , Staff Writer
It takes a very talented athlete with nerves of steel to take the helm of an FCS offense. The Hofstra Pride seem to have their leader in senior quarterback Cory Christopher. After leading the team to a 2-2 start to the season, the Chronicle was lucky enough to catch up with the man with the golden arm.
Growing up a Dolphins fan in Miami, Florida, Cory was surrounded by football at a very early age. His father, a standout athlete in high school who played baseball and basketball, and his mother, an avid sports fan, had a big effect on his athletic career. As the youngest of five children, Cory began playing football at eight years old in front of his house with his siblings. “We would play outside, and one day Coach Edwards, (a local Pop Warner Football coach) who would roam around the neighborhood stopped by and asked me to throw a football, and that’s when it started.” He played and excelled at the quarterback position throughout Pop Warner and into his days at American Senior High School in Miami Lake.
At American, Cory worked hard like any other aspiring athlete as he participated in basketball and track, but he stood out in football as he won All-County honors in his senior year. It was in his junior year though, that he knew that he was ready to become a college football quarterback as he put together a very solid year.
After high school, Cory attended Nassau Community College where he became an instant star. He was selected Offensive Player of the Year in 2006 and was also an honorable mention All-American in that same year, but he was looking for more success at a larger school, but it did not come easy. “During my years at Nassau Community College, I got no calls from any other schools trying to recruit me except for Hofstra and Coach (Dave) Cohen. I originally wanted to go to UCF (University of Central Florida) and be close to home, but after not getting any calls, I decided that Coach Cohen was a good guy and that Hofstra was the place for me.”
Red shirted in 2007, Cory came onto the scene in 2008 and started the first 7 games for the Pride. Tragedy struck number five when he went down with a knee injury that forced him to sit out for the rest of the year. “It was rough to watch your brothers get ready for battle and not go to war with them. I was on crutches so I had to watch the games from the Pride Lounge so I couldn’t even offer advice to my teammates.” Some positives came out of his injury though. His time off made him become “more of a student of a game,” as he spent a lot of time watching film and working on the identification of different blitz patterns and coverages.
With some football players, coming back from an injury can result in hesitant play, but it only made Christopher hungrier for success not only for himself, but for Pride Nation. “We show flashes of potential and we could make the playoffs if we can turn potential into results.” Hofstra is going through what Cory believes is their most toughest part of the schedule with two consecutive losses to Richmond, Western Michigan, and a Week 5 matchup against James Madison University, but he believes that after this stretch, the Pride ship will stabilize and hopefully sail into a strong second half of the season.
When I asked the senior if he had any NFL aspirations, the big man on campus smiled and said “Of course, I do it for the fun, but I played football to make the NFL and I’m going to try and pursue it.” But for now, the man with the rocket arm is going to try and become a legend here in Hempstead as he’ll try and lead the Pride to the Promised Land. The way he carries himself and prepares himself for any game, it looks like Hofstra has the right man for the job.

Corey Christopher in action for the Pride (Sean M. Gates/ The Chronicle)