Dylan Laube Declares for 2024 NFL Draft

A small-town kid with big-time ambitions may very well see his dreams become a reality.

That’s because former Westhampton Beach standout running back Dylan Laube has declared for the 2024 NFL Draft. The soon-to-be University of New Hampshire graduate racked up the accolades this postseason after a stellar senior campaign where he led the nation in all-purpose yards for the second straight year, and has also been invited to compete in the Reese’s Senior Bowl in February, where elite draft prospects from around the country are selected to showcase their talent.

“I’m 100 percent ready for this. It’s a proud moment,” Laube said. “When they see me in open space, as a receiver, as a returner, it’s going to open a bunch of eyes. Especially as a small-town kid. It’s a crazy opportunity for me to get to show everyone who I really am, and I’m going to take advantage of it.”

It’s been years in the making for the Wildcats captain, who compiled 2,095 all-purpose yards and totaled 18 touchdowns in 10 games — recording an average 209.5 yards per game. He ran the ball 160 times for 749 yards and nine TDs, caught 68 passes for 699 yards and seven TDs, had 15 kickoff returns for 467 yards and a touchdown and 16 punt returns for 180 yards and a score. With those stats, he led the team in rushes, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, receptions, receiving yards, touchdown receptions, kickoff return yards, kickoff return average and punt return yards. The multi-faceted game he boasts could help him stand out from the rest next year.

“He’s very versatile. He’s a threat,” said former Westhampton Beach head coach Bill Parry. Laube can play any position out of the backfield, as a receiver and as a slot, he is obviously a running back but he also returns kicks and punts. “He’s got great hands,” Parry said. “Toward the end of the year, no one would even kick or punt it to him, they’d just kick it out of bounds because he’s hard to defend against all-around.”

Laube garnered All-America accolades from three different publications and has now received a total of 13 career All-America Team honors. He was named to the Football Championship Subdivision’s Football Central All-America First Team, New England Football Writers’ All-New England Team, Phil Steele Coastal Athletic Association 2023 All-Conference Team and CAA Football’s First Team as a running back and punt returner and to the conference’s Second Team as a kickoff returner. He was also named Coastal Athletic Association Football Special Teams Player of the Year and was a Top 10 finalist for the Walter Payton Award, given each year to the most outstanding offensive player in FCS football.

“I think that’s anyone’s dream — to be an All-American, All-Conference player and to be on that list for one of the most prestigious awards,” Laube said. “Everyone’s goal playing a sport is to leave your mark. I just tried every single game to help my team win. Looking back, I know I gave it everything I have. I left no regrets on the field.”

The 2018 HERO Sports Freshman Honorable Mention All-American is also second in the nation in both total touchdowns (18) and scoring (10.8 points/game), third in kickoff returns (31.1 yards/return), fifth in combined kick returns (647 yards), eighth in receptions per game (6.8) and 16th in punt returns (CAA-best 11.2 yards/return).

Laube led UNH in rushing yards nine of 10 games played, in receptions seven times and receiving yards four times. He topped 100 rushing yards twice — collecting 180 yards against Dartmouth College and 132 versus Villanova University — and 100 receiving yards twice as well as 200 all-purpose yards six times.

Laube’s accolades are due to his grit and determination, which head coach Rick Santos, a former record-setting Wildcat quarterback from 2004-07 and a 2016 UNH Athletics Hall of Fame inductee saw in the running back even as a redshirt freshman.

“It was the way he approached and attacked his training. He was always one of the first guys on the practice field and one of the last ones to leave,” Santos said. “I’ve never seen Dylan take one rep off, in anything. It could be summer conditioning, weight room work in the offseason or a Tuesday practice after a game he’d just had 30 carries in and he’s still in there giving it his all. He was relentless.”

That’s because Laube saw himself as a bit of an underdog. He was a record-setter in high school, too, amassing a Long Island-best 47 touchdowns his senior year, but he still wasn’t considered by many programs. He had talks with schools like Army, who offered him a spot, but UNH handed him his only scholarship. Laube has spent the past few years sending a message.

“The odds have been stacked against him even before high school, but there’s no quit in him,” his father, Kyle Laube, said. “He was told he was too small and that he should focus on lacrosse, but that’s not what Dylan wanted. It’s been a challenge and it took a lot of hard work to get here, but I’m honestly not surprised with where he’s at because his work ethic is on another level. We knew if anyone gave him a shot, his drive and his work ethic would take him where he wanted to go.”

The running back’s high school coach also said he knew wherever Laube would land, he’d excel.

“He’s just that kind of a kid. His motor never stops,” Parry said. “He’s always had the work ethic that most others don’t, and I think that’s his advantage. That’s what separates him from other guys, and I’m hoping that through the practices of the Reese’s Bowl, coaches will see it.”

And the running back’s mother, Noel Laube, said she’s been told many community members will be there to witness his do-everything talents.

“We love our community and we love the support that people have shown,” she said. “Without us even knowing, many have said they’ve followed his journey and we are so proud of him. It’s hard to even put the words together for the emotions we feel. Dylan has done this truly by himself. He has made this his reality. At times, we look at each other and it’s almost surreal that this is happening, but he has earned every bit of this.”

Laube scored at least one touchdown every game, a rushing touchdown in seven of 10 games and a receiving touchdown in six games his final season for the Wildcats. Santos said it’s Laube’s first step and short-range quickness that also propelled him to success.

“How he goes from a stagnant, still position and gets up to top speed I think is as good as anybody in the country at any level. His acceleration is very unique and very special,” the coach said. “Based on how he takes care of his body, he’s also a bit of a physical specimen. He’s very strong. He’s powerful. He’s probably one of the strongest guys we had on the team.”

Laube was named CAA Special Teams Player of the Week twice and received a total of five awards following a record-setting performance on September 9 against Football Bowl Subdivision opponent Central Michigan University, where he caught 12 passes for 295 yards, including 80- and 71-yard touchdown catches. He amassed a season-high, but not career-high, 371 all-purpose yards that game.

Things changed for Laube after that performance.

“I probably had over 50 different agents in my DMs, texting me,” Laube said. “It was the middle of the night. I’m getting random calls. I’m like, ‘Who is this?’”

In the season opener at Stonehill, Laube had a 58-yard punt return TD, 23-yard receiving TD and 11-yard rushing TD — all in the first quarter, and recorded a career-high 13 receptions for 128 yards and a TD at Rhode Island and carried the ball a career-high 33 times for 180 yards in the win against Dartmouth. He also topped 300 all-purpose yards against Villanova November 4, finishing with 19 carries for 132 yards and two touchdowns, 10 catches for 75 yards and three kickoff returns for 103 yards.

“Very rarely did a first defender ever bring him down. He can run through contact and he has great acceleration, but the combination of his elusiveness and his field vision is what separates him from even the good backs at this level. It makes him a game-changer,” Santos said. “It was as vast as any season I can remember, and because of it we had all 32 NFL teams come by practice.”

But the senior is also a team player, and knows that his success also wouldn’t be possible without his coaches and teammates.

“It’s what the team expected from me. They pushed me, but my offensive line also came up with great blocks, and my quarterback [Walter Peyton Award Top 3 finalist Max Brosmer] had a great year, too,” Laube said. “They’ve taught me so much. They’ve helped me so much. They are now my second family.”

Santos said that even though Laube was always a lead by example-type player, he was voted captain by the 100-plus guys in his locker room, and he took that to heart.

“Maybe in years past he wasn’t the most vocal guy, but I think he felt really empowered this year by the respect his teammates showed him, and he took that next step and was as good a leader as we’ve had here in a long time,” the coach said. “It was a huge reason why this season we had so much success on offense. Not just because of his play, but I think just being that galvanizing force out there in the huddle and keeping everyone engaged.”

Laube holds four all-time records for the Wildcats, including most kickoff returns in a game, with eight against James Madison University in November 2019, and most yards returning in a game with 125 against Towson September 2022. He’s also tied with one other for the longest punt return — 92 yards against Towson in the same game — and tied with three others for the longest kickoff return. He carried the ball back for a 100-yard touchdown against Richmond in November 2022, and did it again this season at Delaware.

“One thing that was instilled in me at a young age was to work my butt off every single day — to put your head down and get it done,” Laube said. “I knew I was going to be down on the depth chart when I first joined UNH, and I put my head down and went for it. I definitely matured my freshman year until now, and I’m ready to go. I’m ready to take the next step.”

“When he came in here, being underrecruited and the University of New Hampshire being his only scholarship offer, he truly had a chip on his shoulder and a me-against-the-world mentality, and he internalized that in the right way every single day,” Santos said. “He’s always looked at himself as one of the best players in the country, but for him to come in a late scholarship offer and become a Walter Peyton Award finalist with back-to-back All-American campaigns and leading the nation in all-purpose yards is truly remarkable. This couldn’t be happening to a better young man.”

Not only will he undoubtedly go down as one of the best UNH football players ever, according to Santos, he’s already enshrined in Hurricanes heritage, and if drafted, he’d be the first from Westhampton Beach since Sean Farrell, who was the 17th overall pick in 1982. Farrell played for Penn State University before spending a decade in the NFL, suiting up for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for five seasons, New England Patriots for three and the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks.

“We couldn’t be more grateful to have been around Dylan and to have helped him grow and watch him flourish the way that he did. We are honored to be a part of his journey,” Santos said. “We’re obviously going to miss him dearly, but he’s earned this right. He gets to go up against the best of the best and I think he’s going to prove that he can play with anybody at any level at any time, and whoever decides to draft him is going to be a really, really smart team.”