New Canaan quarterback Maddox Hoffman carries late grandfather's lessons into football, baseball

It should've been a moment of pure celebration for New Canaan football quarterback Maddox Hoffman.

A 39-7 Thanksgiving victory over rival Darien, an MVP performance from the quarterback himself, and, of course, a holiday feast with family awaiting.

Then Hoffman saw the look on his father Mitch's face after the game, and the mood changed dramatically.

"I remember I was super excited after the game and then I'm walking off the field and my dad's walking towards me," Hoffman said. "It was an overcast day and he had his sunglasses and a hat on and I could tell something was wrong."

Gerry O'Connell, Maddox's grandfather, had suffered a heart attack as he arrived at the 2025 Turkey Bowl football game that morning. He was rushed to a hospital and died that day at the age of 87.

Hoffman said when he was younger, he had trouble with his temper and patience during some games, either playing catcher or shortstop in baseball, or quarterback in football.

His grandfather helped him get past that.

"He always told me just breathe," Hoffman said. "Calm down. As a catcher, shortstop or quarterback, I need to have poise. Everybody's watching you at those positions so you need to be a leader and role model. That definitely sticks with me."

O'Connell had a big family of two sons and four daughters, 21 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Much of the family played sports, including brothers Ryan and Quintin O'Connell, captains under Rams coach Lou Marinelli in their playing days.

"His sons and grandsons are some of the finest young men you'd ever want to deal with," Marinelli said. "They've been my captains, they've been leaders in our program. I can't say enough about Gerry. He's such a generous guy, always willing to give advice on different things, and he's certainly missed."

Hoffman had what Marinelli said was his best game that day, passing for 288 yards and three touchdowns and even adding a 35-yard TD reception on a trick play.

It's something that makes Marinelli believe in a higher power.

"I believe in that stuff," he said. "I'm sure that Gerry was watching over him."

Hoffman is getting ready to lead the Rams for a second season this fall after quarterbacking a 13-0 team to its fourth consecutive Class L championship last year. He replaced two-year starter Luke Robinson, who had a 24-2 record with two Class L titles in 2023 and 2024, and Hoffman didn't miss a beat, passing for 2,030 yards with 21 touchdowns and just four interceptions.

A Northwestern baseball commit, Hoffman, a catcher, has been starting for the Rams in that sport for the past three seasons, and quarterbacks coach Jimmy Nguyen feels that experience helped Hoffman with the transition to starting under center.

"With Maddox, he started as a freshman on the baseball team, so he was already used to that high level of competition," Nguyen said. "Coming in as a sophomore, we had Luke Robinson, and Maddox was able to learn from Luke, learn the offense and how we do things. Even as a freshman, he was asking us to watch film. He wanted to be coached."

Nguyen said they tailored some things to fit Hoffman's style and the quarterback delivered.

Now, he's ready for the next step with a New Canaan team that is again deep.

Hoffman will be protected by a huge offensive line, which features seniors Connor Furman (6-5, 275) and Henry Reagan (6-3, 275), with several key targets, including receivers Charlie Koch and Matt Reed, as well as running back Finn Mocco.

"We have a lot of kids who are hungry and ready to finally have a starting role," Hoffman said. "Every year, because of the coaches, we're ready. Because we've won, we maybe have a little bit of a target on our back, but all we can do is put our heads down and work hard. I think that helps deal with the pressure - to be as prepared as possible.

"The more prepared you are, the easier it is in high-pressure moments."

The memories from last Thanksgiving are still vivid for Hoffman.

When it came time to choose a subject for his college application essay to Northwestern, that day and the emotions that came with it were the topic.

"It was a big moment in my life," Hoffman said. "It helped me learn some things about myself. I have a perfect memory of that day.  It was easy for me to write about the contrasting emotions, how it affected me and what I learned from it."

This article originally published at New Canaan quarterback Maddox Hoffman carries late grandfather's lessons into football, baseball.