Rob Ambrose got off to quick start in his second week on the job as Towson’s head football coach.

The former Connecticut offensive coordinator landed commitments earlier this week from two Poly seniors, linemen Arnold Farmer and Charles Johnson.

Farmer and Johnson went on an unofficial visit to Towson on Wednesday. Johnson committed before leaving while Farmer called Ambrose later that night to commit.

Both Poly linemen were recruited by Ambrose when he was at UConn.

“Me and Coach Ambrose already had a connection because he was my recruiting coordinator at UConn,” Farmer said. “I already knew what he was about. When he was at UConn, he promised me that if I didn’t get an offer from UConn, he’d find a school for me. So I was really excited when he came and gave me that offer.”

Johnson said Ambrose made a similar pledge to him.

“He made a promise to me that he was going to help me [find a school] and when he became head coach [at Towson], he carried it along,” Johnson said. “That actually took part in my decision. I highly respected him doing that for me and I honored that. I was told that maybe I was just a little too short for the Division I level and he couldn’t approve me through all the [UConn] coaching staff, so when he left he took it upon himself [to offer me]. He’s a man of his word.”

Farmer, a 6-foot-1, 320-pound defensive tackle, starred in the Maryland Crab Bowl at Towson’s Johnny Unitas Stadium last month. He picked the Tigers over offers from Navy, Bucknell and Fordham.

Johnson, 6 feet 2, 262 pounds, can play either offensive or defensive line. Lehigh was recruiting Johnson the hardest, while Albany, Bucknell and Johns Hopkins also expressed interest.

“It was the opportunity of a lifetime to get a full scholarship to a [Division I Football Championship Subdivision] school, so I just had to go for it,” Johnson said.

Farmer said he’s looking forward to being part of the Tigers’ new beginning under Ambrose.

“[Ambrose] said that he wanted to get local guys in,” Farmer said. “Coming from Poly, that's right in [Towson’s] backyard and they found me. I’m really excited about what I can do at Towson. There’s going to be some big things coming out of Towson in the next couple of years.”

Photo credit: Arnold Farmer / Baltimore Sun photo by Monica Lopossay / November 6, 2007