2009 Spring Preview
Key Non-BCS League Questions Answered Part 2
- Non-BCS League Spring Questions
Answered, Part 1
Q: What does the Temple
offense need to do to improve? When are the good recruiting classes of
the last few years going to start to kick in? What is the most important
position battle to watch this spring?
A:
By Shawn Pastor from
OwlsDaily.com … The Owls need to
be able to run the ball with authority.
Whether they stick with the spread offense that produced better
overall numbers last season, or revert to a more traditional look, Coach
Al Golden’s squad is going to have to be able to run the ball, which
hasn’t been easy the past three years.
The Owls have been particularly impotent in short-yardage
situations.
Beyond the tailback assignment, where sophomore
Kee-ayre Griffin leads a youthful pack, the key spots are center20and
both guard positions, which will feature at least two new starters.
For three years, the Owls have struggled to open holes and
protect the quarterback on a consistent basis.
Now they must replace four-year starter Alex Derenthal and
two-year starter Andre Douglas.
Former Big 33 pick Wayne Tribue started nine games as a true
freshman and is expected to step in for Derenthal in the pivot.
The guard spots are wide open.
Generally speaking, the
recruiting classes already have kicked in.
While many of the star players from last year’s 5-7 squad –
Derenthal, Terrance Knighton, Bruce Francis 9 3 were leftovers from the
previous regime, Golden’s first two recruiting classes provided the meat
of Temple’s tough and fast defense.
The question now is how good Golden’s first group of
signees will be as seniors.
Five of them entered spring practice as defensive starters, including
up-the-middle stalwarts Andre Neblett (NT), Alex Joseph (MLB), and John
Haley (LB). They took their
lumps as true freshmen and now they have a chance to lead the Owls to
their first winning season in nearly two decades.
Ironically, many of Golden’s headline-grabbing
recruits from years one, two, and three have not produced much so far.
But that could change with Griffin’s continued development at
tailback and the surprising return of cornerback Daryl Robinson after a
humbling year at a California junior college.
Conventional wisdom says the biggest position battle
is the quarterback race between Vaughn Charlton and Chester Stewart, who
are vying to replace playmaker extraordinaire Adam DiMichele.
But Golden has already announced that he won’t pick a starter
until 10 to 14 days before the Owls’ season opener.
So the QB race figures to be won or lost in preseason camp.
In the meantime, the Owls need to begin identifying
some receiving targets as soon as possible.
Because, while Charlton and Stewart have starting experience, the
only wideouts who’ve proven a thing as pass catchers are converted
tailback Jason Harper and slot receiver Dy’Onne Crudup.
Junior Mike Campbell will miss spring drills following offseason
surgery, leaving the door wide open for youngsters like James Nixon,
C.J. Hammond, and Deven Baker.
There will be interesting battles at cornerback,
linebacker, and multiple spots on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
Only a couple jobs appear to be locked up by multi-year starters.
But the most important spot to watch is wide receiver, because
the record-setting Francis is no longer there.
Q: A year removed from Paul
Johnson leaving, how are things now different? Is Navy going to keep
working on what works, or are there any new wrinkles going to be added
to the mix?
A: By Don Yates
GoMids.com … Nothing
different. Ken Niumatalolo
kept Paul Johnson's triple option system in place because it works.
Nothing is different other than the name of the head coach.
The most important position battle will be fullback as the Mids
must replace now graduated Eric Kettani.
The quarterback must also be replaced.
However, it's more of a battle for the backup spot as
junior-to-be Ricky Dobbs performed so well in 2008 as a backup that he
is virtually a lock for starter in 2009.
Q: Kevin Smith couldn’t
have been the difference between UCF winning the Conference USA title
and coming up with one of the worst offenses in America … was he? What’s
being done to boost up the attack? What’s the most important position
battle to watch for this spring?
A:
By Charlie Bernstein from
InsideKnights.com … Kevin Smith couldn’t have been the difference
between the Conference USA title and one of the worst offenses in
America, was he? What’s
being done to boost up the attack? What’s the most important position
battle to watch for this spring?
Kevin Smith was a crushing loss
for the UCF offense, but he was not the sole reason why they went from
10 wins to the 119th ranked offense in the nation (out of 119 teams).
Kevin Smith’s backup, Phillip Smith was kicked off the team
before summer practice began, and they simply had very little talent and
even less experience in the backfield.
It was a revolving quarterback situation where neither junior
Michael Greco, redshirt freshman Joe Weatherford, nor true freshman Rob
Calabrese could play with any consistency.
The offensive line couldn’t pass protect, when they did, the
quarterbacks couldn’t deliver the ball accurately, and on the rare
occasion when that happened, the receivers dropped the ball.
The offensive rankings really don’t do justice to how inept the
team was on that side of the ball.
This season, Coach O’Leary
hired a new offensive coordinator, Charlie Taaffe, formerly of the CFL
and University of Maryland.
The team saw some strides at the end of last season with the offensive
line, and thus true freshman and now sophomore running back Brynn Harvey
experienced some success.
Harvey will be the main man in the backfield this year, and the
team hopes that either quarterback Rob Calabrese or Joe Weatherford will
take control of the reigns behind center.
The team returns senior wide receiver Rocky Ross as well as tight
end Corey Rabazinski, two of the more dependable players on offense from
a year ago. When you finish
last in the nation in total offense, there really is only one way to go,
and that’s up.
Like many teams in the country, the most
important position battle will be at the most important position,
quarterback. It’s likely to
be a two-man competition between Rob Calabrese and Joe Weatherford,
neither of which showed much more than flashes a year ago.
Incoming freshman Nico Flores from North Miami Beach will join
the fray in the summer, and although it’s not likely, he could push
either Calabrese or Weatherford for playing time.
Q: Just how good
is this veteran UL Monroe defense going to be? How much of a killer is
the loss of Kinsmon Lancaster? What’s the most important position battle
to watch for this spring?
A: By Matt Wilson from
Warhawknation.com … Defense:
Coach Troy Reffett moves from the University of New Mexico to ULM as
defensive coordinator. Troy will scrap the 4-2-5 and go to a 3-3-5
defense to utilize the athletic linebackers and defensive backs that we
have.
ULM returns all 11 defensive starters and has added some
big names in juco DE Quantez Hunter (6’4 250), SLB Antonio Hoskins (MSU
signee, didn’t qualify,sat out a year), and local product Cameron Blakes.
James Truxillo is back after tearing his ACL in the Arkansas game. When
he went down the defense lost its best all around defender.
Biggest Spring Battle: No doubt about it, quarterback battle. Trey
Revell (6’5 215) has seen action the past 2 season when Lancaster has
been hurt and is the favorite going into spring. He has the size and
rocket arm that you love and can make plays with his feet but is he
ready to carry the load? Watch for SMU transfer Zach Rhodes (6’2 215
4.3/40) to push hard for the starting job. Kid has a live arm and is
super quick with blazing breakaway speed.
You will see more of an option style offense from ULM
in 2009. Using our fast quarterbacks to make decisions and getting the
ball to playmakers Frank Goodin, Luther Ambrose, and Anthony McCall.