McCarney, Deep Receiving Corps Are Plusses; Offensive Line Showed Toughness
By John Painter
(Hamilton, NY – April 26, 2013) Spring football practice is in the books.
Colgate made the most of its 15 allowable dates with a combination of regular practice sessions and intra-squad scrimmages. Head coach Dick Biddle and staff had many questions to answer coming off their Patriot League Championship season, but the coaches are encouraged going into the summer offseason.
Associate head coach and offensive coordinator Dan Hunt took a few moments with GoColgateRaiders.com to break down spring practice on his side of the ball.
On the offensive goals during spring practice
Hunt: “The No. 1 goal was to not get anybody hurt, and we did that. There were no serious injuries and no real loss of playing time that way.”
“For me, personally, with the quarterbacks, Gavin (McCarney) didn’t do much and we needed to find out what we had behind him. So we were able to get the young kids a lot of reps, a lot of live experience under fire there. That was a goal.”
“The other goal was to find out who our leading candidate is at tailback, and we found that we have good depth there. We have a lot of kids who could do it, and the leader should emerge probably by the end of (fall) camp. But we’re getting an idea of where that’s starting to fall into place.”
On the quarterbacks
Hunt: “Of the young kids behind Gavin – they are all freshmen – it was a challenge for them because they were seeing a lot defensively.”
“Dylan Finelli of the three freshmen probably came out as the guy who will be the No. 2 next year going into camp. Chase Bender and Ty Edmond both improved greatly during spring to where that battle’s not over because we still have August. They both have improved their game enough to where they could potentially be someone we could put in the game.”
QUARTERBACKS
7 Gavin McCarney ** QB 6-2 205 Sr. Jefferson Township, N.J. (Jefferson Twp.)
12 Dylan Finelli QB 6-2 196 So. Easthampton, N.J. (Rancocas Valley)
14 Chase Bender QB 6-3 189 So. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (Cardinal Gibbons)
19 Ty Edmond QB 5-11 196 So. Coopersburg, Pa. (Southern Lehigh)
On the tailbacks
Hunt: “Going into the spring, we had a bunch of them, and they were all kids we knew could help us and they were all good football players. Actually two of them, Eddy Sihavong and Bobby Stup, moved over to defense and look like they have a chance to start.”
“Really, the tailback competition came down to Demetrius Russell, Matt Shimshock, John Wilkins and James Travellin. Right now, coming out of the spring, I feel good about any of those kids having to play, but John stepped up as our next bigger back. We did, however, do a lot this spring with two tailbacks in the game at once because Demetrius, James and Matt had shown they warranted some touches.”
“I’m excited about that position. We’re deep and we’re going to find ways to get multiple guys on the field at once.”
“As far as the Jordan McCord-type back, John has shown he’s progressing toward that.”
“Jordan was in a unique situation in that he came in with Nate (Eachus), so Jordan really bided his time and played sporadically and played defense. His first real time being THE guy was his senior year. That just shows the type of kid he was.”
“John is physically closer to what Jordan was. In our offense, that back has to be a powerful kid. He’s certainly powerful, and he’s big and he’s durable. And then when he gets in the open field, he’s a loose-hipped kid – probably a little more than Jordan. So he’s progressing along that same track.”
“But I was impressed with all four of those kids this spring as far as being someone who could bring something to the fight if they had to play. Like I said, we might get around to having multiple guys on the field at the same time.”
“I feel good about that position. The one thing it doesn’t have is a lot of experience.”
“Of course, Gavin’s back there to take the pressure off not having an experienced tailback. We call Gavin the eraser. He’s going to make what’s going on around him right.”
“I was pleased with the progress that position made. You’re going to see a couple of guys on that list getting a lot of action next year.”
TAILBACKS
20 Demetrius Russell * TB 5-10 180 So. Tampa, Fla. (Taft)
26 Matthew Shimshock ** TB 6-0 193 Sr. Plains, Pa. (James M. Coughlin)
30 John Wilkins * TB 5-11 220 So. Mahwah, N.J. (Don Bosco Prep)
32 James Travellin * TB 5-11 190 So. Rutherford, N.J. (Rutherford)
On the offensive line
Hunt: “The first thing they were was tough, because at times there were only six or seven of them out there. I give them credit in that we did not really change the amount of reps we took both in team and in scrimmage situations.”
“They just went – particularly our two tackles, Zac Sawin and Scott Haraczy. They basically played almost every play this spring and never complained. And obviously when you’re dealing with young guys, it’s a plus that they saw a lot of football in those 15 practices.”
“Andrew Scarmardo played at a really high level last year and would have been an All-League kid; he’s still rehabbing his knee so he didn’t take a single snap. So Brendon Walsh was the only kid playing offensive line this spring who saw any action for us last year.”
“There are some growing pains there, but through the 15 practices a lot of kids came along to show that they’re going to be kids we can certainly play with next year and be excited about. We have a ways to go there still to develop consistency at that position, but enough kids have shown they will be able to do it.”
“That’s going to be the group everyone’s going to look to as having to replace the most. But by the time camp’s over and we get going, then we’ll be fine. Obviously, it’s going to be good to get those incoming guys in to have some depth and increase our numbers.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
51 Patrick Ligons * OL 5-11 292 Sr. Cincinnati, Ohio (Princeton)
52 Spencer Wallach ** OL 6-2 279 Jr. Binghamton, N.Y. (Chenango Valley)
54 Jeff Koch * OL 6-0 283 Jr. Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (Nease)
56 Scott Haraczy OL 6-1 273 So. Mars, Pa. (Pittsburgh Central)
68 Zac Sawin * OL 6-2 264 So. Longwood, Fla. (Lake Mary)
70 Owen Houser OL 6-1 296 Jr. Factoryville, Pa. (Tunkhannock)
71 Andrew Scarmardo ** OL 6-3 285 Sr. Plainfield, Ill. (Plainfield North)
76 Brandan Walsh * OL 6-1 282 Jr. Waldwick, N.J. (Paramus Catholic)
79 John Weber * OL 6-2 257 So. Parkersburg, W.Va. (Parkersburg)
On the tight ends
Hunt: “There are only three true tight ends right now and they’re all kids who will play and play a lot.”
“John Quazza is a freshman in spring who didn’t play like a freshman. He improved his knowledge of the run game between the end of the season and the start of spring ball, and became a real solid blocker for us. He has the ability to make big plays in the pass game.”
“C.J. Stempeck will be going into his third year starting. He’s played as much football as anyone on the offense. He also in the blocking end of things really took strides to becoming a dominant blocker. He’s put on some good size and he’s going to be a kid who can really help our offensive line. That’s probably where he needed the most work, the run game, and he really improved mechanically.”
“He’s always been a kid who knew what he was doing, but at times he probably became our most dominant blocker.”
“Kevin O’Connell has the ability to be one of the most dynamic players in the league. He creates matchup problems because he’s basically got the speed and ball skills of a wide receiver playing the tight end position.”
“In the pass game, he was fantastic last year. But you could tell at times he was fighting it in the run game a little bit. He took some strides there as far as becoming a kid who’s not only going to become a dominant receiving tight end but as a kid we can put in and he’ll get in the fight in the run game.”
“That position is another one where we’re going to have to find ways to get two if not three of those guys on the field at once. It’s our deepest quality position. It’s a good group, and they’re all very coachable, eager kids who compete.”
“The one thing with Gavin, any eligible receiver knows that if the read is supposed to take the ball to me then it’s going to come to me. They appreciate that. And being a run team, they know the play-action potential is there for some big plays – particularly in the red zone.”
“All three kids, you can count of them. They are where they should be; and if you put the ball near them, they are going to catch it. It’s a group that’s going to be one of the strengths of this offense.”
TIGHT ENDS
8 Kevin O’Connell * TE 6-2 220 Jr. Getzville, N.Y. (Williamsville South)
80 John Quazza * TE 6-5 219 So. West Milford, N.J. (West Milford)
96 C.J. Stempeck ** TE 6-5 235 Jr. Grayslake, Ill. (Grayslake)
On the fullbacks
Hunt: “Ed Pavalko is another kid like C.J. Those two have played the most football of anyone on our offense.”
“He’s someone who we expanded his role this spring, putting him truly in the backfield a little bit more. He got a couple of carries last year, and we’ll probably increase that next year. As far as a blocking fullback, if you close your eyes and picture a fullback, he’s what you should have. He loves to hit, he can move in the hole and he can get to who he’s got to block.”
“The thing he really showed this spring is he’s got great hands. And he blocks like a fullback, at times he runs like a tailback and at times he catches like a wideout. He showed he’s got some good hands. He’s a dependable kid. I would take 22 of him if that was possible.”
“Behind him, Brandon Cope is a kid who enjoys the physical play of the position. If something were to happen to Ed, we could certainly put Brandon in and be OK.”
“He shows he’s willing to do it. He’s not as fluid as Eddie, but if we use him correctly he could be a kid who would step in there. He had a nice spring and is a team guy.”
“Andrew Romeo was battling an injury so he didn’t get a lot of live situation stuff, but certainly looks like he’s got the tools to join these two at that position. I’m excited about him.”
TIGHT ENDS/FULLBACKS
34 Andrew Romeo FB 5-11 208 So. Berkeley Heights, N.J. (Gov. Livingston)
40 Ed Pavalko ** FB 6-0 254 Jr. Girardsville, Pa. (North Schuylkill)
95 Brandon Cope * FB 5-11 215 Jr. Sellersville, Pa. (Pennridge)
On the wide receivers
Hunt: “That’s another deep position filled with kids who have been on the field for us, who have made plays for us. Obviously, losing Chris (Looney) definitely is going to be a big loss.”
“And we didn’t have Dan Cason this spring; he was rehabbing his ankle. He was the next-most experienced guy with the next-most amount of catches. So while we had a lot of guys who had played, our top two guys from last year weren’t out there.”
“Still, that’s how deep the position is.”
“Ryne Morrison is a kid you can count on every play, another guy who would be in the right place and help make sure everyone else is in the right place. He had a really nice spring. He’s consistent and we know he’s going to be a quality player for us. Certainly at the end of last year, he stepped up and really made some big plays for us down the stretch – huge catch at Lehigh, big catch at Fordham.”
“You’ll remember we lost Cason in the Lehigh game actually making the play that saved the championship. People don’t realize that – they look at touchdowns and yards – but breaking up that interception saved the game and saved the title. The play he got hurt on should have been an easy interception.”
“Jimmy DeCicco is a kid we used last year at a bunch of different positions, and we will use him like that again next year. But we didn’t do it this spring. We wanted him to focus on just the skills and techniques of wide receiver.”
“We know that the package where he plays running back, he’s a great runner with the ball in his hands. He’s hard to tackle. But receiver’s not his natural position, so we said, ‘Play nothing but wideout.’
“He came here actually as a quarterback. He could play quarterback, he could play tailback and he could play wide receiver. But where he helps us the most is having that flexibility to do multiple positions, and we will continue to do that with him.”
“He didn’t need to take a lot of strides at tailback; he’s a natural runner. I’d like to race him against Gavin. He’s a guy who can take a small throw and make it a long gain.”
“Nat Bellamy’s kind of the same way. He’s more of an every-down receiver, but certainly we hand him the ball on occasion too just to get it in his hands. Those are two kids who we’ve got to get multiple touches a game. If it’s through throwing to them, great; but the easiest thing is you can just hand it to them.”
“That way they’re guaranteed to have the ball in their hands.”
“Nat is a kid who came over from defense and he’s really taken strides. Last year he was still kind of fighting the position a little bit. It’s not that he didn’t want to do it; just that receiver wasn’t his natural position.”
“Now through the spring and having fall camp, by the time we start next year he will be a much more natural wide receiver. Certainly he’s a kid who will make some big plays for us.”
“Those four right there – Ryne, Jimmy, Nat and Cason – we are deep again at that position, which is a good feeling.”
“Of the current freshmen, Adam Bridgeforth is a kid who in the spring showed flashes of being in that DeCicco/Bellamy mode of taking the ball, getting a step and going big with it. He’s got to become more consistent catching the ball, but certainly athletically he’s a kid I’m excited to see on our depth chart.”
“P.J. Franciotti has been around and is a good-sized target. He just needs to keep improving on his consistency. And we’ve got a good group coming in.”
WIDE RECEIVERS
5 Jimmy DeCicco ** WR 6-0 203 Jr. Hurley, N.Y. (Kingston)
9 P.J. Franciotti WR 6-3 182 Jr. Clark, N.J. (Johnson Regional)
11 Ryne Morrison ** WR 5-10 184 Sr. Damien, Calif. (Damien)
22 Nat Bellamy *** WR 5-11 178 Sr. Los Angeles, Calif. (Loyola)
81 Brian Lalli WR 6-1 181 So. Jessup, Pa. (Valley View)
82 Adam Bridgeforth * WR 6-0 178 So. Nazareth, Pa. (Nazareth Area)
83 Cameron Kline WR 5-9 169 So. Dallas, Texas (St. Mark’s)
84 Daniel Cason *** WR 6-2 200 Sr. Somerville, N.J. (East Stroudsburg)