Tribe wraps up Spring.

[Tribe4SF]

Green and Gold Game concluded Spring drills.

http://www.tribeathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=25100&ATCLID=205413796

2012 Captains SS Brian Thompson and LB Jabrel Mines.

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[Tribe4SF]

Part of replacing Jonathan Grimes by committee.

Soph. RB Keith McBride and Soph. RB Darnell Laws.

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http://www.myuploadedimages.com/images/36343529725352736249.jpg

Part of a deep secondary...Soph. SS Ivan Tagoe

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Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin in attendance. Inducted to W&M Hall of Fame that evening.

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[I-16Bandit]

Best of luck to your team in the upcoming season! Ever since our playoff game together in 2010, I've been rooting for you guys in the CAA. Maybe come December, you guys can make a trip down to Statesboro. :D

[Tribe4SF]

Best of luck to your team in the upcoming season! Ever since our playoff game together in 2010, I've been rooting for you guys in the CAA. Maybe come December, you guys can make a trip down to Statesboro. :D

We'd rather have you guys back in Williamsburg, but definitely a mutual admiration society between our schools. Frisco might be a better place to meet up!

[Wildcat80]

I hope caprio goes 9 for 20 on Nov. 3rd.

[Tribe4SF]

I hope caprio goes 9 for 20 on Nov. 3rd.

I'm sure you do. More important will be finding a way to score against us. Caprio has started the last two meetings, but you guys have only managed 13 points over the two years. Our D just seems to match up well with you recently. Looking forward to visiting again.

[HailSzczur]

Tribe4SF, what is the check the teams holding in you sig line?

[Tribe4SF]

Check is for $4,500 to Avalon- A center for Women and Children. Players ran a car wash a few weeks ago at three different sites. All players, and coaches participated.

[jmufan999]

Pictures are awesome, thanks. I'm a JMU fan first and a W&M fan second (brother went there). How about some opinions? I'm not reading some lame-a** writer's stats for a spring game. Who will replace Grimes? Is that talented DE back (Hyde, I think)? Outlook on the season? Playoff-bound? You guys have made the "Final 4" twice very recently (no one ever seems to talk about that, for some reason)... making the next step in 2012? Don't be PC; be honest. I hate PC, it's so unbelievably boring. I want honesty and insight.

[tribefan40]

I will of course defer to sf, but I'll give my opinion as well. Defense looks to be the strength for next season, particularly the back seven where there is a lot of returning depth. D-line looks to be young but talented, and could quickly turn in to a solid rotation. Offense has weapons, and TE looks to be a deep position, even with the loss of Gottlieb. Top two wideouts - moody and mcbride - will be solid if healthy, but depth could be an issue at this spot, and many seem to be hoping that one or two will step up behind them. RB will most likely be by comittee as sf said, but Keith Mcbride, a Navy transfer, played well last year behind Grimes and there are several others who will most likely have significant contribution. O-line returns a lot of starters, should be a strength. The question will once again be QB. Caprio and Graham have game experience and both have shown the ability to get it done, but one of them or an underclassmen (perhaps Ortiz) will have to step in to the starting role and be consistent for the Tribe to go far this year. I think the tribe are a young and talented group that could certainly make a lot of noise this fall, but I'm not talking about playoffs until the qb situation sorts itself out.

To answer your other question Hyde is graduating and looking to the NFL.

[Tribe4SF]

tribefan40 is on the money. Because of injuries, illness, and some flat-out poor play, QBs have been very inconsistent recently. WR has been a similar story. A healthy Ryan Moody, and a maturing Tre McBride should get help from 5'11" 185 soph. Sean Ballard, 6'2" 170 rFr. Anthony Johnson and 6'3" 205 rFr. Zach Fetters at WR, but QB play has to be better for a big step forward in the passing game.

It seems strange to be confident in the RB position when your all-time leading man is graduating, but the Tribe is five-deep at the position with a fast, and big group. Any of these guys, led by Keith McBride could play key roles.

- Soph. Keith McBride 6' 210
- Soph. Darnell Laws 6' 220
- Sr. Mel Jones 5'9" 215
- rFr. Mikal Abdul-Saboor 5'10" 212
- Soph. Jarrell Cooper 5'8" 185

The Fullback spot belongs to 6'2" 230 Sr. T.J. Ptachick. He is experienced, and will go as an H-Back frequently with athleticism and good hands.

TE is another spot where a dropoff might have been expected with Alex Gottlieb heading to the league, but 6'4" 255 Sr. Nolan Kearney showed his mettle last year, and has a similar skill set to Gottlieb. Helping with two-TE sets will be Soph. Bo Revell, and Jr. Robert Asmar. Revell is a 6'6" 260 athlete with range and excellent hands who looks to be a future star as he completes the transition from QB, and Asmar at 6'3" 245 has developed nicely as a role player.

The defense looks to be improved, with a wealth of talent and speed at the back seven. Complementing Sr. B.W. Webb at CB will be rFr. Deandre Houston-Carson at 6'1" 175, and Soph. Jesse McNeal at 5'11" 180. 5'10" 180 Jr. Ryan Smith showed well on the corner in the Spring game. The safety spots feature speed, versatility, and excellent size. Sr. Brian Thompson at 5'11" 215, Jr. Jerome Couplin at 6'2" 205, and Soph. Ivan Tagoe at 6'1" 220 are interchangeable, and will be on the field together frequently. rFr. Jared Velasquez at 6' 195 provides good depth and may see time as a kick returner. 5'11" 185 Sr. Ethan Lee is experienced at both CB and safety. LB is perhaps the deepest, and strongest area for the team. Sr. Dante Cook at 5'11" 222 moves back to the middle after a year on the outside. Sr. Jabrel Mines at 6' 220 was an all-conference pick at OLB. Soph. Airek Green at 6'1" 225 who played as a true freshman in 2010 and missed last year, is just ahead of 6'2" 225 rFr. Luke Rhodes for the other outside spot. These four are backed by 6'1" 230 Jr. Ben Casper, and 6' 225 Soph. Alex Goodman who both saw time last year, and 6' 230 Soph. Matt Pocta. rFr. Terrence Mack and Ian Haislip have also shown potential. The LB group as a whole is fast, and versatile.

How good the defense will be hinges on the front four. Graduating DT Harold Robertson, and DE Marcus Hyde started alot of games, and their experience will be missed. The DT spot returns 6'2" 270 Jr. George Beerhalter, a starter last year, 6'4" 290 Soph. Jasper Coleman, who played as true freshman, and 6'2" 265 Sr. Nick Zaremba who emerged as a contributor last fall. Coleman invokes memories of Sean Lissemore with his strength, quickness and range, but is still young. Soph. Steve Sinnott at 6'4" 240 was a starter at DE, and is complimented by 6'4" 255 Jr. Bryan Stinnie, a former starter who missed the fall with injury, and 6'4" 270 Soph. Mike Reilly who can also go at DT. Those three make the position look strong, and are backed by emerging speed rushers 6'3" 230 Jr. Quincey September (converted LB), and 6'3" 225 rFr. Braxton Hicks. DT was a focus of recruiting, and the unit may need freshman help. Best hope is probably 6'4" 275 Tyler Claytor out of Georgia. Like the back seven, the DL group has good speed and range.

Kicking game should be solid with Jr. Drake Kuhn again handling both punting and placekicking, and backed by Soph. John Carpenter. B.W. Webb will again return punts, and RBs Keith McBride and Mel Jones should vie with Safety Jared Velasquez to replace Grimes returning kickoffs.

[jmufan999]

Good stuff. Thanks, guys.

[Tribe4SF]

Thoughts from Coach Laycock, and QB Brent Caprio after the game.

“Defensively, the linebackers and the secondary probably have as good overall speed as we’ve had in quite a while,” head coach Jimmye Laycock said.

Caprio, who has spent all Spring practicing against the Tribe’s defense, said he thought it could be one of the best defensive units in the conference come September.

“You saw how athletic their [defensive] backs are. They’re coming up and making plays and even the linebackers are so athletic,” Caprio said. “It’s definitely one of the best defenses I think we’ll see. It’s good to go against a defense like that and get experience like that.”