CSN Log
March 21st, 2009, 11:50 AM
03-20-2009 11:40 AM
Delaware Opens Spring Practice
The University of Delaware football team, trying to rebound from a tough 4-8 finish during the 2008 campaign, will open spring practice today, March 20, with over 80 players taking part in drills on the two UD field turf practice fields adjacent to Delaware Stadium.
The Blue Hens will take part in 15 practice sessions over five weeks leading up to the annual Blue-White Spring Game on Friday, April 24 at 6 p.m. at Delaware Stadium.
The team will practice today beginning at 4 p.m. and on Saturday at 10 a.m. and follow with practice sessions next Monday and Wednesday at 4 p.m. Following a week off for spring break, the team will return with practice sessions on April 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, and 22. Weekday sessions will begin at 4 p.m. with Saturday sessions beginning at 2 p.m. All sessions are free and open to the public.
Head coach K.C. Keeler, who will begin his eighth season at the helm of the Blue Hens this fall, welcomes back 38 letterwinners and 21 players with starting experience. The Hens focus will be on improving an offensive attack that struggled throughout the 2008 season while continuing to build a defense that ranked among the better units in the Colonial Athletic Association a year ago.
“We are very excited to get going,” said Keeler. “We made tremendous improvements over the off-season and I think we have taken a huge step in getting better. Sometimes it takes a kick in the teeth for that to happen. By all accounts, from our coaching staff, our trainers, and our strength and conditioning staff, this has been our best winter. The gains we’ve made in the weight room have been outstanding. I’m really happy with the development of our kids. We’ve worked on the physical part but also on leadership and what it takes to be a better team.”
Delaware looks to return to winning ways this season after a disappointing campaign in 2008 that saw the offense-challenged Blue Hens post a 4-8 campaign.
Keeler, who enters his eighth season at the helm of the Hens and has a 2003 national championship and 2007 national runner-up finish on his resume, will pin his hopes on an proven defense and what he hopes will be a much-improved offensive unit.
Delaware struggled at quarterback, never found a consistent running threat, and lacked an effective offensive line in 2008 as the Hens finished last in the Colonial Athletic Association in scoring and total offense. Delaware’s 17.5 points per game was its lowest output since 1960 and its 275.8 yards per game was the least since the 1961 campaign.
The Hens hope that junior quarterback Pat Devlin, a first-year transfer from Penn State, will resurrect the offense. Devlin, one of the nation’s most highly-coveted recruits coming out of Downingtown (Pa.) High School, was the backup for two seasons with the Nittany Lions and even led PSU to a win over Ohio State last fall, but wanted more playing time. Keeler is also excited about the addition of Jim Hofher, a former head coach at Cornell and Buffalo, who has joined the staff as offensive coordinator and brings a wealth of experience at the top levels of college football.
Delaware returns its top receiver in senior wide receiver Mark Duncan (39 receptions for 352 yards and a 9.0 avg), who has 137 career receptions to his credit, and junior Martwain Johnson (18-254-14.1 avg.-2 TDs) showed signs of becoming a big-play threat a year ago. Senior tight end Josh Baker, who caught 20 passes for 344 yards and two touchdowns in 2007, returns after sitting out the 2008 campaign.
Junior Philip Thaxton (181 yards rushing in 2008) and senior Jerry Butler (162 yards) are the top running backs. Three linemen return led by senior tackle Corey Nicholson, a third-year starter, and sophomore Rob McDowell, who moves over from guard to center to replace two-time All-American Kheon Hendricks who graduated.
The strength of the Hens certainly lies in its defense. The Blue Hens ranked among the top units in the CAA a year ago when they allowed just 20.7 points and 332.2 yards per game.
Senior Matt Marcorelle (15 sacks and 30 tackles for loss in his career), an All-American at defensive end in ‘07 and a two-time All-CAA pick with 30 TFL and 15 sacks, is expected to move to middle linebacker and add strength to a unit that already is strong with experienced outside backers in rugged senior Walter Blair (58 tackles) and active sophomore Andrew Harrison (75 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 5 Phttp://www.championshipsubdivisionnews.com/rsc/smilies/icon_cool.gif.
The Delaware secondary will be one of the nation’s best led by All-American senior free safety Charles Graves (team-high 78 tackles, five interceptions), and junior cornerbacks Anthony Walters (4 Int.) and Tyrone Grant (2 Int., 2 TD). Senior Anthony Bratton, a starter who missed all but one game last year with an injury, also returns.
The Blue Hens will also be solid up front even with the move of Marcorelle. A solid contingent is led by a group of veterans in senior end John Higginson, senior tackle Brandon Gilbeaux, and junior tackles Demitrius Hester and Siddiq Haynes
Although four-year punter Stuart Kenworthy has moved on, the Hens should remain solid on special teams led by senior placekicker Jon Striefsky, a 2007 first team All-American whose number dipped slightly a year ago (7-13 on field goals after 21 of 24 in 2007) and Butler, who averaged 29.6 yards per kickoff return and returned for touchdowns.
Among the players not taking part or limited for spring practice due to injuries are Higginson, Bratton, linebackers Brian Void, Chuck Anderson, and Benard Makumbi, and defensive end Michael Atunrase.
By University of Delaware Sports Information
Delaware Opens Spring Practice
The University of Delaware football team, trying to rebound from a tough 4-8 finish during the 2008 campaign, will open spring practice today, March 20, with over 80 players taking part in drills on the two UD field turf practice fields adjacent to Delaware Stadium.
The Blue Hens will take part in 15 practice sessions over five weeks leading up to the annual Blue-White Spring Game on Friday, April 24 at 6 p.m. at Delaware Stadium.
The team will practice today beginning at 4 p.m. and on Saturday at 10 a.m. and follow with practice sessions next Monday and Wednesday at 4 p.m. Following a week off for spring break, the team will return with practice sessions on April 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, and 22. Weekday sessions will begin at 4 p.m. with Saturday sessions beginning at 2 p.m. All sessions are free and open to the public.
Head coach K.C. Keeler, who will begin his eighth season at the helm of the Blue Hens this fall, welcomes back 38 letterwinners and 21 players with starting experience. The Hens focus will be on improving an offensive attack that struggled throughout the 2008 season while continuing to build a defense that ranked among the better units in the Colonial Athletic Association a year ago.
“We are very excited to get going,” said Keeler. “We made tremendous improvements over the off-season and I think we have taken a huge step in getting better. Sometimes it takes a kick in the teeth for that to happen. By all accounts, from our coaching staff, our trainers, and our strength and conditioning staff, this has been our best winter. The gains we’ve made in the weight room have been outstanding. I’m really happy with the development of our kids. We’ve worked on the physical part but also on leadership and what it takes to be a better team.”
Delaware looks to return to winning ways this season after a disappointing campaign in 2008 that saw the offense-challenged Blue Hens post a 4-8 campaign.
Keeler, who enters his eighth season at the helm of the Hens and has a 2003 national championship and 2007 national runner-up finish on his resume, will pin his hopes on an proven defense and what he hopes will be a much-improved offensive unit.
Delaware struggled at quarterback, never found a consistent running threat, and lacked an effective offensive line in 2008 as the Hens finished last in the Colonial Athletic Association in scoring and total offense. Delaware’s 17.5 points per game was its lowest output since 1960 and its 275.8 yards per game was the least since the 1961 campaign.
The Hens hope that junior quarterback Pat Devlin, a first-year transfer from Penn State, will resurrect the offense. Devlin, one of the nation’s most highly-coveted recruits coming out of Downingtown (Pa.) High School, was the backup for two seasons with the Nittany Lions and even led PSU to a win over Ohio State last fall, but wanted more playing time. Keeler is also excited about the addition of Jim Hofher, a former head coach at Cornell and Buffalo, who has joined the staff as offensive coordinator and brings a wealth of experience at the top levels of college football.
Delaware returns its top receiver in senior wide receiver Mark Duncan (39 receptions for 352 yards and a 9.0 avg), who has 137 career receptions to his credit, and junior Martwain Johnson (18-254-14.1 avg.-2 TDs) showed signs of becoming a big-play threat a year ago. Senior tight end Josh Baker, who caught 20 passes for 344 yards and two touchdowns in 2007, returns after sitting out the 2008 campaign.
Junior Philip Thaxton (181 yards rushing in 2008) and senior Jerry Butler (162 yards) are the top running backs. Three linemen return led by senior tackle Corey Nicholson, a third-year starter, and sophomore Rob McDowell, who moves over from guard to center to replace two-time All-American Kheon Hendricks who graduated.
The strength of the Hens certainly lies in its defense. The Blue Hens ranked among the top units in the CAA a year ago when they allowed just 20.7 points and 332.2 yards per game.
Senior Matt Marcorelle (15 sacks and 30 tackles for loss in his career), an All-American at defensive end in ‘07 and a two-time All-CAA pick with 30 TFL and 15 sacks, is expected to move to middle linebacker and add strength to a unit that already is strong with experienced outside backers in rugged senior Walter Blair (58 tackles) and active sophomore Andrew Harrison (75 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 5 Phttp://www.championshipsubdivisionnews.com/rsc/smilies/icon_cool.gif.
The Delaware secondary will be one of the nation’s best led by All-American senior free safety Charles Graves (team-high 78 tackles, five interceptions), and junior cornerbacks Anthony Walters (4 Int.) and Tyrone Grant (2 Int., 2 TD). Senior Anthony Bratton, a starter who missed all but one game last year with an injury, also returns.
The Blue Hens will also be solid up front even with the move of Marcorelle. A solid contingent is led by a group of veterans in senior end John Higginson, senior tackle Brandon Gilbeaux, and junior tackles Demitrius Hester and Siddiq Haynes
Although four-year punter Stuart Kenworthy has moved on, the Hens should remain solid on special teams led by senior placekicker Jon Striefsky, a 2007 first team All-American whose number dipped slightly a year ago (7-13 on field goals after 21 of 24 in 2007) and Butler, who averaged 29.6 yards per kickoff return and returned for touchdowns.
Among the players not taking part or limited for spring practice due to injuries are Higginson, Bratton, linebackers Brian Void, Chuck Anderson, and Benard Makumbi, and defensive end Michael Atunrase.
By University of Delaware Sports Information