Fordham Goes Through First Drills

[TexasTerror]

Tom Masella has his work cut out for him there in the Bronx. Patriot League is a tough league for the Rams and they're going to have to get off to a solid start againt mid-major Monmouth. They got a pretty solid running game coming back, so that may keep them in the game, but the passing game is a bit inept...

Bronx, NY - (March 27, 2006) – After being hired as the new head football coach at Fordham University over three months ago, Tom Masella finally got a look at his new team as the Rams opened their spring practice schedule today on Murphy Field.

“It was a good first day,” said Masella after practice. “We are in the process of evaluating what we have and what we need to do to get better. It’s a process that will be ongoing all spring so that we know who will be lining up for us against Monmouth in September.”

The Rams will hold 13 other practices as they work their way to the annual Spring Game which will be held on Saturday, April 29th at noon on Murphy Field.

With the graduation of eleven starters from last year, Masella has his work cut out for him as he looks to fill the holes. But the good news for the new mentor is that four All-Patriot League selections return for the Rams in running back James Prydatko, linebacker Marcus Taylor, defensive lineman Jay Edwards and placekicker Micah Clukey.

http://www.fordhamsports.com/asp_new/full_news.asp?TeamID=122&NewsID=947

[colgate13]

but the passing game is a bit inept...

Fordham has to find a QB IMO. Daniels is not going to be able to lead them to a winning season. I don't remember any standout wideouts either, but some of that could be the QB's fault.

I was most impressed with the heart of some of their defensive players, particuarly Taylor. He didn't quit even when they were down 20 with very little time to go. He can lead the Rams to a respectable defense, but without an offensive threat besides Prydatko coming back, they will have trouble scoring points.

[Fordham]

Agreed about the passing game. Daniels is a great athlete but showed absolutely no progress this past year versus his soph. campaign ... and just continually gets burned by what I feel is a combination of poor decision making and a lack of on field leadership. This spring is critical for us to have Massella determine who should be leading the way. Now in Daniels' defense, we had big time injuries on the o-line and were forced to play a bunch of freshmen and the line just had no continuity. That said, though, I heard and watched enough games where it showed that poor o-line performance was not the root of his problems (again, just my opinion here). I'd love to see him in the slot so we could get the ball in his hands and keep him on the field but not have to have him run the offense. It may be very telling, though, that the article does not reference Daniels at all but yet lists everyone else who is a returning starter. It it's not Daniels, that would make this Spring a battle between Matt Fullam, last year's backup who played pretty well when he received time last year ... and sophomore Thomas Jordan out of TX, who came in highly recruited last year.

The upshot of the injuries last year is that the o-line at least has a ton of experience coming back, including 2 of the 3 returning starters being frosh. last year. Given some of the big uglies we recruted this past year, o-line should become our biggest offensive strength, imo, fairly soon.

On D our LB's are very strong but d-line and secondary were pretty weak AND fairly slow last year ... AND we lose a decent amount on both unfortunately. Returning Jay Edwards is big for the d-line but I think we're all hoping that a different scheme and hopefully getting some speed on the field will make the biggest difference here. I think the one clear positive with this staff is that they've all been together for a while and they're all pretty experienced. Thus they basically know the type of kid that fits their system very well and I think that'll start to pay off starting with next year's recruiting class when they have a full year to recruit the kind of kids that can succeed best in they system they'll use.

Also, gate13, we're thrilled to have Taylor, Edwards and Prydatko coming back. That's a HUGE coup for the new staff to have arguably the 3 best players from last year's team returning. I have recently met Taylor and I have to tell you that the kid is just a tremendous individual. It was all 'yes, sir', 'no, sir' and he was just a classy, classy kid who showed me he's entirely focused on his academics and you just can't help but root for him. I mentioned this to the new staff and their response was that they've really been blown away by him (my words) due to his attitude, etc. Just a great kid.

[Fordham]

PS - I e-mailed our SIDept. about getting the '06 schedule released but haven't heard anything. From what I've been told, though, our one A10 (URI) is off of it this year ... as is our 2nd Ivy (Brown) and they've been replaced with mid-majors. Given last year's results, I'm sure every game will be a battle for us and the 'mid majors' are clearly improving. That said, though, it's a clear notch down from the scheduling standpoint versus the skids we've had the past few seasons.

Basically, it's the kind of schedule that a first year coach will love and the kind that will open the program up to ridicule in places like this.

[colgate13]

Also, gate13, we're thrilled to have Taylor, Edwards and Prydatko coming back. That's a HUGE coup for the new staff to have arguably the 3 best players from last year's team returning. I have recently met Taylor and I have to tell you that the kid is just a tremendous individual. It was all 'yes, sir', 'no, sir' and he was just a classy, classy kid who showed me he's entirely focused on his academics and you just can't help but root for him. I mentioned this to the new staff and their response was that they've really been blown away by him (my words) due to his attitude, etc. Just a great kid.

Glad to hear that Taylor was as good off the field as on. He was the biggest standout in my mind in the FU/CU game. I'd love to have him coming back to my program if I was a coach, so you have definitely lucked out there.