April 11, 2008

2008 Spring Game

BULLDOG FOOTBALL PREPARING FOR UPCOMING 2008 SEASON 

Head coach Marty Fine leads Bryant into the school's first season at Division I in 2008.  The annual spring game is Saturday at 1 p.m.

In the four years since taking over the Bryant University football program, head coach Marty Fine has elevated the program into one of the best in the Northeast Region complete with back-to-back appearances in the NCAA playoffs.  

As the 2008 season fast approaches, the Fine and the Bulldogs are set to take off for a new challenge: Division I football.    

Starting this fall, Bryant University begins its first season of Division I with football ready to compete at the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). 2008 will begin a four-year transition process before the school becomes an official Division I program, but it all begins with the 2008 season.

Upon completion of the four-year process, the Bulldogs will become official members of the Northeast Conference for all sports, including football.  Football members of the conference include: Albany, Central Connecticut, Wagner, Monmouth, Robert Morris, Saint Francis (PA) and Sacred Heart.  All but two (Albany and Sacred Heart) on this year's Bryant schedule.

While most of the team's starters are back from last year's 8-3 squad, Coach Fine will need to fill holes in several key positions following the graduation of several standout seniors.  Included among them is quarterback Charlie Granatell.  A starter since his freshman year, Granatell re-wrote every single passing record in school history but aside from the numbers and records set, it was his leadership and ability to manage the team on the field that helped turn the program into a playoff contender and conference champion.

Junior quarterback Jay Graber (Clarksburg, NJ), a transfer from Hofstra University, was Granatell's backup last season and looks to take over the signal calling duties this year.  Junior Kurt Spear (Greene, NY), Nick Scardelli (Manalapan, NJ), Jake Pates (Columbus, NJ) and freshman Mike Croce (Waterbury, CT) are among several others looking to challenge for time at quarterback.

The offense will not be without talent and experience.  The dynamic duo of Lindsey Gamble (Roxbury, MA) and Jerell Smith (Brooklyn, NY) are back for their junior seasons.  Gamble rushed for a team-best 941 yards and scored 14 touchdowns including a 182-yard, four TD performance against Assumption. Smith, armed with lightening-quick speed out of the backfield, had 125 yards in the team's win at C.W. Post and finished second with 619 yards.

Bryant has traditionally fielded a strong defensive unit since Fine's arrival, a key ingredient to the team's success in capturing two NE-10 Conference Championships in 2006 and 2007.  That won't change and in fact following winter conditioning, the defense is actually bigger and faster heading into the new year. 

Linebackers Dan Curci (Hasbrouck Heights, NJ) and Paul Polomski (Franklin, MA) are coming off strong seasons and should start again in '08.  Both were tied for fourth on the team with 62 tackles in '07.  Polomski registered a career-best 14 tackles in the win at C.W. Post.  Defensive linemen Patrick and Peter Gauthier (Woonsocket, RI) and defensive end Don Smith (Attleboro, MA) form a solid defensive front for the Bulldogs. 

Starting defensive backs Bryce Martins (Uncasville, CT), Michael Morgan (New London, CT) lead an experienced secondary unit that will include Kyle Laham (Westborough, MA), Zach Norley (Sudbury, MA), Michael Romeo (Wincheste,r MA), Mike Montagna (Attleboro, MA), Anthony Thomas (Boston, MA), and Jackson Davis (Basalt, CO). 

The coaching staff will also have a new look heading into the new season.  Secondary coach Chad Walker comes to Bryant after working with Nick Saban at LSU and the Miami Dolphins. Former Stonehill College head coach and Harvard assistant Chris Woods joins the staff as the defensive line coach.  Former academic All-America and standout lineman at the University of Miami and Tennessee Titans of the N.F.L. Joel Rodriguez begins his first year coaching the Bulldogs' offensive line after spending a year as a graduate assistant at Mississippi.  Former Bentley College All-American Mark DeBrito will serve as the wide receiver's coach after spending five seasons on the staff at Bentley, serving as the Falcons' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Bryant will open the season on Saturday, August 30 at Central Connecticut State before returning home September 6 to host Southern Connecticut for the first of five home games this fall at Bulldog Stadium. Other home games include Merrimack (Sept. 13) for Homecoming & Reunion Weekend, Monmouth (Sept. 20), Robert Morris (Oct. 18), and Duquesne (Nov. 1). 

Highlighting six road games this year will be an Oct. 25 trip to UMass-Amherst.  A perennial Colonial Athletic Conference contender and NCAA tournament participant, the Minutemen were 10-3 last season and finished the year No. 7 in the final Sports Network poll.