March 23, 2009
BRYANT FOOTBALL OPENS SPRING PRACTICE WEDNESDAY
SMITHFIELD, RI - The Bryant University football team will return to the practice field for the first time since last fall this Wednesday afternoon when the Bulldogs begin spring football practice. Wednesday's practice, set to begin at 4 pm, will be the first of 15 total practices this spring leading up to the annual Black & Gold Spring Football Game set for Sunday, April 19 at 1 pm.
|
| A total of 56 letterwinners return including 17 starters for sixth-year coach Marty Fine. www.dspics.com |
The Bulldogs, under the direction of sixth-year coach Marty Fine, are coming off a successful 7-4 season in 2008, the school's first competing at the Division I level (Football Championship Subdivision).
This will be the sixth spring practice for Fine as he welcomes back 56 letterwinners this spring including 17 starters from last year's squad. Of those 17 starters, 10 are on defense. In 2008, Bryant's defense allowed a stingy 99.4 yards rushing and were ranked nationally in the top-10 for much of last season with 30 forced turnovers.
Senior defensive end Don Smith (Attleboro, MA) and linebackers Andre Whyte (Bennington, VT) and Paul Polomski (Franklin, MA) will be ones to watch along with talented senior defensive linemen Peter and Patrick Gauthier of Woonsocket, RI and junior nose tackle Andrew Regan (West Newbury, MA).
Polomski led the team with 67 tackles in 2008 while Smith, one of the team's top pass rushers, had a team-high 11.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. The only loss on defense is at strong safety with the graduation of co-captain Bryce Martins who was second on the team last year with 61 tackles and three interceptions.
On the offensive side, the Bulldogs return seven starters but the one big spot to fill will be at quarterback where Fine will need to replace last year's starter Jay Graber who graduates this spring. Graber had a fine senior season in ‘08, starting all 11 games for the Bulldogs and completed 150 of 259 passes (57.9 percent) for 1,676 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Looking to compete for Graber's spot will be senior Kurt Spear (Greene, NY) who saw action in four games - including a solid performance against UMass where he completed 7 of 17 passes for 70 yards against the Minutemen. Also expected to challenge this spring are junior Mike Croce (Waterbury, CT) and senior Nick Scardelli (Manalapan, NJ).
Regardless of whoever gets the nod at quarterback, they'll be surrounded by plenty of talent and experience, especially at the running back position. Senior's Jerell Smith (Brooklyn, NY) and Lindsey Gamble (Roxbury, MA) provided a one-two punch out of the backfield last year as Bryant averaged 158.7 yards rushing per game on the ground.
Smith, a transfer from Howard University, averaged 114.0 yards per game with a team-high 1,254 yards and six touchdowns. He went over the 100-yard mark in seven of Bryant's 11 games last year.
Gamble had a very productive season with 792 yards and team-high seven touchdowns. He had two games with more than 100 yards rushing including a season-high 163 yards on 16 carries in the win over Saint Francis (PA).
The offensive line heads into the spring healthy and intact with starters Pete Krafka (Milford, MA), John Tashjian (Paramus, NJ), Ray Bundy (Bristol, RI), and Ben Lyons (Westfield, MA) back for '09 along with veterans Bryan Kelly (Westwood, MA), Robert Edwards (Demascus, NJ) and Jon Lewis (Sayville, NY).
There was little change to the coaching staff over the winter with the lone addition of Mike McCarty as quarterbacks coach. McCarty comes to Bryant from Elon University where he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Prior to his time at Elon, he was the receivers coach at Arkansas State for four years.
The team has two scrimmages planned leading up to the Spring Game which will take place at Bulldog Stadium on April 19. There will be a post-game BBQ immediately following the Spring Game with a cost of only $6.00. Season tickets will also be available for purchase at the game.
