Your teams prospects coming out of the Spring.

[Tribe4SF]

With spring ball wrapping up across the division, let's look at how our squads project, and what was learned from the spring.

W&M

Offense

Battle for the starting QB spot will carry into August as neither rFr. Brent Caprio, or Jr. transfer Mike Paulus were able to separate in the spring. Quality of play here will say alot about how good the Tribe can be in 2010. Both showed well at times, and will continue to be tested by another good Tribe defense.

OL is still a work in progress, with the left tackle spot still undecided. Jamie Pagliaro (6'3" 285) seems to have emerged as the center, joining returning starters Keith Hill (6'4" 312), Derek Toon (6'3" 288) and Chris Sutton (6'2" 295). Mike Salazar (6'5" 305), Dan Donker (6'3" 311), and Robbie Gumbita (6'5" 300) are possibilities for the LT spot. Unit showed some depth, with rFr. James Johnson (6'1" 300) shining at guard, and fellow rFr. Matt Crisafi (6'4" 302) and Trevor Springman (6'4" 285) working at multiple spots.

RB gained depth with Mel Jones (5'9" 200) and Ryan Woolfolk (5'11' 192 switch from CB) getting alot of work. Jonathan Grimes (5'10" 205), Courtland Marriner (5'8" 182), and Terrence Riggins (6'1" 225) all worked on diversifying their roles in the passing game. Riggins also goes at FB, and joins a deep group there that includes former starters Jimmy Hobson (5'11" 220) and John Ribble (6'2" 225), as well as TJ Ptachick (6'2" 225). Clearly the strength of the offense, and among the best in FCS.

WR was maybe the highlight of the spring, with CJ Thomas (6'2" 205) emerging as a consistent playmaker. Chase Hill, Cam Dohse, Ryan Moody and Terreon Conyers all showed well as former starters, as did Marshall Dill and Tyler Bailey. An inconsistent group in 2009, the unit showed clear improvement.

Alex Gottlieb (6'4" 245) demonstrated a full skill set at TE, and appears poised to breakout as he replaces Rob Varno as the number one. Garreth Hissong (6'3" 236), Nolan Kearney (6'4" 245), and Robert Asmar (6'4" 235) may all see time.

Defense

The DL had to go the last two weeks with only six guys, but the performance level remained very high. DTs Harold Robertson (6'1" 300) and Mike Stover (6'3" 275) stood out, as did Bryan Jean-Pierre (6'4" 275) who worked at both DE and DT. Jean-Pierre showed better consistency, and has the talent to be an impact player. rFr. Bryan Stinnie (6'4" 245) looked promising at DE, and Kyle O'Brien (6' 248) was effective at both DE and DT. This group will be joined in August by DEs Ravi Pradhanang (6'3" 250) and Marcus Hyde (6'3" 242) who have been part of the rotation for the past two years. The probable starting four of Robertson, Stover, Jean-Pierre and Pradhanang will again be formidable and marked by good speed. Stover was named winner of the Winter Warrior award for his off-season strength and conditioning work.

The LB crew solidified their probable position as the strength of the D, and one of the better units in FCS. MLB Jake Trantin (6'2" 235) is the heart of the defense, and was named a captain as a rising junior. OLBs Evan Francks (5'11" 212) and Wes Steinman (6'2" 220) complete a starting unit marked by speed and physicality. Dante Cook (5'11" 214) and Jabrel Mines (6' 215) are close to Francks and Steinman on the outside, and Cook was exceptional in the spring game. Converted TE Andy Topping (6'2" 240) was strong backing up Trantin at MLB.

The diminuitive pair of BW Webb (5'11" 165) and Ben Cottingham (5'9" 160) solidified their spots as the teams starting CBs, with Webb looking like a possible all-american. They will be backed by rFr. TK Hester (5'10" 180), and converted safety Ethan Lee (5'11" 175).

At safety, the defenses biggest question marks appear to have been answered. Brian Thompson (5'11" 200) was consistent and physical at SS, and a late spring switch of CB Terrell Wells (5'11" 185) to the FS spot looked like pure genius. Wells, a former starter at CB, brings experience, and exceptional speed to the back end. rFr. Jerome Couplin (6'1" 190) and Jr. Jake O'Connor (6' 185) are the frontrunners to back up Thompson and Wells, but watch for incoming freshmen Ivan Tagoe (6' 205) and Airek Green (6'1" 200) to push in August.

Special Teams

All-CAA punter David Miller looks to take over the place kicking duties as well, showing great range and accuracy through the spring. BW Webb and Jonathan Grimes will again serve as PR and KR respectively.

Summary

Tribe coaches had to be pleased with the teams' spring performance. While the QB spot is yet to be decided, there is good depth at the position, and a balanced offense will not put undue pressure on the starter. The performance of the defensive line was confidence inspiring, and the defense as a whole again looks fast, and physical. Whether the Tribe can be as good as they were last year is in doubt, but the spring showed that they may well be just that.

Pictured below are Tribe Captains Evan Francks, Jake Trantin, Ben Cottingham, Keith Hill and Courtland Marriner.

[WestCoastAggie]

... And Spring Begets Fall A&T Spring Football Re-Cap

By Craig R. Turner
bluedeathvalley.com
April 5 , 2010

Well now spring practice is finally over, the Easter holiday has passed and students are headed into the last few weeks before final exams.

And right now, the A&T football program is in a very different position than it's been in a long time.

Head Coach Alonzo Lee has managed to not only change the mindset of his players from that of losing to that of winning but he has significantly upgraded the quality of athletes that will be available to him both in athleticism and in numbers. His slogan for this fall is “When Vision Mets Reality.” The billboards along the interstate will be going up any day now.

The biggest improvement will come on the offensive side of the ball, despite the fact that the Aggies did not have four of its top playmakers available for the spring game. The offensive line is now mostly a deeper junior unit with lots of experience and a good mixture of sophomores and red shirt freshmen who will provide extra security. The underclassmen will push the returning starters extremely hard this fall.

There were some good performances turned in among the Gold second team line by red shirt freshmen Marcus Nelson (6-5, 285 lbs), former FAMU High School product Kenny Powell (6-2, 280 lbs) and Armon White (6-4, 295 lbs) to name a few.

The running game is about as deep as the core of the earth with twin guns Mike Mayhew, the MEAC Rookie of the Year, and equally impressive Donta Payne. Assistant Head Coach and running back guru George Ragsdale has added red shirts Dominique Drake and Brandon Simmons to the mix, and also has moved the incredibly fast Larry Raper from wide receiver to the backfield. Also, Tony Coles will split his time as an H-Back and tight end this fall.

Obviously the idea is to get the ball into the hands of your most dangerous weapons. This should give the Aggies a ton of options and make the play calling totally unpredictable if executed properly.

There is no doubt that Lewis Kindle is without question the starting quarterback heading into next season. His progression and mechanics will make him one of the top incumbent signal callers in the MEAC this coming season. Shelton Morgan is a red shirt senior who will get some reps as number two and will see action on special teams and situational play calls.

The biggest news was the athleticism of Terrance Webb (6-1, 190 lbs) who made the transition from safety back to quarterback. Webb had been originally recruited as a quarterback but moved to defense last year to gain more playing time. Now back in the driver’s seat under center, he showed much promise in the backup role but he will be pressed hard by highly regarded Florida recruit D. J. Clower (6-3, 200 lbs) who was A&T’s only targeted prospect at that position.

The defensive side of the football is where A&T is always going to be at its very best and after looking at the work put in during the spring workouts, A&T will most likely be a top ten FCS defensive unit.

Despite losing three starters along the defensive front, Lee and line coach Ty Odums have molded a young unit that is much leaner and faster than a year ago. The Aggies used their size last year but sometimes ran out of gas after prolonged periods.

What A&T has decided to do is go with more bodies with much more speed, instead of trying to match size with size. The idea being that smaller and faster lineman in quantity will provide too much heat for the average line in spread offenses to contend with over the long haul in a 60 minute game. So sophomores like Brandon Long, Chris Neal, Darius Hall, Taylor McMurray and junior Micah Stanfield should excel in the new packages that are designed to utilize the speed of defensive ends in the 6-1 to 6-3 and 250-270 lbs range, or the interior defensive linemen.

The Aggies will also be using a lot of “hybrid” ends who are fast enough to peel as linebackers in short coverage like red shirts Cameron Cates, Wade Mosley, Anton Reid, and Corey Nicholson. These guys fall in the smallish 225-245 lbs category, but all have turned in sub 5.0 times in the forty.

Odums will have five much larger athletes in the incoming class this fall if he has to go toe to toe in the trenches but the prevalence of the spread offense in college football now dictates more speed over size on the vast majority of plays.

The linebacker group lost four seniors but actually they may be a better unit and much deeper than a year ago. The Aggies return all conference linebacker Brandon Jackson (5-10, 225 lbs). Also, Ben Binder (6-4, 225 lbs) has stepped up to another level in his performance and may have secured a spot on the outside. Bender has the rare combination of the size of a linebacker but the speed of a defensive back reminiscent of former A&T rover standout Dwaine Carpenter.

Sophomores Jeremy Graham and Tevin Williams falls into that same mold while red shirts like Brandon Hover, Jermaine Moore and sophomores Devin Ray and Fitz Flowers fall in the more traditional linebacker style. A&T did not let up one bit by bringing in seven linebackers this offseason, five of which were considered can’t miss major D-1 prospects as seniors.

The A&T secondary kept most of its big guns out of the spring game but A&T will return all conference and interception leader Justin Ferrell, Quay Long, Kevin Green, Jermarion Pegues, Vernon White, Montrell Towns, Isaiah Martin, and D’vonte Graham.

The kicking game was limited in the spring mostly because punter Alex Grubb has been hitting homeruns for the league-leading A&T baseball team. 2008 starting place kicker Eric Houston has returned from an academic red shirt and Patrick Courtney had hernia surgery before the season started last year which led to a disappointing freshman campaign. However, he is now 100 percent. Evidently the prolonged healing process and off season conditioning did the trick as Courtney hit both of his field goal attempts with ease from 37 and 41 yards as the Blue beat the Gold 6-0 to conclude the spring scrimmage.

So, all in all, where does this spring put the Aggies?

Lee opted to hold several players out who had been nicked in workouts like Mayhew and he wanted others to concentrate on their academics including linebacker Edeyen Edet and defensive tackle Darius Dawkins who will figure largely into the equation for a fast start this fall.

A&T moved up its usual spring schedule by a month to not only practice in the snows of February and March but to get them ready for exams and back into the weight room. Besides, it made for a nice Easter vacation for the players to be with their families before summer begins.

This comes on the heels of A&T signing the third ranked recruiting class among all FCS programs, behind only Richmond and James Madison and ahead of App State. Rivals.com rated 21 of A&T’s 22 recruits with 2 stars or better, and all will be immediate academic qualifiers.

Coach Lee, or “The General” as he is affectionately known by many of our readers, is on the cusp of putting the Aggies directly into the limelight near the top in the MEAC this fall.

We’ll find out soon enough if the Aggies are ready for prime time. Four months isn’t that long of a wait, is it?
Probably so.

Are we there yet?


http://www.bluedeathvalley.com/turner/turner_4_5_10