2008 Season Preview: Special Teams/Coaches

Projected depth chart:

K: San San Te (RS-FR 5′9, 180 lbs)
P: Teddy Dellaganna (RS-SO 6′2, 210 lbs), Matt Voliva (RS-JR 5′11, 190 lbs)
LS: Jeremy Branch (RS-SR 6′0, 215 lbs)

One Step Back

What’s clear is that the running game did not look as good in yesterday’s scrimmage as it did last week. Luicci seems to be manic as usual.

Kevin Haslam’s absence at left guard due to an ankle sprain had an effect on the way the line played. No question about that. But there’s just nothing there in the running game yet. No holes. Too much defensive penetration. Not enough push up front.

After a while, opponents are going to notice that Rutgers seems to run a lot of plays behind left tackle Anthony Davis. As good as Davis is — and he could be the best lineman in school history — he is only one person.

The pass protection has been good — not great, not bad. It helps that Rutgers runs a lot of quick timing patterns. But the hope was that this would be more of a vertical passing team. It may not be able to showcase that if the pass protection and running game don’t improve.

Why manic? Because in that very same post, Luicci hypes the hell out of Teel and the receivers. One other note is a positive blurb on McGovern, who seemed to have fallen behind Graves last week. Dom Natale also looked much better.

Is it time to panic? At this point there’s cause for alarm, sure. Let’s see how the team looks in practices leading up to the game before we pull out the razor blades that have been hidden in our sinks for the past year and a half. Is the positive spin on the scrimmage that the defense looked good? The beatwriters have been hinting that a couple freshman DBs may see the field early.

8/21 Around the Big East

Can Brian Kelly take advantage of the NCAA’s new clock rules with a no-huddle attack?

UConn should be strong defensively this year, with eight starters returning.

Louisville suspended QB Matt Simms four games for an unspecified violation of team rules. This undoubtedly takes him out of the running for their backup quarterback job. Trent Guy may return earlier than expected. Their depth at linebacker seems thin.

Unsurprisingly, Bill Stull is poised to win Pitt’s starting QB gig.

USF still has eight freshmen awaiting word from the NCAA’s clearinghouse.

Donnie Webb shares his thoughts from the end of Syracuse’s fall camp. ESPN recently profiled standout DT Arthur Jones.

West Virginia released their final depth chart yesterday.