COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Bulls set to face high expectations
A 5-7 record has generated considerable progress at the University at Buffalo.
Season-ticket sales have increased considerably, there was an 86 percent renewal rate, and there’s a waiting list for suites at UB Stadium. The Bulls coach, Turner Gill, has become a popular figure in Western New York.
But just as UB has firmly established itself on the Mid- American Conference radar there are still questions to address. The challenge is twofold: Navigate an improved MAC and do it under amplified expectations.
“We can’t be happy with what we did last year,” said junior defensive tackle Dane Robinson on Saturday, the first day of training camp. “Last year was great and it was a turnaround for Buffalo but we hold ourselves to a high standard. The expectation level that the campus has for us, the City of Buffalo has for us — we have higher standards for ourselves.”
That includes competing for the MAC title, although many contend it isn’t a reasonable objective in a conference that has belonged to Central Michigan the last two seasons. The media picked UB to finish third in the league’s East Division, behind Bowling Green and Miami (Ohio), which like UB, returns nearly all of its talent from a year ago.
Eighteen starters are back from the UB team that closed the season winning four of its last seven games, including an overtime triumph in the season finale at Kent State. Gill likes the physicality of the 2008 Bulls and says they might be his fastest UB squad with a strong mix of youth and veterans.
Spring practice, nevertheless, did not solidify the Bulls’ linebacker situation. The starters penciled in on the preseason two-deep are redshirt freshman John Syty and sophomore Justin Winters on the outside and either senior Jamal Chisam or sophomore Jerry Housey on the inside.
Two possible starters, sophomores Fred Branch and Obi Ezemma, will not be available this season. Branch will undergo back surgery while Ezemma is academically ineligible. Another candidate, Houston true freshman Darius Willis who was also going to receive a look at quarterback, failed to qualify but hopes to take the SAT again in the fall with an eye on enrolling at UB in January.
“That’s why we signed about six or seven of ’em,” said Gill about his linebackers. “We have enough. We have a good group in there to be selective. We need four or five linebackers in there to find out who can play so we’ll find the right guys who will be instrumental.”
Training camp will be intriguing if true freshmen Imani Chatman, Ray Anthony Long, Terry Peden, Scott Pettigrew, Mark Richardson, Dustin Tait or Dalonte Wallace pose a threat to any of the returners.
“Some of the new guys have to step up,” said sophomore strong safety Davonte Shannon. “As veterans, we have to raise our level of intensity and show the freshmen where our level of intensity needs to be.”
Training camp will emphasize tackling, refining technique and creating turnovers in hope of peaking for the latter portion of the schedule, which includes road games against Ohio University, Akron and Bowling Green, and a home date with Miami (Ohio).
Concerns other than linebacker include cornerback, but it’s one of those “good concerns” coaches like dealing with. The Bulls have four good ones, including returning starters Domonic Cook (St. Joe’s) and Josh Thomas, a pair of sophomores, along with sophomore Sherrod Lott and junior Kendric Hawkins. Senior Mike Thompson replaces Trevor Scott, now with the Oakland Raiders, at defensive end, while senior Chris Lauzze replaces Indianapolis Colts draftee Jamey Richard at center.
Coaches and players say depth and quality play at quarterback separates the elite, namely Central Michigan and Ball State, from other MAC members. And they know five wins do not put the Bulls in their class yet.
“We still have work to do,” said senior quarterback Drew Willy. “We haven’t done anything yet.”
But the expectations are higher.
“We’re looking forward to this season and we’ve been ready to play since spring ball,” said junior wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt, the former St. Joe’s standout. “With the team we have out here now, you can see how badly we want it this year.”
