UB notebook: Defensive end, safety add to injury woes
Turner Gill joked again about how he might have to suit up because the University at Buffalo has so many injuries. But at the rate the Bulls are going, the head coach might be serious. Redshirt freshman defensive end Willie Moseley and senior free safety Chris Storr are both out for the season. Moseley fractured his hip during the Bulls' loss last week at Western Michigan and the injury required season-ending surgery. Storr suffered an MCL sprain during the Western Michigan game.
Senior right tackle Andrew West (broken hand) and sophomore cornerback Joe Petit (concussion) are doubtful.
Junior tailbacks Ike Nduka (ankle), Brandon Thermilus (ankle) and senior tailback Mario Henry (ankle) are questionable as are junior left guard Peter Bittner (ankle), junior tight end Kyle Brey (shoulder) and junior corner Josh Thomas (concussion).
"[Today] will give us a better example of who should be able to go and definitely Sunday they should be able to practice to some extent," Gill said. "They don't have to be in full practice mode but to some extent but they have to take some reps on Sunday."
There aren't many changes on the depth chart for Tuesday's game against Bowling Green.
On offense West is listed as a possible starter along with sophomore Matt Ostrowski at right tackle. Junior defensive end Jerry Housey is listed as the backup to junior Bruno Lapointe now that Moseley is out for the season. True freshman Bunduka Kargbo is the backup strong safety behind junior Davonte Shannon and redshirt freshman Isaac Baugh has moved from strong safety to backup free safety behind senior Mike Newton.
Although it isn't indicated on the depth chart, Gill has made some changes on the kickoff return team. The rotation will include true freshman Jeffvon Gill, sophomore Ed Young and senior Naaman Roosevelt.
The Bulls defense will get a workout trying to contain Bowling Green's Freddie Barnes, the Biletnikoff Award semifinalist who is the nation's leader in receptions (99), yards (1,054), touchdowns (nine), yards per game (131.8) and receptions per game (12.4).
"If you keep him under 100 yards, you have a chance, under 100 yards and no touchdown passes," Gill said. "I'm not going to sit here and say we're going to be able to do that."
Roosevelt didn't make the Biletnikoff semifinalist list, which included Syracuse's Mike Williams (Riverside), Notre Dame's Golden Tate and Cincinnati's Mardy Gilyard.
The Bulls are working on an odd schedule for the rest of the season. Their next two games are on Tuesdays — Bowling Green on Nov. 3 and Ohio on Nov. 10 — and the Miami (Ohio) game is on a Wednesday night (Nov. 18). The regular-season finale is Nov. 27 at Kent State, the day after Thanksgiving.
To prepare for Tuesday's game, the Bulls did film work last Sunday and had Monday off. They practiced less than an hour on Tuesday and Wednesday and had Thursday off. They began full preparation for Bowling Green on Friday.
"The coaches were out on the road recruiting Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday so we got a chance to recruit, got some guys rested up and work on a few things we needed to work on," Gill said.
UB has defeated Bowling Green only twice since joining the Mid-American Conference, but they are arguably two of the most important wins in school history. The Bulls defeated the Falcons on Sept. 23, 2000, for their first league win. Last year, UB's win over BG secured the East Division title and UB's first trip to the MAC Championship Game. ... Roosevelt is 45 yards shy of setting the yards receiving record held by Drew Haddad (3,409). ... UB's Zach Maynard and Bowling Green's Tyler Sheehan are the only two quarterbacks in the MAC to have thrown a touchdown pass in every game this season. ... Roosevelt (four) and Brett Hamlin (three) have combined for seven 100-yard receiving games this season. The Bulls had eight 100-yard receivers all of last season. Roosevelt and Hamlin have combined for 17 of the 37 100-yard games in UB's Football Bowl Subdivision history.
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