By Todd Hummel
For The Daily Item
April 27, 2008 04:00 am
—
BLOOMSBURG -- Lack of depth on the offensive line really had an affect on Saturday's Bloomsburg University spring football game.
For coach Danny Hale it was a negative.
"All three scrimmages we've had this spring, we've only had nine offensive linemen," Hale said. "They've been getting tired. I really appreciate what those kids have done this spring."
For Milton High School graduate Daryl Kurtz, it's been a positive.
As one of the healthy linemen, the red shirt freshman tackle spent most of Saturday's Maroon-Gold game protecting quarterback Dan Latorre's backside as the left tackle.
"Right now I'm getting as many reps as I can," Kurtz said. "I feel like I've set myself up that if I work real hard in the summer, I'll get some playing time in the fall."
The spring has been doubly important for Kurtz because the Huskies have 10 freshman offensive linemen coming in the fall.
"This offensive line class is supposed to be the best one they've ever recruited here," Kurtz said. "There is going to be a lot of competition in the fall."
3-POINT BONANZA: There wasn't much offense during Bloomsburg's spring game. Kicker Jon Koenig accounted for all of the points. He kicked two for the Gold and one for the Maroon for a 6-3 Gold victory.
"We didn't finish on offense. We just didn't get into a rhythm offensively," Hale said. "One time we had a first-and-goal and somebody jumped on the line. I understand they were tired and had just played back-to-back series, but I used it to make the point, that's not the place on the field to have that kind of penalty. It's the difference between a touchdown and a field goal."
Saturday's game didn't go the full four quarters, heck, it didn't even go three quarters. Sophomore linebacker Mike Varanavage got a little frisky with Latorre on a sack, not letting go of his ankle. That earned a tongue lashing from Hale with about a minute to go until the fourth quarter. On the next play, when a defender hit a receiver out of bounds on an overthrown pass, Hale called a halt to the scrimmage.
BIG SHOES TO FILL: There are two key questions for the Bloomsburg Huskies before their first game at Ashland (Ohio) on Aug. 30.
Who is going to fill the role of Jamar Brittingham, who rushed for 1,435 yards and 23 touchdowns? and who steps up as Latorre's go to receiver to replace Brahin Bilal?
Three different running backs carried the ball behind Latorre, sophomore Kyle Passeri, a transfer from Bucknell, redshirt freshmen Kenny Domzalski and Derrick Price. None have established themselves yet, but Hale said that was more of a function of it being spring practice than the players.
"Nobody had a chance to get into a rhythm. When you're rotating in running backs and fullbacks every couple of plays, nobody has a chance to get a couple of carries in a row," Hale said.
Latorre also liked what he saw with the running backs.
"It's going to be hard to replace Jamar and even Josh Heck (Brittingham's backup, who also graduated)," Latorre said. "All of those guys have done the job they were supposed to do this spring. We got a little sloppy on check downs and things like that (Saturday), but that is to be expected. (The running backs) were nervous. It was the first time they've had to do that kind of stuff in game situations in front of a crowd."
On the receiver question, Hale and Latorre are a little more concerned. Kyle Ream is the top returning receiver with 29 catches for 491 yards and four touchdowns, but beyond Ream are a lot of players who haven't seen much playing time.
"It's another area where we are unsure. It's strange not to look over and see 2 (Bilal)," Latorre said. "We are going to have to work hard in the summer to develop that connection. I have confidence in the receivers that we'll be able to get that far."
Hale expects sophomore Jordan Weismann to step into a leading role as a pass catcher, but the 6-foot-3, 214-pounder struggled in Saturday's game.
"Jordan's had a great spring, but he didn't have a real good game," Hale said. "He's still got some things to work on. With his body, he shouldn't let a cornerback come over the top of him on a quick slant, like happened a few times today."
The most impressive receiver on the day was a former scout team quarterback in red shirt freshman Keter Crosby, who has been moved to wideout. Crosby caught a 29-yard pass from backup quarterback Andrew Flogel to set up one of Koenig's first-half field goals. Crosby reached up with his right hand at the sideline and plucked the ball out of the air one handed. Later in the game, he made a similar catch, but caught the ball out of bounds.
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.