Spring Practice Comments

In another surprising opening up of Colgate football, we've actually got some comments from Coach Biddle to digest. I'm going to break them down for fun:

First:

"Spring practice was so-so,” said head coach Dick Biddle. “We went into spring practice knowing that we would be down a few players because of injuries. We were able to evaluate some people, and the main purpose of spring practice is to give guys a chance to develop in different situations, which we did.”

I would never expect Biddle to describe the situation in any more positive of terms. So-so is meaningless to me here. The next part is telling though. Spring Practice is much less about overall team performance but rather individual development. Without a game to prepare for, the coaches can have 15 practices to take a look at some new people and give those kids a chance to get better. Looking for 'how the offense did' or 'how the defense did' is less important than maybe some believe.

Then we come to this comment:

“We use that scrimmage to get a lot of hitting in and to work on different situations. We have not done an actual spring game, where we keep score, since I’ve been here,” explained Biddle.

Very interesting to compare this to the rest of Division I. Plenty of places make a big deal about the "One color vs. the other color" spring game. For Colgate, that just isn't the case. We're more about getting some work done. I like that.

Next:

“[Offensive lineman] Rich Rosabella (Naples, Fla.) had an excellent spring and will start next season. Mike Gallihugh (Midlothian, Va.) did a good job at linebacker. Our running backs looked good; Jordan Scott (Hyattsville, Md.) and J.J. Bennett (Cleveland, Ohio) both played well, and along with Steve Hansen (Orlando, Fla.), we definitely have some weapons there. We might have to explore some different ways to get them all enough touches. At wide receiver, David Morgan (Davie, Fla.) had a good spring, and will be our third receiver next season.”

Highlighting Rosabella is confirming what many have thought: he is going to be a VERY good lineman for Colgate and his situational experience last year has helped. Rosabella, with a healthy Jonas and Sulovski, with form a great right side to the offensive line.

Mentioning Gallihugh surprised me a bit. I guess he will have the starting job at one spot. I hope he has matured a bit because I wasn't too impressed in the clean up action I saw of him. Then again, transitioning from high school to college linebacker is probably one of the tougher positions to do that at.

We are DEEP at running back, which is great for a team that likes to run and run some more. "Exploring some ways to get some touches" has me raising my eyebrow a bit....

Morgan at the third wide receiver isn't really too much of a surprise. My curiosity lies with who will be number four. Simonds?

Finally:

Some questions remain to be answered in the fall. The backup quarterback position is still up for grabs, as “all of the backups were up and down during spring practice. One of our primary goals for fall camp is to establish a solid number two quarterback,” according to Biddle. Defensive line is another question mark, where Biddle said, “I could not name any starters right now. I’d be surprised if there are not freshmen on the two-deep and possibly even starting.”

One of the hottest topics on Colgate fan boards is "who will be the #2 QB?". I guess it is still unknown at this time. If you believe the chatter, it is between two players with four years of eligibility left, Pitcher and Meyers.

Defensive line? Freshman? Oh boy. This could be interesting this fall. My fingers are officially crossed.