.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Football Coach Breaks Down '07 Offense, Including Quarterback Race, In Second Part Of Spring Chat
May 02, 2007 | Football
After discussing the 2006 championship season and the upcoming defense
in part one of his annual spring chat, head coach Roger Hughes talks
about the offense, special teams and a handful of other questions in
the second half. Included is his analysis of the quarterback race, as
three players try to follow the lead of Bushnell Cup winner and current
Kansas City Chief Jeff Terrell.
Let's look at the offense. Normally starting a number of sophomores on the offensive line would be a scary prospect, but it has to be less scary than starting a number of freshmen?
You hope you don't have the sophomore jinx. One of the things Jeff did last year that some people might not have realized was that he made decisions very quickly. So during the times that we might have had three freshmen on the offensive line, the ball was coming out so quickly that their lack of size and strength wasn't quite as noticeable. During the spring, we've noticed that our quarterbacks, as they continue to learn our system and the speed of the game, haven't made decisions quite as quickly. So they are hanging on to the ball more, and that puts more pressure on the line. We saw more effects of a young line during the spring than we did last fall. Overall, I'm pleased with the progress of those guys, and I think we are going to have one of the most athletic offensive lines we've ever had here. Our guys can really run. I'm concerned about their size and I'm concerned about them holding up. This summer of working out will be huge for them. They need to get stronger. They need to change their body type. And they need to make sure they maintain their quickness while they do it.
Have there been any movements between the two lines, similar to what you've done with Ben Brielmaier and Brett Barrie over the last three years?
No, we haven't. We have good numbers on both sides right now, so it's worked out that we haven't needed to do that.
Before we talk about the rest of the wide receivers, let's look at Brendan Circle. When other teams knew he would get the ball, he still got open. Why is he always in the right spot to make the play?
One, he has great knowledge of the game. Two, he is the most prepared player on the field, with the exception of one of his colleagues, Adam Berry. He is so prepared for the game that he understands what the opponent is going to do. He reminds me of a Steve Largent-type of receiver. Look at his numbers, and while they're not bad, they're not the best in the league either. But he catches everything, he's where he is supposed to be and the quarterbacks have great confidence in him. Schematically, I think he happened to be in the right spot where the ball was going to be. It was one of the things Jeff did very well last year. He read his progressions, and that's why we had a lot of different players catching balls during the season. He didn't focus on just throwing to Brendan, and quarterbacks this year will need to learn to do that. Teams will be a lot more aware of Brendan this year and try to keep him from being an option. Our guys have to understand the system. It's that knowledge of the system that Brendan has that really helped him flourish last season.
You have a lot of other targets returning next year, but is it important to you to get a specific speed target, a deep option, to use opposite of Brendan? Are you comfortable rotating your receivers, or do you look for a specific No. 2?
I'd like to think we don't need a specific No. 2. With that said, with the attention Brendan is going to attract next season, somebody will have to step up and catch the ball. In the spring, I thought two kids really did a good job. One was Adam Berry, who I mentioned earlier, and the other was Will Thanheiser. They both had really productive springs. Neither are speed demons, but they're fast and they have good hands. Both will go up and catch the ball. The quarterbacks have confidence in them, so clearly, if defenses start rotating and rolling their coverages to Circle, we'll have to get the ball to somebody else. The tendency in the spring for the young quarterbacks was, when they felt pressure, they'd throw it to Circle and assume he'd catch it. They are going to have to read progressions, and if Circle is taken away, they have to get it somewhere else.
Can Jake Staser grow into the kind of player that Jon Dekker was at tight end?
I think he has that ability. He runs extremely well. He's very explosive and very physical. If you remember the Lafayette game from last year, he came out and blocked somebody and knocked the guy's helmet off. He has this innate ability to generate force into an object. The thing he has to learn is not to seek it out. He'll get the ball in the open field and look for somebody to hit, as opposed to running away from people. He enjoys that kind of contact. Based on how Jake works this summer, he could be a real force next year because of his athleticism. We can split him out the way we did with Jon, we could put him in the backfield as a fullback or we can just play him at tight end. With his athleticism, the sky is the limit, and I'm really excited about the opportunity to use him in different ways.
Moving Kenny Gunter to running back gives you another explosive option in the backfield. How does he differ from the guys like R.C. Lagomarsino and Pete Ploszek?
First, his stay at running back is still in its infancy, so let's not canonize him too quickly. But clearly Kenny shows a great promise. Rob Toresco runs with great power, but doesn't have the all-out speed. R.C. has great quickness and elusiveness, but doesn't have all-out speed and clearly isn't as big and physical as Rob. Kenny has a blend of the top-notch speed and, what has really impressed me, a level of the power that Toresco has. He's a big body, and when a guy like that hits the line of scrimmage, it's naturally harder to tackle him. I'm excited about the opportunity to work him into the offense and I'm looking at a number of different ways we can utilize him. Not only can he run very well, but he has a cannon for an arm. It's not unforeseeable that we can have three quarterbacks in the game at the same time. I think we can have a lot of fun with this, and I think everybody on the team sees all the options we have, all the weapons. I think we can use people creatively and really cause some problems for teams.
You have used at least two running backs regularly since the graduation of Cameron Atkinson, but is this the deepest backfield you have had here?
Yeah, I think so. I think one of the biggest changes we've had here is in the quality of our recruiting classes. Top to bottom, they have grown stronger each year. That has brought us depth, and that certainly holds true in the area of running back. We have R.C., we have Pete Ploszek, who has top-end speed and is showing signs of running very hard. Now we have Kenny Gunter in the mix, and also Robbie Toresco, who is a great fullback/one-back/receiver. I think people underestimate Robbie's contribution to the offense. We can throw to him. He can block. He can run the ball. When it's time to ice the game, we put the ball in his hands. I think there is quality and quantity there, and the great thing is, if somebody gets nicked up, we have options. More importantly, as the game goes on, we're just as fast in the fourth quarter as we were in the first. You asked earlier about winning games in the fourth quarter, and I think that's another factor. Our conditioning has been terrific, and that credit goes to strength coach Jason Gallucci. I think how we practice lends itself to winning late, and I think the depth we have is crucial. We're rotating nine linebackers, seven defensive linemen, all the running backs, five or six receivers. Frankly, Coach [Gregg] Perry did a great job of rotating offensive linemen last year. The net effect is, first, at the end of the game, we should be fresh. Second, there is the cumulative effect over the season. With all the constant pounding over the course of the season, well, the game is often a lot slower in Week 10 than it is in Week 1. By rotating a lot of players, hopefully our speed reduces at a lesser rate.
Can you give a breakdown of the current quarterback group?
I was very pleased with all three quarterbacks [Bill Foran, Greg Mroz and Brian Anderson]. Coming out of spring, Bill Foran is the No. 1 quarterback. Bill did a great job doing the little things to manage the offense. He's not turning the ball over, and he's putting the ball where it needs to be. He's making good decisions, and I thought this was his best spring at making good running decisions. Bill is blessed with great quickness and great speed, and many times he would use that when he probably should have just gone north and south. This spring, he did a great job pulling the ball down and running north and south when he needed to, but staying in the pocket and throwing the ball when he could. I'd say he is a great athlete who has now become a quarterback. That's the best compliment I can give him. With that said, I think Greg Mroz had by far his best spring game. He's getting more and more mature and starting to take a leadership role, which pleases me. Brian Anderson is a kid who brings tremendous work ethic. He's a coach's son, so he knows what to do all the time. Maybe he isn't as blessed with physical tools as other quarterbacks, but he just gets it done. He runs the offense well. From a competition standpoint, it's been as close as it ever has been. Our offense is designed for the quarterback to run the football, which enhances their risk, but I think we can win with all three of those guys. I've told Bill he'll come into the fall as the No. 1, but that he can't rest on his laurels. These other guys are right there, and with the athleticism in the group, we can play a couple at the same time. We can have fun next season with this offense, incorporating different personnel. If you're a quarterback here at Princeton, it doesn't mean you are necessarily sitting around watching the game because only one guy can start. You can play other places. All of them have to work very hard this summer. Not to belabor Jeff, but he was pretty special, and I think they all learned something from him. He was a great example for them, and all three of them showed a willingness to humble themselves and understand what they can and can't do. They need to manage this offense next season.
Punter/kicker... are either, neither or both open races for next season?
At punter, Ryan Coyle has stepped up. He did a nice job replacing Colin McDonough when he was injured for a couple games. There is absolutely no person on this team that works harder than Ryan Coyle. I don't know how his leg takes it, because he must punt 100 balls every day. Rain, snow, hail, tornado, monsoon... it doesn't matter. He's out there kicking, and to his credit, he's worked himself into the No. 1 spot. Colin was a great mentor for him and taught him a lot about kicking. I feel good about the punting situation. Backing him up will be either Matt Lichtenstein or David Korn. As far as the kicking duties, Connor Louden had surgery in the offseason and is still in recovery. Matt came in at the end of the season and made a very important field goal for us against Dartmouth, and he and David have handled most of the placekicking this offseason. I've been very pleased with David Korn's improvement this spring, and his leg is getting stronger. I think Matt's leg is the strongest of the two, and he has shown an improved consistency. When Matt's on, the ball gets out quickly. We'll have to see in the fall how it goes, whether Connor is healthy and how everybody improved from the summer.
Do you feel like you need to get more out of your return game next season?
Absolutely. We weren't satisfied with our production last season. It takes a special breed of player to be a great returner, and we've had a couple over the last few years in Greg Fields and Jay McCareins. We had Brian Shields returning a lot for us last year, and he did a great job fielding the ball, but for whatever reason, he wasn't able to make the first man miss often enough. That's what it takes to be a great return man, and that's where Greg Fields really excelled. He made the first man miss. We're still looking, and it could even be an incoming freshman next season, but we understand that the return game is an area we need to improve.
A couple of general questions ... the NCAA went back to its original timing rules after making some changes last season. Are you pleased with that decision?
Yes, I'm glad it went back. The rules cost us too many plays last season. On average, there were about 10 plays lost per game, and over the span of a full season, that's a full game. When you have kids who aren't allowed to compete in the postseason, you certainly don't want to take away even more chances to play. One effect of the changes was it made it very tough to come back in the fourth quarter last season. It didn't really affect us for whatever reason, but it was clearly an effect nationally.
There is a change to next season's schedule, and Princeton will host Hampton, an NCAA tournament team, next season on Oct. 6. What are your feelings about this move?
It's a great opportunity and will be a great challenge for us. I believe Hampton had more players at the NFL combine than any I-AA team in the country. I have a tremendous amount of respect for their head coach, Joe Taylor, and I'm anxious to learn from him. He is one of the classiest and most respected men in our field. For the kids, it will be an opportunity for them. They are clamoring to go to the NCAAs, and now they have a chance to play against a scholarship school that has NCAA experience. It will be a unique, challenging game for us.
Finally, although the Ivy League does not permit the release of your recruiting class yet, can you give your early general view of the Class of 2011?
I'm very pleased. I think this is an athletic bunch. We tried to recruit as much speed as we could, and I think we have a couple of marquee recruits. Are they going to be able to get involved immediately? I think we might have 3-4 kids who can make immediate contributions next season. You can never tell with incoming freshmen, because a lot has to do with the summer and how they handle the early transition, but top to bottom, I think this has the chance to be a very special class.