Bowling Green State University Athletics
Mid-Term Report For Spring Football
April 07, 2006 | Football
April 7, 2006
Interview with Gregg Brandon
What are your impressions on the first two weeks of camp?
"It is going to be a big spring of team building. We have a lot of new faces and we will need to teach the new guys the system, but more importantly we need to find out who our best football players are. The best way, in my opinion, to do that is to do a lot of live work. We have been scrimmaging every other practice and we have a bigger scrimmage on Saturday. This has been the best way to find out who can play this game; by going out and doing it full go."
Has the offensive line emerged as leaders??
"Our offensive line is really doing a nice job in the eight practices so far. We have had a few players get hurt, Pat Watson [broken arm] and Andrew Stanford [broken leg] are out for the spring. That will force some younger guys to step in. Guy Williamson, Shane Steffy are all capable, they are just young. The veterans of that group, Lichtensteiger, Nystrom, Markray, Lanning those guys have played a good chunk of football. We can run the ball with those guys, we can pass protect. It is teaching our receivers how to get open and is teaching our quarterback the reads. We have some young backs and it is teaching those kids how to run the football. I would much rather have a situation like we have this year than like we had our first year in 2001 when we only had five and and a half healthy offensive linemen and a bunch of skills guys. We are pretty solid up front."
How has the running game progressed?
"All three of the backs are progressing nicely. They all bring a different dimension. It is encouraging because I am going to use them all and there is a place for all of them. The guy that has stepped-up for us is Pete Winovich. He has become kind of a pseudo-fullback for us and he is playing some running back. He will knock your head off as a blocker. He is really doing a nice job and we are giving him the ball a little bit to test his inside running. He is a load. He is 250 lbs. He brings a different dimension. Now we have involved our quarterback, similar to what we did with Josh Harris in the running game. We are able to utilize the entire offense where Omar was such a good passer that we did not necessarily need to run him. He would get the 50-60 yards passing that Josh would get running. Now I think we are back to that mode with AT [Anthony Turner] and Freddie [Barnes]. Those kids can run and they can do some things with their legs that Omar could do with his arm."
Any standout receivers?
"Ruben Ruiz has been in the system for a year and Marques Parks got hurt half way through the year. Corey Partridge is probably standing out the most right now. He can do some things for us that I like in the element of the offense; the quick gain, screens and those types of things. He can get deep and is deceptively fast. He is playing the best right now of that group. Brandon Jones is a fifth-year senior who brings a lot of experience. Kenneth [Brantley] has been hurt but has been at practice and we will expect his return in the fall. Aaron Davis is a big young freshman that was redshirted and is a raw talent; he's going to be a great young player here some day."
Where is the defensive line right now?
"Our defense is built for speed and we really wanted to improve that because I think we dropped off last year overall. Brad [Williams] is a fifth-year guy who can play inside and outside. He is a good football player; a tough guy and he can anchor the middle. He played in there two years ago so it is nothing new to him. Nick Davis is a kid that played a lot last season who stepped up. Nick and Brad are pretty salty in there. We have some young guys in Mike Ream, Brady Minturn who are redshirt freshman. They are getting a ton of reps this spring and they are going to be good football players. Outside you have Devon Parks and I think he might be our best overall defensive player. He has started since his true freshman year. Jacob Hardwick and Thomas James are good young ends. They both redshirted and bring some things to the table in terms of speed. That is encouraging about that group. I think we are going to be o.k.upfront."
What have you learned about your linebackers?
"The linebackers are my biggest concern. With Terrell White being the only returning guy that played much, he is a good player but he needs some guys around him that can help him. Erique Dozier is having a good spring. He is playing at the outside linebacker spot. We need a guy to step up in the middle. Right now Cody Bassler is in a battle as a redshirt freshman with John Haneline, who is two years older but was hurt most of last year. That position concerns me the most. We recruited three young players there; I think Brandon Jackson and Eugene Fells are two kids who are going to have to come in as freshmen and play. They can really run and have the talent to really move."
How is the secondary?
"The secondary is coming together and I feel pretty good about that group. The first of the starters right now are [Deaudre] Perry and [Loren] Hargrove as safeties. Deaudre is a proven player and Hargrove had some good playing time at the end of last season and did okay. He just needs to play. The young guys in Chris Wright and Calvin Wiley are backing them up inside. Wiley is going to be a good player before he is done. He also just needs to play. At corner you have Antonio Smith and Kenny Lewis. Lewis didn't redshirt last year. He played some special teams and played some nickel for us. Jarrett Sanderson is backing those guys up and he is doing a nice job. I think he is going to be a good player once he gets his feet wet this spring learning the system. You have to understand you have 15 spring and 29 fall practices. I feel pretty good about the back end. With Coach Lovett back there, that is more his comfort zone as a defensive coordinator. That group will be ok back there."
Any special teams standouts?
"Nate Waldron is a good special teams player. He is a dynamo on kickoff cover; he just blows things up. Jon Jakubowski, a back-up LB, is also a good special teamer for us. Those types of players are invaluable for us because they bring an element of emotion to the team and I don't think we could have enough of those guys."
