Bowling Green State University Athletics
Freshmen May Be Falcons' Forte
August 31, 2006 | Football
Aug. 30, 2006
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By MAUREEN FULTON, Blade Sports Writer -
Freshmen may be Falcons' forte
Scouting service rated BG recruits best in conference
BOWLING GREEN - On signing day in February, coach Gregg Brandon said he expected at least half of the men who had just joined the Bowling Green State University football team to play this fall.
His number was a little low.
Sixteen of the Falcons' 23 true freshmen are in the mix for playing time when BGSU opens its season Saturday against Wisconsin.
The talent of the freshman recruiting class was evident in February, when Scout.com ranked it first in the Mid-American Conference. How coaches have prepared them and how they have adapted to the system since they arrived on campus in June will be on display at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
"It's a great class. They're young, wide-eyed, and they're fun to coach," Brandon said. "They're making a lot of mistakes which is expected, we've just got to push them through that.
"They get better every day. The sooner they grow up, the sooner we'll win."
The youth is most prevalent in the defensive backfield and in key special teams positions. Six true freshmen are listed in the eight-man rotation at safety and cornerback, and sophomore cornerback Kenny Lewis played only a few snaps last season.
"Our depth has just not been good [at defensive back] for whatever reason," Brandon said. "Maybe from attrition through the years in the program, or other spots being weak that we've had to move and juggle guys around."
Freshman P.J. Mahone will start at strong safety, and Jerrett Sanderson, who joined the team in the spring, will start at free safety.
"It was my goal, but you can't really predict that you'll be starting as a true freshman," Mahone said. "So I'm pretty excited about it."
BGSU kicker Sean Ellis is one of 16 true freshman players who is in the mix for playing time starting Saturday.
The Falcons' kicker (Sean Ellis), punter (Alonso Rojas), kick returner (Vincent Corner) and punt returner (Zach Charles) are all true freshmen.
Corner started out as a running back and is now a backup cornerback. He's grateful for the chance to play a position that enables him to get on the field more quickly.
"We don't care where, we just want to play," Corner said. "So if they move us around, we say, OK, they must have us there for a reason."
Charles will start at wide receiver, for at least a game, until sophomore Corey Partridge returns from a knee injury.
"To be able to go out there with such an opportunity, it's great," Charles said. "Coming in I was OK with being redshirted, but I've got to grow up really fast now. I've got to take it and run with it."
The rest of the freshmen who aren't redshirting are listed as backups on the depth chart. On offense, receivers Tyrone Pronty and Kelvin Davis and fullback Lewis Parks could play. On defense, it's linemen D.J. Young and Orlando Barrow, linebackers Brandon Jackson and Eugene Fells, and defensive backs Corner, Tarell Lewis and Jahmal Brown. Most figure to be prominent contributors on special teams.
If the Falcons need a backup quarterback on Saturday, it will either be freshmen Tyler Sheehan or Anthony Glaud. Brandon will likely redshirt either Sheehan or Glaud, but perhaps not both.
