Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Begin Spring Practice on Tuesday
March 17, 2008 | Football
March 17, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - It was an impressive 2007 season for the Bowling Green State University football program. Despite coming off a 4-8 record in 2006, and being picked to finish fifth in the MAC East preseason poll, the Orange and Brown finished 8-5 overall, 6-2 in the MAC, finishing with a MAC East co-Championship. The eight wins were matched with only Central Michigan, for league honors, while the Falcons also advanced to the GMAC Bowl, their third bowl appearance in the last five seasons.
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Head coach Gregg Brandon, who received a contract extension through the 2011 season, will return 19 starters from last season's 8-5 team. BGSU returns eight of those players on the offensive side of the ball which finished in the top five of several MAC categories: scoring (30.2, 5th), pass offense (278.8, 2nd), total offense (402.5, 4th), pass efficiency (134.9, 3rd), first downs (299, 2nd) and third down conversions (41.1, 4th).
Defensively, nine starters will be returning, including three All-MAC performers in Diyral Briggs, P.J. Mahone and Antonio Smith. They will also return eight of their top nine tacklers, led by Erique Dozier (112, 1st), John Haneline (96, 2nd) and Mahone (90, 3rd). The Falcons will also return all four starters in the secondary that finished third in the MAC in pass defense (216.6) in 2007.
Lastly, the Falcons will return three key points to the BGSU special teams. Senior-to-be Sinisa Vrvilo will be back for his second season with the Orange and Brown. Last season he connected on 15 of 19 field goals, while converting on all 47 of his extra point attempts, earning third-team All-MAC honors. Fellow classmate Nick Iovinelli (38.4 avg.) will return as the Falcons' punter. Roger Williams will once again handle the kickoff duties. In 2007 he set school records in kick returns (39) and return yards (954). He also had a 78 yard kickoff for a touchdown versus Tulsa in the GMAC Bowl.
Scouting the Falcons
Quarterbacks
Lettermen Returning: 1, Lettermen Lost: 1
Starters Returning: 1, Starters Lost: 0
Under center the Falcons will return third-team All-MAC performer Tyler Sheehan. Sheehan, who opened the 2007 season with no starting experience, began his sophomore campaign with a bang, upsetting Minnesota 32-31, throwing for 388 yards and two scores inside the Metrodome. On the season the Cincinnati, Ohio, native threw 23 touchdowns, to go along with 3,264 yards, three rushing touchdowns, and two receiving scores.
Sheehan had two 300-yard games, 10 200-yard games and eight multiple touchdown contests. He earned MAC East Offensive Player of the Week three times, most in the conference, while was also the only QB in the country to record two receiving touchdowns in 2007.
Junior College transfer Andrew Beam, along with red-shirt freshman Nate Brown will give the Falcons a trio of quarterbacks that could step in and continue to keep the offense up and running.
Running backs
Lettermen Returning: 4, Lettermen Lost: 2
Starters Returning: 2, Starters Lost: 0
The running back position is loaded with talent, returning their top three rushers from 2007 in Anthony Turner, Willie Geter and Chris Bullock. All-in-all, the Falcons ran for 1,607 yards in 2007 and return 1,435 of those yards (89.3%). Turner, who began the 2007 season as the Falcons' backup quarterback emerged as a rushing threat in the final five contests last year. On the season the senior-to-be had 519 yards on the ground (4.9 avg) to go along with nine scores. Geter, who finished 2007 with 457 yards (6.1 avg) had 202 of those yards in a 31-20 win over Kent State. Geter also chipped in with 37 catches, third-best on the team. Bullock, who only saw 64 carries in 2007, made the most of his opportunities, rushing for 281 yards. In two seasons, Bullock has 1,050 yards on the ground. Eric Ransom, who had seven catches for 96 yards and a touchdown versus Minnesota, before ending his season a week later with a knee injury versus Michigan State, opened the 2007 season as the Falcons' starting tailback, and could add even more firepower to an already explosive position.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Lettermen Returning: 10, Lettermen Lost: 3
Starters Returning: 4, Starters Lost: 0
Much like the running back position, the Falcons will return nearly the entire wide receiver and tight end foundation. BGSU will return 300 of 332 (90.4%) receptions, 3,330 of 3,625 (91.9%) receiving yards and 28 of 29 (96.6 %) touchdowns from the 2007 season. Leading that group is Freddie Barnes. Barnes, who had 20 receptions his first year with the Orange and Brown, exploded onto the scene in 2007, recording 82 receptions for 962 yards and nine scores, earning third-team All-MAC honors. His 82 receptions were third-best in BGSU history, while his 962 receiving yards were sixth all-time.
Joining Barnes will be senior to be Corey Partridge. Partridge, who missed five games due to injury still finished second on the team in receptions (46) and yards (453).
Other Falcons that will play a major role in the BGSU receiving group will include Marques Parks (28 rec., 360 yds, 5 TD), Chris Wright (26 rec. 370 yds, 3 TD), Tyrone Pronty (19 rec., 165 yds., 2 TD) and Jermiah Kelley (12 rec., 219 yds., 3 TDs).
Offensive Line
Lettermen Returning: 8, Lettermen Lost: 5
Starters Returning: 2, Starters Lost: 3
Bowling Green will have to find a way to replace three starters from last season's offensive line that allowed just 32 sacks in 13 games in 2007. Gone are Rimington Award finalist Kory Lichtensteiger, along with both tackle positions in Drew Nystrom and Kevin Huelsman. Returning for 2008 will be both starting guards, Brandon Curtis and Shane Steffy. Tyler Donahue, Jeff Fink, Aaron Kent and Brady Minturn all saw some action in 2007, while the Falcons also added five newcomers in their 2008 recruiting class to add much needed depth.
Defensive Line
Lettermen Returning: 11, Lettermen Lost: 2
Starters Returning: 3, Starters Lost: 1
The Falcon front four, could be called the Falcon front eight in 2008, as BGSU will return eight players who saw significant action at defensive line in 2007. Tops on that list will be senior-to-be Diyral Briggs who finished with 54 tackles and five sacks in 2007, earning first-team All-MAC honors. Jacob Hardwick (35 tackles, 4.5 sacks) and Michael Ream (14 tackles, 1.5 sacks) came on strong at the end of the 2007 season to provide constant pressure on opposing QBs. Orlando Barrow (32 tackles, 1.5 sacks), Angelo Magnone (30 tackles, 3.5 sacks), Adrian Baker (24 tackles, 2.0 sacks), Joe Schaefer (19 tackles, 1 sack) and Nick Torresso (16 tackles) were also invaluable up front, anchoring the Falcon defense. Nick Davis, who was having a tremendous start to the 2007 season, was lost early to a knee injury versus Western Kentucky.
Linebackers
Lettermen Returning: 7, Lettermen Lost: 3
Starters Returning: 2, Starters Lost: 1
While the Falcons did lose starting outside linebacker Loren Hargrove (87 tackles), the BGSU linebacking group should be one of the stronger points of the Falcon defense. Returning are senior-to-be Erique Dozier (112 tackles) who led the team in tackles, along with fellow classmate John Haneline who had 96 tackles in just nine game, missing the final four contests of the 2007 season with a foot injury. Expect Cody Basler (30 tackles) and Aaron Davis (10 tackles) to fill in the final linebacker spot.
Defensive Backs
Lettermen Returning: 8, Lettermen Lost: 0
Starters Returning: 4, Starters Lost: 0
While four starters are listed as returning to the BGSU secondary, in fact, an argument could be made that five starters return to a secondary that finished third in the MAC is pass defense. Jahmal Brown, Kenny Lewis, P.J. Mahone, Jerett Sanderson and Antonio Smith all made several starts defending the pass. Brown was fifth on the team with 83 tackles, starting all 13 games. Lewis, who also started all 13 contests had 61 tackles, five forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and one interception. Smith was the third member of the secondary that started in every game, finishing with 80 tackles and two interceptions, earning third-team All-MAC honors. Sanderson, who started the first seven games before suffering a leg injury, had 34 tackles from the safety position. Mahone, who earned second-team All-MAC honors with a MAC leading seven interceptions, was third on the team with 90 tackles, despite not starting until midway through 2007.
Special Teams
Lettermen Returning: 4, Lettermen Lost: 0
Starters Returning: 2, Starters Lost: 0
For the first time since the 2003 and 2004 season the Bowling Green special teams will have the same starting placekicker and punter for a second consecutive season, as both Sinisa Vrvilo and Nick Iovinelli will be returning for their second season with the Orange and Brown. Vrvilo, who earned third-team All-MAC honors in 2007, made 15 of 19 field goals in his first season with the Falcons. He was also perfect on all 47 extra point attempts. Iovinelli had 53 punts, averaging 38.4 yards a kick, recording 12 inside the opponents 20 yard-line. Neal Dahlman and Craig Rutherford will once again handle the long snapping duties.
