2013 Spring Football Preview

2013 Spring Preview: Keep Building
Team Information
2012 Record: 8-5
Conference Record: 6-2 (2nd in East)
Letterwinners Returning: (20 offense, 27 defense, 3 special teams)
Letterwinners Lost: 14 (8 offense, 4 defense, 2 special teams)
Starters Returning: 20 (9 offense, 9 defense, 2 special teams)
Starters Lost: 5 (2 offense, 2 defense, 1 special teams)
2013 Spring Prospectus
Follow on Twitter: @DaveMeyerBG (Football SID) @BGFalconFootbal (Official BGSU Football)

**2013 BGSU Football Schedule**
Date	Opponent	Time
Aug. 29	vs. Tulsa	TBA
Sept. 7	at Kent State	TBA
Sept. 14	at Indiana	TBA
Sept. 21	vs. Murray State	TBA
Sept. 28	vs. Akron	TBA
Oct. 5	vs. UMass	TBA
Oct. 12	at Mississippi State	TBA
Oct. 26	vs. Toledo	TBA
Nov. 5	at Miami	TBA
Nov. 12	vs. Ohio	TBA
Nov. 23	at Eastern Michigan	TBA
Nov. 29	ay Buffalo	TBA

The Bowling Green State University football team has gone from a 2-10 record in 2010, to 5-7 in 2011 to 8-5 and a Military Bowl appearance in 2012. As 2013 approaches the Falcons look to keep building on what is already in place.

BGSU will return 20 starters (9 off., 9 def., 2 spec. teams) when 2013 begins, with a majority of those starters bringing a wealthy of experience to the playing field. The Falcons return 10 senior starters (5 off, 4 def., 1 spec. teams) and 342 career starts between the 18 returning starters on offense and defense.

The Falcons will also feature seven players that earned all-conference honors in 2012, including Gabe Martin (first-team), BooBoo Gates (first-team), Brian Schmiedebusch (second-team), Alex Bayer (third-team), Dominic Flewellyn (third-team), Ted Ouellet (third-team) and Cameron Truss (third-team).

When 2013 begins the Falcons will be led by fifth-year head coach Dave Clawson (fresh off a new contract that runs through June of 2019) and all three of his coordinators, also in their fifth year.

The pieces are in place for continued improvement.

Scouting the Falcons

Quarterbacks
Lettermen Returning: 2, Lettermen Lost: 0
Starters Returning: 1, Starters Lost: 0
Matt Schilz, Matt Johnson and James Knapke will compete this spring for the starting job when the Falcons open the

**Returning Offensive Starters**
Pos.	Name	Career Starts
QB	Matt Schilz	35
WR	Chris Gallon	11
WR	Shaun Joplin	12
TE	Alex Bayer	30
WR	Ryan Burbrink	6
OL	Chief Kekeuwa	13
OL	Fahn Cooper	13
OL	Alex Huettel	13
OL	Dominic Flewellyn	33

season at home versus Tulsa. Schilz has started 35 games in his career and has thrown for 7,832 yards and 50 touchdowns. Last season he threw for 2,585 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Johnson played sparingly in 2012, completing 10-of-28 passes for 119 yards and one touchdown. Knapke red-shirted the 2012 campaign.

Running Backs
Lettermen Returning: 3, Lettermen Lost: 2
Starters Returning: 0, Starters Lost: 1
As spring practice begins the Falcons will be without Anthon Samuel, who rushed for over 1,800 yards and added 16 touchdowns the past two season. Samuel left BGSU to move home with his wife and son. It is still yet to be determined if Samuel will be with the Falcons when 2013 begins.

What remains is a lot of unproven talent. Andre Givens, who was one of the top running back recruits in Ohio back in 2010 played in six games last season, managing 134 yards on 20 carries. Jamel Martin was having a strong 2012, rushing for 205 yards on 39 carries, before suffering a season-ending knee injury and senior-to-be Jordan Hopgood, who suffered an injury in the Military Bowl, played in 10 games, rushing for 74 yards.

The Falcons also added four running backs in its 2013 recruiting class that could possibly step in and play.

Wide Receivers
Lettermen Returning: 6, Lettermen Lost: 1
Starters Returning: 3, Starters Lost: 0
Last season was hit and miss for the entire BGSU receiving group, mostly due to inexperience at the position. That won't be an issue in 2013 when the Falcons will return all three starting receivers, six letter-winners and are expected to return several Falcons lost to injury.

The group will be led by a pair of outside receivers that more resemble a basketball team, than football. Chris Gallon, who is listed at 6-4, led the Falcons last season in catches (54), yards (720) and touchdowns (6). His breakout game was late last season, recording 10 grabs for 213 yards and two touchdowns versus Kent State.

Gallon will be joined by, 6-2 Shaun Joplin, who also earned all-state honors in the high jump during his high school days. Joplin finished 2012 with 40 grabs for 639 yards and four touchdowns.
Those two will also expect help from Ryan Burbrink, who finished the season with 39 receptions for 351 yards.

BGSU was expecting contributions from both Heath Jackson and Jermal Hosley when 2012 began, but both were lost for the season due to injuries. Each are expected to be healthy when 2013 begins. Also expect Herve Coby to contribute.

Tight Ends
Lettermen Returning: 4, Lettermen Lost: 0
Starters Returning: 1, Starters Lost: 0
Leading this group will be senior Alex Bayer, who earned third-team All-MAC honors last season after finishing the year with 36 receptions for 410 yards and three touchdowns. Bayer has started each of the last 30 games and is the leading career pass catcher on this team with 78 grabs for 950 yards.

Joining Bayer will be fellow classmate Tyler Beck. Beck serves a dual purpose on the team, spending time at tight end and full back. Those same two positions are also occupied by junior Chris Pohlman, who earned a scholarship for the Orange and Brown prior to the start of the 2012 season.

One big difference will be Kendall Montgomery, who will now play on the defensive side of the ball, but expect Clay Rolf and Scott Davis to pick up the slack.

Offensive Line
Lettermen Returning: 7, Lettermen Lost: 4
Starters Returning: 4, Starters Lost: 1
After a rough couple of years on the offensive line the Falcons are starting to put together a unit that is deep and competitive. Gone is three-year starter Jordon Roussos, but returning starters include Dominic Flewellyn, Chief Kekuewa, Alex Huettel and Fahn Cooper. The four of them each started all 13 games in 2012 and have combined for 69 career starts. Leading the bunch is Flewellyn (third-team All-MAC), who has started the last 33 contests, including eight as a true freshman.

Depth is not expected to be an issue in 2013 with the development of players such as Logan Dietz, Darian Delaney, Spencer Cairo, Jacob Bennett, Dalton Chapman, Ben Steward, Christian Piazza, Nick Hager and J.J. Beggan.

Defensive Line

**Returning Defensive Starters**
Pos.	Name	Career Starts
DE	Bryan Thomas	10
DE	Charlie Walker	15
DT	Ted Ouellet	16
LB	Gabe Martin	12
LB	Paul Swan	24
CB	Cam Truss	30
CB	Darrell Hunter	19
S	BooBoo Gates	25
S	Ryland Ward	25

Lettermen Returning: 10, Lettermen Lost: 1
Starters Returning: 3, Starters Lost: 1
For a group that returns three starters and 10 players that saw significant action in 2012, most would believe the defensive line would have no question marks and be a strength of this team. While it could still be a strength, one major question will hang over this group. How do you replace Chris Jones? The reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Year finished last season with 12.5 sacks and 19.0 tackles for loss. Is it possible to replace that production?

The group will still feature both starting defensive ends in Charlie Walker (2.5 sacks, 6.5 TFL) and Bryan Thomas (3.5 sacks, 8.0 TFL) and third-team All-MAC defensive tackle Ted Ouellet (3.0 sacks, 6.0 TFL). Jairus Campbell, who actually started ahead of Ouellet when 2012 began, is expected to make a full recovery and is expected to make an impact in 2013 after missing the last 10 games with an injury.

BGSU will also feature Ronnie Goble and Zach Colvin along the defensive line. Goble, a team captain in 2012, has played in 25 career games, making nine starts. Colvin played in all 13 games last season, moving to defensive tackle early in the year. He finished the season with 15 tackles and one tackle for loss.

Expect production from others such as Kendall Montgomery, Bryan Baird and Jhalil-Nashid Croley at defensive end and at defensive tackle, Taylor Royster, Izaah Lunsford and Mike Minns are expected to make an impact.

Linebackers
Lettermen Returning: 4, Lettermen Lost: 1
Starters Returning: 2, Starters Lost: 1
BGSU's biggest task at the linebacker position will be to find a way to replace three-time All-MAC performer, Dwayne Woods, something the Falcons had a bit of practice at doing last season. Woods missed the Miami contest last season, a game BGSU won 37-12, holding the RedHawks to 256 total yards, including just three yards on the ground on 20 rushing attempts.

Picking up the slack will be first-team All-MAC member Gabe Martin, who in his first year as a starter for the Orange and Brown, led the squad with 70 tackles, while adding 4.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss. Senior-to-be Paul Swan started all 13 games for the Falcons, finishing the year with 65 tackles. Junior D.J. Lynch was the only other Falcon to see any significant time at linebacker, finishing the year with 63 tackles and 6.0 tackles for loss.

Expect Coy Brown III, newcomer Paul Senn (Riverside CC), Zac Bartman, Trenton Greene and Evan Karchner to also contribute.

Defensive Backs
Lettermen Returning: 12, Lettermen Lost: 3
Starters Returning: 4, Starters Lost: 0
BGSU returns all four starters to a secondary that finished 13th in the country in passing yards allowed per game

(190.1). That starting secondary has 99 combined starts among the four players and includes a pair of All-MAC performers in BooBoo Gates (first-team) and Cameron Truss (third-team). Truss leads the bunch with 30 career starts, followed by Gates (25), Ryland Ward (25) and Darrell Hunter (19).

Those 99 combined starts don't even include Aaron Foster (13), DeVon McKoy (8), Jude Adjei-Barimah (2) and Josh Pettus (1), who have combined for 24 starts in their careers. Needless to say, the BGSU secondary is a major strength of a defense that finished in the top-10 nationally in nearly every major category in 2012.

Other players to watch out for include Brian Sutton, Justin Ford, James Sanford, Will Watson, Johnny Joseph and Victor Osborne.

Special Teams
Lettermen Returning: 3, Lettermen Lost: 1
Starters Returning: 2, Starters Lost: 1

Tyler Tate is expected to handle all field goals and extra points, while Brian Schmiedebusch will once again be BGSU's punter. Tate was 7-of-10 on field goals in 2012, including 2-of-2 versus San Jose State in the Military Bowl.

Schmiedebusch, a second-team All-MAC performer last season, averaged 40.8 per punt, including 18 punts of over 50 yards and 24 punts inside the opponents' 20 yardline.

Anthony Farinella is once again expected to handle kickoffs. Lasy season he averaged 58.0 per kickoff with seven touchbacks.

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