New-Look Falcons Begin Spring Ball Monday

March 16, 2018 | Football

By: by Jason Knavel, Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications

Bowling Green, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University football team begins the third year of the Mike Jinks era Monday as Pro Day kicks off the spring season. With five new assistant coaches, including new faces at every defensive coaching position, the Falcons face a critical spring in an attempt to return to the Mid-American Conference Championship game for the first time since playing in three straight from 2013-15.

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COACHING STAFF CHANGES
BGSU added five new coaches for the 2018 season, as well as adjusting the responsibilities for two of the retained assistants. Coach Jinks first hired Youngstown State's Carl Pelini as the new Defensive Coordinator. Pelini brings experience as DC at Nebraska as well as head coaching experience at Florida Atlantic. That addition set in motion numerous other hires.

Jimmy Williams, who has connections to Pelini at Nebraska, and a long history of success in the MAC, was brought on staff to coach the defensive line. LaMarcus Hicks was named the secondary coach after serving two years on staff at Jacksonville State. DeJon "DJ" Gomes will coach the cornerbacks following a successful collegiate career at Nebraska, 46 career NFL games, and a year on staff at Central Michigan. Finally, Jacob Schoonover was hired to coach the linebackers after serving at Illinois State since 2011 in roles coaching linebackers and special teams.

Within the retained staff, Marcus White moved from coaching the defensive line to the running backs. Seth Doege will continue to coach the receivers but was also recently named the Special Teams Coordinator.

PELINI NAMED DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
WILLIAMS NAMED DEFENSIVE LINE COACH
HICKS NAMED SECONDARY COACH
GOMES NAMED CORNERBACKS COACH
SCHOONOVER NAMED LINEBACKERS COACH

SPRING PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Bowling Green will hold 15 practices throughout March and April. The annual Spring Game will take place Saturday, April 14 at 2:30 pm at Doyt L. Perry Stadium. BGSU will also hold two spring scrimmages. The entire practice schedule is listed below:

Monday, March 19 – Practice 1 (Pro Day)
Tuesday, March 20 – Practice 2
Thursday, March 22 – Practice 3
Saturday, March 24 – Practice 4
Monday, March 26 – Practice 5
Tuesday, March 27 – Practice 6
Thursday, March 29 – Practice 7 (Scrimmage)
Tuesday, April 3 – Practice 8
Thursday, April 5 – Practice 9
Saturday, April 7 – Practice 10 (Scrimmage)
Tuesday, April 10 – Practice 11
Thursday, April 12 – Practice 12
Saturday, April 14 – Practice 13 (Spring Game / 2:30 pm)
Tuesday, April 17 – Practice 14
Thursday, April 19 – Practice 15

BREAKING DOWN THE FALCONS
BGSU returns 13 starters from the 2017 season (six on offense and seven on defense) as well as 39 letter winners. Over the past two years, Bowling Green's recruiting classes have ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in the MAC (by 247sports.com), marking the first time the program has been ranked that high in back-to-back years since 2010 and 2011. The talent influx should begin paying dividends in the near future. Listed below is a positional breakdown of the Falcons heading into spring ball.

Quarterback
True sophomore Jarret Doege started five times, including the final four games of the 2017 season. He did nothing but post one of the greatest true freshman quarterback seasons in program history, completing 63.8 percent of his passes with 12 touchdowns and only three interceptions. Redshirt sophomore Grant Loy is the only other quarterback with collegiate experience on the roster as he was 9-of-16 for 161 yards in six games last year. Bryce Veasley, a true freshman from Southfield, Mich., begins his college career a semester early and redshirt freshman Ricardo Marble will compete for reps.

Running Back
True sophomore Andrew Clair averaged 6.8 yards per carry a year ago, making him one of the most dangerous backs in the MAC and giving him one of the greatest yards per carry average in school history for a single season. He rushed for 725 yards and four touchdowns on 107 carries. Redshirt junior Matt Domer will look to recover from a midseason injury that cut his year short after averaging 6.0 yards on 17 carries. Redshirt sophomore Bryson Denley had five carries a year ago as well to add depth. Redshirt senior Dorian Hendrix has been moved to fullback to help out in the backfield.

Receivers
Five of the team's top six wide receivers, in terms of receptions, return for the 2018 season. Two-time All-MAC performer Scott Miller heads into his senior year after catching 63 passes for 722 yards a year ago. Redshirt senior Datrin Guyton started five games and was a deep-play threat with 31 receptions for 585 yards in 2017. True sophomore Matthew Wilcox Jr. will be a dangerous slot receiver after catches 14 passes in his first collegiate season a year ago. Redshirt junior Janarvis Pough developed as the fall wore on and ended with 11 catches and five games started. Another true sophomore, Quintin Morris, proved to be a match-up problem with his size from either the slot or the tight end spot and he had eight receptions and two touchdowns. Senior Deric Phouthavong started two games and, like Morris, can be a match-up problem for smaller defensive backs. He had five catches in 2017.

Adding to the depth at receiver will be redshirt freshmen Calvin Clater and Colin DeBord, along with redshirt junior Charles Lamar and redshirt senior Justin Sawmiller. BGSU will have to replace Hunter Folkertsma at tight end and the Falcons have a pair on the spring roster in redshirt sophomores Tyler Traylor and Julius Van Rooyen.

Offensive Line
On the offensive side of the ball, the offensive line was the hardest hit by graduation, but the Falcons still return six players who started at least one game a year ago and student-athletes who combined for 37 starts along the line. Redshirt senior Austin Labus started all 12 games at right tackle last year and will be a cornerstone of the unit. Redshirt junior Jack Kramer started the first eight games at right guard before injuries limited him down the stretch. Junior Lorenzo Taborn was in a similar situation, starting seven times at left guard, but was unable to finish the season. All three will be leaned on for leadership and the foundation of a strong offensive line.

With the injuries, others got the opportunity to quickly develop. Redshirt sophomore Caleb Bright played in all 12 games last year, starting six times between left guard and center. Redshirt senior John Kurtz picked up three starts at right guard and redshirt sophomore Tim Blair played in four games down the stretch, starting at left guard against Buffalo. Redshirt sophomore Joe Ware also played in three games.

Redshirt junior Matt Tanner will add a lot of strength and experience to the line after sitting out 2017 following a transfer from junior college. A trio of redshirt freshmen will also take part in spring camp looking to make their mark – Zach Dziengelewski, Derek Downs and Sam Neverov.

Defensive Line
The Falcons begin spring practice with 14 defensive linemen, nine of which are freshmen or sophomores. However, experience runs deep as four players started at least five games along the defensive line last year. Redshirt senior David Konowalski is chief amongst them, starting all 12 games at defensive end and finishing with 56 tackles, including a team-best 8.5 for loss. He added team highs with 3.5 sacks and six quarterback hurries. Redshirt senior Brian Sanders started seven games and he had 24 tackles and three QB hurries. Redshirt juniors Nico Lautanen and Kyle Junior each started five times with Lautanen posting 25 tackles and 4.5 for loss. Junior had 36 tackles with 6.5 for loss and 3.5 sacks. Redshirt senior Jonah Harper started one game but was held to seven games played due to injury. Redshirt sophomore Dirion Hutchins and true sophomore Josh Croslen both played in all 12 games, combining for 35 tackles between the two.

Redshirt sophomore Kaduri Lockhart joins six redshirt freshmen in spring camp among players who did not see game action last year. Walter Haire, Tyree Jackson, Caylon May, Jack McCarthy, Jordan Murphy and Jamari Rouse give the Falcons a plethora of talent to work into the rotation.

Linebackers
Senior Brandon Harris anchors an athletic unit. Harris started all 12 games in 2017 and had 92 tackles. A big play threat at any moment, Harris had 123 yards on three fumble recoveries and forced three more fumbles. Redshirt sophomore Armani Posey was a key cog a year ago, but was hampered by injuries. He ended up playing nine games, starting five times, and recording 52 tackles. Redshirt senior Jack Walz III and sophomore Kholbe Coleman each played in all 12 games, finishing with 35 tackles combined. Redshirt junior Antonyo Sotolongo and redshirt sophomore Jerry Judd III also saw action.

Redshirt sophomore Roland Walder sat out the 2017 season after transferring from Kentucky and redshirt junior Brandon Perce joins the program for the spring after attending Rochester Community College. Redshirt junior Hassan Belton is another mid-year addition, following time at Butler Community College. Redshirt senior Romeo Masuku, redshirt junior Greg Page and redshirt freshman Jerry Roberts will all look to contribute as well during spring practice.

Defensive Backs
The Falcons return every player who started a game last year in the secondary. At cornerback, redshirt senior Montre Gregory had eight starts, junior Cameron Jefferies started seven games, redshirt senior Clint Stephens had six starts and senior Robert Jackson Jr. had three starts. Stephens tied for the team lead with three interceptions, while Gregory and Jefferies each had one. At the safety positions, redshirt seniors Fred Garth and Marcus Milton each started all 12 games. Those two combined for four interceptions. Redshirt junior Jamari Bozeman, an All-MAC safety in 2016, will also be back after missing the entire 2017 season due to injury.

Five other student-athletes saw action providing depth in 2017, including redshirt sophomore Ty Redding (10 games) and a trio of players who played nine games each – redshirt senior Ben Hale, junior Jerry McBride III and redshirt sophomore Torrian Hampton. Sophomore Darius Wortham played in two games before injury ended his campaign.

Four others will look to make an impact including redshirt junior Melvin Jackson, and redshirt freshmen Cedric Mitchell and Sy Dabney. True freshman James Harris Jr. will get college started a semester early.

Special Teams
BGSU will need to replace both its all-conference kicker and All-American punter in 2018, but the Falcon special teams will be anchored by a pair of long snappers. Redshirt sophomore Gabe Skrobot and sophomore James Carolan were extremely steady a year ago.

At kicker, redshirt sophomore Nate Needham joins the program for the spring after spending time at Youngstown State and Erie Community College.

Cooper Lee, a junior from Coffeyville Community College, was brought into the program mid-year to compete with redshirt sophomores Matt Naranjo and Grant Tinnerman for primary punter duties.

FOLLOW BGSU FOOTBALL
Fans can follow the BGSU Football program all spring through various social media platforms. On Twitter, follow @BG_Football as well as @BGSUAthletics. On Instagram, spring practices will be highlighted through the main athletics account @BGFalcons.