Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Football Spring Practice Update
4/2/2014 3:13:00 PM | Football
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell football team is coming off a season in which it went 6-5 and won five of its final six games. The Bison will return regular starters at 17 positions, including six of their seven All-Patriot League honorees, and are currently hard at work to improve on their second above-.500 record in the last three years. Bucknell is in the midst of spring practice and will be holding its eighth of 15 total sessions Wednesday in Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
Spring practice began March 21 and will conclude with the spring game the evening of April 18. Last Saturday was the team's first scrimmage. A second scrimmage is slated for this Saturday from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
This past Saturday's scrimmage was half practice, half scrimmage. The front end of practice featured mainly individual work and setup drills. The team then converged for punting work and red zone 7-on-7 with the officials on the field.
“Having the officials there and having the players accountable to the clock, alignments and enforced penalties is a good experience,” mentioned fifth-year Bison head coach Joe Susan. “When you get onto the field in a scrimmage, it is so spread out and open compared to practice when coaches and teammates are all over the place. We had done limited live work prior to that, so it was beneficial.”
Susan noted the three focuses for the program since early morning conditioning began back in February have been:
- The quarterback position
- The defensive line
- Special teams specialists – kicker, punter, long snapper
Susan has been pleased with how the defensive line and special teams have progressed, but he mentioned how the quarterbacks still need to step it up.
The quarterbacks on the spring roster include senior Trey Lauletta and sophomores RJ Nitti and Alexander Romango. Nitti started three games a year ago in place of four-year starter Brandon Wesley, while Lauletta saw action in a pair of contests with one start.
“It was good for our quarterbacks that it rained Saturday since it impacted the ball and how they threw,” explained Susan. “RJ Nitti needs constant repetition at this stage of his development. He needs to learn from the repetition and not repeat something bad, but repeat something good. Coming out of the scrimmage he has established himself ahead of the other two, but it is still an open competition with a lot of practices to go.”
Bucknell lost three starters on the defensive line to graduation and two returners with the most experience – Demetrius Baldwin-Youngblood and Dylan McDonnell – are getting limited reps this spring due to injuries. This has opened the door for a number of younger players to break into the lineup. Susan mentioned returners Josh Butler (DE), RJ Sheldon (DE), Troy Glenn (NT) and Ben Schumacher (T) have been playing well, as has Doug Whitlock, a newcomer who enrolled at Bucknell in January from Navy Prep.
Susan has tried to simplify things for kickers Mateo Buraglia and Derek Maurer by asking them to focus on specific tasks. Buraglia is concentrating on punting and kicking off, while Maurer is spending his time on placements and kicking off.
“Both are kicking it well,” praised Susan. “Mateo has come a long way as a punter.”
Susan is very confident in his defense, especially at the linebacker and secondary levels where All-Patriot Leaguers Evan Byers and Matthew Steinbeck reside. Additionally, Louis Taglianetti, Lee Marvel and Clayton Ewell return after significant playing time as part of the No. 14 defense in the nation. Susan has also been pleased with the play of Jaylen Amaker and converted running back Brian Regan in the defensive backfield.
“Our defense is playing with a bit more confidence than the offense,” commented Susan. “In most first scrimmages the defense is ahead of the offense, and after watching the film – three times – I would have to say that is the case for us.”
In addition to replacing Wesley at quarterback, the Bison will need to find a replacement for four-year fullback starter Travis Friend. Kareem Hyman is in the mix, while Susan has also indicated he will use some different formations with his experienced group of tight ends filling some of the fullback duties.
A lot of familiar names appear throughout the offensive depth chart, including wide receivers Will Carter, Josh Brake and Bobby Kaslander, as well as running backs CJ Williams and Matt DelMauro. Each of those players made significant contributions last year.
Bucknell returns five starters on the offensive line and Susan has challenged them to not become complacent because of their experience. He has also singled out improvement from sophomores Cary Hess and Devlin Brennan, who are both 15 pounds heavier and more confident than they were as rookies last fall.
“That's what you expect. They should be making a change from who they were as freshman,” said Susan about Hess and Brennan.
The Bison will have two more practices this week leading up to Saturday's scrimmage. In addition to Saturday's scrimmage being additional on-field work for the Bison players, Susan expects it to be a time for his coaching staff, which has three new members this spring, to work on its communication on the sideline and to the booth.
“This is (new offensive coordinator) Mike O'Connor's first time in the press box as a play-caller and Rickey Jackson's first time with us as a signaler,” mentioned Susan. “We did it OK on Saturday. We will do it better this Saturday. We will do it again in the spring game and at least five more times before we do it for real.
“Defensively, our communication is good. Matt Borich has developed strongly as a defensive coordinator. They challenge the offense with their pressure schemes and we have really good athletes on defense.”
Bucknell's next practice is Wednesday from 4:30-7 p.m. The Bison will also practice Friday from 7-9 p.m. All practices are held at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium and are open to the public.
