March 23, 2009
BRYANT FOOTBALL OPENS SPRING PRACTICE WEDNESDAY
SMITHFIELD, RI - The Bryant University football team will return
to the practice field for the first time since last fall this
Wednesday afternoon when the Bulldogs begin spring football
practice. Wednesday's practice, set to begin at 4 pm, will be
the first of 15 total practices this spring leading up to the
annual Black & Gold Spring Football Game set for Sunday, April
19 at 1 pm.
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| A total of 56 letterwinners return including 17 starters for
sixth-year coach Marty Fine. www.dspics.com
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The Bulldogs, under the direction of sixth-year coach
Marty Fine, are coming off a successful 7-4 season
in 2008, the school's first competing at the Division I level
(Football Championship Subdivision).
This will be the sixth spring practice for Fine as he welcomes
back 56 letterwinners this spring including 17 starters from last
year's squad. Of those 17 starters, 10 are on defense.
In 2008, Bryant's defense allowed a stingy 99.4 yards rushing
and were ranked nationally in the top-10 for much of last season
with 30 forced turnovers.
Senior defensive end Don Smith (Attleboro, MA)
and linebackers Andre Whyte (Bennington, VT) and
Paul Polomski (Franklin, MA) will be ones to watch
along with talented senior defensive linemen Peter
and Patrick Gauthier of Woonsocket,
RI and junior nose tackle Andrew
Regan (West Newbury, MA).
Polomski led the team with 67 tackles in 2008 while Smith, one
of the team's top pass rushers, had a team-high 11.5 tackles for
loss and 8.5 sacks. The only loss on defense is at strong
safety with the graduation of co-captain Bryce Martins who was
second on the team last year with 61 tackles and three
interceptions.
On the offensive side, the Bulldogs return seven starters but
the one big spot to fill will be at quarterback where Fine will
need to replace last year's starter Jay Graber who graduates this
spring. Graber had a fine senior season in '08,
starting all 11 games for the Bulldogs and completed 150 of 259
passes (57.9 percent) for 1,676 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Looking to compete for Graber's spot will be senior Kurt
Spear (Greene, NY) who saw action in four games -
including a solid performance against UMass where he completed 7 of
17 passes for 70 yards against the Minutemen. Also expected
to challenge this spring are junior Mike Croce (Waterbury,
CT) and senior Nick Scardelli (Manalapan,
NJ).
Regardless of whoever gets the nod at quarterback, they'll be
surrounded by plenty of talent and experience, especially at the
running back position. Senior's Jerell Smith
(Brooklyn, NY) and Lindsey Gamble (Roxbury,
MA) provided a one-two punch out of the backfield last
year as Bryant averaged 158.7 yards rushing per game on the
ground.
Smith, a transfer from Howard University, averaged 114.0 yards
per game with a team-high 1,254 yards and six touchdowns. He
went over the 100-yard mark in seven of Bryant's 11 games last
year.
Gamble had a very productive season with 792 yards and team-high
seven touchdowns. He had two games with more than 100 yards
rushing including a season-high 163 yards on 16 carries in the win
over Saint Francis (PA).
The offensive line heads into the spring healthy and intact with
starters Pete Krafka (Milford,
MA), John Tashjian (Paramus, NJ),
Ray Bundy (Bristol, RI), and Ben
Lyons (Westfield, MA) back for '09 along
with veterans Bryan Kelly (Westwood, MA),
Robert Edwards (Demascus, NJ) and
Jon Lewis (Sayville, NY).
There was little change to the coaching staff over the winter
with the lone addition of Mike McCarty as
quarterbacks coach. McCarty comes to Bryant from Elon
University where he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks
coach. Prior to his time at Elon, he was the receivers coach at
Arkansas State for four years.
The team has two scrimmages planned leading up to the Spring
Game which will take place at Bulldog Stadium on April 19.
There will be a post-game BBQ immediately following the Spring Game
with a cost of only $6.00. Season tickets will also be
available for purchase at the game.
