Leopards-Monmouth: A home game for Garrett? Not!

George Webber, the lead character in Thomas Wolfe’s classic, “You Can’t Go Home Again,” didn’t like what he saw when he returned to his home town.

John Garrett, Lafayette’s first-year head football coach, isn’t expecting to have the same kind of feelings on Saturday when he and his Leopards open the season against Monmouth University in the Haswks’ brand new $16-million stadium.

Speaking about it on Tuessday at the weekly football media luncheon, here’s what Garrett had to say.

“I’m really just excited, getting to play back in my home town. My parents live 15 minutes from Monmouth University in Monmouth Beach. It’s going to be fun; it’s going to bring back great memories. We moved to New Jersey in 1970 when I was 5 years old and my dad was coaching for the Giants.

"They had training camp at then Monmouth College, so I would go see practices at Monmouth College when I was 5, 6, 7 years old. To have your first game there is pretty ironic and pretty cool stuff, so I’m excited about that personally, but also excited for our team. They’ve really work hard and improved immensely. They’re excited for what they’re about to do and I’m happy for them that they get this chance."

I don’t think the people at Monmouth will be rolling out any red carpets for Garrett and the Leopards. Coach Kevin Callahan wasn’t at all pleased with the way his 2016 season went. After defeating Lehigh and Fordham by a total three points – the Rams in overtime – the bottom dropped out for the Hawks. They didn’t win a game in the Big South Conference.

They only played three home games last year and they’re in a brand new facility this year. During a telephone interview with the local media, the first word Callahan used to describe his team was “hungry.” “We have some veteran players on both sides of the ball; we have some position groups that have an awful lot of experience, to be honest with you, so I expect our performance on the field will be better than it was in 2016.”

He said “We’re kind of going into this one blind … nothing in the way of tendencies we have to go by” in referring to all the newness Lafayette will present for his Hawks – from coaches and staff to schemes offensive line and defensively and new personnel, including a freshman quarterback about whom even Lafayette followers are still in the dark..

But Monmouth comes with the one thing every college football coach would love to have: an offensive line with plenty of experience. The Hawks’ five starters are all seniors, but that’s not all. “In addition to the five starters, Nos. 6, 7, 8 and 9 have actually played a lot of football for us over the course of their time here, so we’re going to rely on that group an awful lot. We have a first-time starter at running back, and our quarterback, although he played in games last year, he started only three so there’s still some newness there.”

When Coach Garrett was asked if he might be a bit envious of Coach Callahan’s line, given the Leopards youth and depth concerns on the o-line, the said, “I love our offensive line. I think we have a talented group there. We are younger than them, but we don’t like to compare our guys to anyone else. We concentrate on what we do, we’re not worried about what they do. They do have a veteran offensive line, but we have a very veteran defensive line, so we match up well there. We’re excited about the talent we have on the offensive line and looking forward to seeing them accept the challenge of playing early and continuing to develop.”

Speaking of that Lafayette defense, the unit has a solid 9-10-man rotation, and almost all of them have lots of experience. The group is so solid that Tony Giudice, who transferred in from Syracuse, where he played in 14 games over his first two seasons. Garrett was asked whether the fact that Giudice is not listed as a starter is an indication of just how good the d-line is going to be.

“We are really excited about our defensive line,” Garrett said. “We can rotate nine guys in there. These are veteran players, where everyone’s a starter, so Anthony could start the first play and there’s no difference. Everybody is going to play and we’re going to play a lot, so I wouldn’t make too much of that at all. We have a lot of veteran players who have played very well and we’re asking them to play with a lot of energy and a high motor. They know that because they know somebody can come in and spell them and we’re going to remain fresh up front, which you need.”

Matt Rothrock, who was a Leopard captain but didn’t play a down all year after suffering a lis franc injury in the final week of preseason camp, is raring to go and to be a part of that d-line group as a fifth-year senior.

Rothrock was asked about the fact that the defense might have to bear a lot of the load early in the season while the offense gains experience. He said, “Having a solid nine-man rotation is essential, especially on the defensive line. Being able to cycle guys through who can play great football, keep us fresh, keep getting after the ball, it’s a huge advantage to us. As far as the offense starting out slowly or the defense having to carry the way, we don’t look at it that way. Coach Garrett always preaches about marriage. A lot of people think it’s 50-50; that’s not the case. Sometimes it’s 90-10 one day. So, the offense needs to know we have their back and they have our back.”

Senior safety Tymir Jones (you might remember him as T.J. from past years) was asked about the difference between this year’s defensive unit and last year’s. He said, “I think the guys we have up front, our front four, our linemen, they’re going to help push our defense to the next level. Also, the tempo we play at; we always choose to set the tempo. We don’t want to let other people set the tempo we’re going to play to. That’s all the defensive groups, the unit as a whole.” Asked about the strengths of new defensive coordinator Luke Thompson, Jones said, “Energy and a good football knowledge. He knows what he’s doing and he knows how to put players into position to let them succeed. His defense is effective and he wants to stress that we’re going to dictate how we play the game.”

The first subject addressed at the media lunch on Tuesday was starting quarterback Sean O’Malley. So much has  been made of that battle this summer that O’Malley is a story all his own. I’ll try to tell it tomorrow.