Spring football '19: The rest of the story

It sounds a lot like a cliché, but it really isn’t.

“A day like today is tough because when the defense does well, it means the offense isn’t, and when the offense does well, the defense is not. Either way, somebody on Lafayette is going to win. That’s a positive.  How we play is most important.  One fumble, a couple of tipped passes on which defensive players did the things we’ve been stressing all spring, not a lot of penalties. Spring ball goes quickly, mainly because you’re having fun.”

That was Lafayette Coach John Garrett’s glass-half-full assessment of the final practice of spring football camp on Saturday. They called it the spring game, but it didn’t have much of a game look to it.

That’s understandable because, as I wrote in my story for The Morning Call, the number of players not taking part (20} was nearly as large as the number of available offensive players (23, including the kicker and five quarterbacks) and more than the number of healthy defensive players (18).

The list of “watchers” starts with running backs Selwyn Simpson, J.J. Younger and Mike Dunn … goes to o-linemen Jake Marotti, Casey McCollum, Austin Pyne and Taron Hampton … and tight ends Scott Zadok and Jake Taggart.

That said, I’m giving the running game pretty much of a pass. Devin On, a walk-on, gave a good effort running and receiving; tight end-turned RB Ryan Monteyne got what looked like a parting of the Red Sea late in the day and ripped off an uncontested 55-yard “touchdown” run.

So, we still don’t know if there will be any improvement on the running side, although Marotti, who has been elected as a captain, did say, “Maybe I’m a little biased but I love running the ball. We [o-line] have some very good plays and schemes to run the ball efficiently, but the rest of the guys have to run as well.” He said he wasn’t pleased with the runs in Saturday’s live periods “because I think we can play great. It’s little things here or there.”

Other missing players on Saturday were defensive backs Colin Thorne, Jordan Anderson, TayJon Martin, Caleb Burr, Tre Jordan and Clennie Murphy … linebackers Jack Lamb and Christian Hollar … d-lineman Ian Grayson … and wide receivers Aziz Diomande and Logan Whelan.

A couple of those players figure to be in the mix in the fall, but the defensive players were not missed Saturday because that group seems to have talent that may be disruptive for opponents.

New defensive coordinator Manny Rojas has some active rushers in d-linemen Malik Hamm (who could be the best in the entire Patriot League), Harrison Greenhill, Keith Earle and linebackers Major Jordan, Lamb, Ryan Dickens and Billy Shaeffer.

There were lots of tackles for loss and would have been lots of sacks if QBs had been “live” on Saturday. Coach Garrett said that pursuing the ball, swarming and generating turnovers have been points of emphasis in the spring.  It does appear those guys like to have fun.

But until the Leopards’ defense comes up against a more polished offense, it’s going to be difficult to say how good they can be. Lafayette gave up 29 points per game a year ago. Because the offense struggles so much to get points, the defense is constantly under pressure to carry the big load.

There was no question that the major emphasis of the Saturday workout involved

Lafayette’s handful of quarterbacks. Garrett continues to express satisfaction with the way the battle has been going. I was personally disappointed.

The theme for the day seemed to be “safe passes.” Instead of running some plays in which a couple of talented wide receivers challenged the defensive secondary by throwing down the field, almost all of the throws were in the “to the flat” or “checkdown” throws, so completions were for short gains.

Only two meaningful 11-on-11 live sessions were included in the practice. The first was the opening drive, on which Sean O’Malley was 4-for-7 and took the first unit to the defense’s 18-yard line. When back-to-back incomplete passes stalled the drive, Jeffry Kordenbrock, with no defensive players rushing, missed a 35-yard field goal.

O’Malley didn’t have another full-squad series the rest of the day.

Rising sophomore Troy Fisher, who, I was told, seemed to have the upper hand in some earlier practices, was used second on Saturday. He had a 3-and-out series early, and later, he had a longer series in which he was 4-for-7 passing but for only 15 yards.

If this was to be the day where Fisher showed his stuff, he came up short. In 7-on-7 action, he threw eight passes, but five of them were incomplete. He just never seemed comfortable. It was like he may have been trying too hard because a number of his throws were over receivers’ heads.

Cole Northrup, who started out the spring at No. 2, never got a shot in an 11-on-11 situation. He was 9-for-11 in the 7-on-7, including a 26-yarder that was the longest completion of the day. I was surprised by the restraints put on him.

Reed Aichholz didn’t play at all in the first half, with Shane Davis getting a couple of opportunities. Aichholz was just 1-for-4. Davis was 4-for-6 in limited action.

It’s really difficult to tell whether the QB problems are with the throwers or with the play selection. I don’t recall one play that I would have considered imaginative.

Garrett doesn’t seem to be in a rush to replace O’Malley as the starter but also doesn’t seem to have done anything to make him more effective.

O’Malley threw only four touchdown passes all last season. It’s scary to think the passing game might be as futile this fall, but, given all the coaching changes Garrett has had to deal with during this offseason, the Leopards still seem to lack one major ingredient – an innovative offensive coordinator who has some authority.

Garrett decided to not even replace his latest departing OC, instead adding that responsibility to his duties as the head coach. He was calling the plays anyway last season. He has a new quarterbacks coach in Kort Shankweiler, who has set aside his real estate career to get back into coaching. Just how much leeway Garrett gives him remains to be seen. Shankweiler is the son of a 40-year coaching veteran, and that has to count.

I’m not sure how much the film of Saturday’s practice will shape the future thinking of the coaching staff. One thing is certain: the Leopards look to be a long way from the “Break Through” type of team Garrett was thinking of when he came up with that motto.

THE CAPTAINS – Offensive tackle Jake Marotti and strong safety Yasir Thomas will be the leaders for this year’s Leopards.

Marotti didn’t practice all spring after having shoulder surgery, but he said the rehab has been right on schedule. He expects to be cleared in early June, which will give him time to prepare for August.

I asked him what his message would be to the team, and he said, “Keep everyone on board. Stick together and have the same mindset. When one bad thing happens, some guys put their head down and get depressed and angry, But, if everyone is on board, the most important thing will be the next play, the next drive. We’ll have to be ready to battle through adversity.  We will have some dark times, but you have to see the light and aspire to be great.”

The 6-6, 295-pound rising senior from Ambridge (near Pittsburgh) admitted that “I’ not the most vocal guy on the whole team,  but I like to lead by example and with the offensive linemen, I’m very vocal.”

Marotti has started 22 games in a row. He was a Patriot League first team all-star last year, when the Leopards o-line led the league is fewest sacks and fewest tackles for loss allowed.

When safety T.J. Jones suffered a concussion during the 2016 season, Lafayette coaches made a bold move: They took wide receiver Thomas and put him at safety. Thomas started against Georgetown and has been in that position ever since.

After playing his first three years in jersey #3, he has changed this year to #1, which also seems to be a perfect fit. He put the word “Tenacity” on his helmet for spring practices and he told me, “That word is like me and I use it throughout a lot of things in my life. People where I come from (Paterson, N.J.), they don’t make it to age 21; I just keep that in the back of my head. I thank God for my blessings every day and I live (tenacity) every day, on and off the field.”

Thomas is an animated guy, as was shown by his reaction Saturday was his name was announced as a captain. He said he has been working toward this spot since walking off the field as a 34-3 loser to Lehigh last fall.

“It wasn’t my last game, but it hurt … deeply,” Thomas said. “It made me want to grind and become a better man.” He said his challenge to his teammates would be “to start strong and finish strong … believe in yourself and believe in your teammates. As you become a senior, it kicks in that there’s no one ahead of you. This is my last year. I will challenge people and I expect them to do the same to me. I love the chase for perfection.”

THE FINAL WORD – Coach Garrett probably would have liked more contact in the final practice, “but we couldn’t wear them out because we don’t have great depth. We couldn’t do a lot of pounding. We wanted to get through without injuries, and we did that, so now it’s a matter of getting our injured players back for the summer. I was pleased how quickly the defense pick up the new system. The offense had to mix and match some parts out there. We had some real injuries, but they will heal.”