Where have all the Leopards gone?

With 11 freshmen listed on the two-deep this week, this might be a good time to look at what a disastrous season this has been for the Lafayette football team.

Coach John Garrett doesn’t make a habit of talking about injured players, but when he was asked by Mike Joseph at Tuesday’s luncheon whether he expected to see some of his key players returning to the lineup against Penn on Saturday, Garrett said:

“We certainly hope so, Mike. We look at it every day. We have constant communication with Matt Bayly and the staff. We check in with them three-four times a day just to see who’s available for practice and to what extent and then start to make those prognoses for the weekend. So, we hope to, but nothing is definitive now.”

I looked at the participation chart from last week’s game at Albany and compared it to the roster. While I know the head coach has been hedging on this player or that player, I didn’t realize exactly how many were NOT available for that game against the Great Danes.

Start with three players who have seen no 2019 action at all. Running back Mike Dunn was injured in training; fifth-year senior defensive lineman-tight end Demetrius Breedlove has yet to be cleared, and senior linebacker Jack Lamb, who I thought was a prospective starter at the end of spring ball,  also has been out and never accounted for. Neither has senior linebacker Kevin Hutchinson, who played in 23 games in his first three years.

They are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Four regulars from the defensive line – Keith Earle, Harrison Greenhill, Ian Grayson and Colin Hurlbrink … six offensive linemen – captain and starter of 22 straight games in 2017-18 Jake Marotti, freshman starter Alex Barshaba, Taron Hampton, Colin Bradley, Casey McCollum and Ben Wild … senior running back and former staerter Selwyn Simpson … tight end Zadok Scott … and linebacker DaRon Gilbert were among other players I figured I might see on the field but who did not play Saturday.  Now, I must admit that a couple of those players may have no played by coaches’ decision, but I believe the great majority are among those who  Garrett and his staff are checking on regularly.

The two-deep for this week has Earle and Hurlbrink listed among the defensive starters, and Marotti, Barshaba and Wild are listed as No. 2s. for the Penn game and getting them back would enhance the Leopards’ chances against the Quakers. But, as Garrett said Tuesday, “Nothing is definitive now.”

The absence of some of them have provided unexpected opportunities for freshmen and other backups. Damon Washington last week became the fourth different starter at one of the d-tackle spots and responded with a 14-assist performance that earned him rookie of the week honors in the league, and fellow frosh Marco Olivas had 12 assists at linebacker. Running back Jaden Sutton got four carries and made one catch.   

Coach Garrett was asked about his impression of the progress of the first-year players. He said:

“I’m really pleased with how our guys are playing and their approach, no matter what class they’re in. We’re getting great effort from everybody and they’re playing the right way, tough and competitive … One of the great thrills in coaching is to see how your players respond to different situations. One of those is the transition from high school to college … are they going to look at it and say, ‘no problem’ or is it ‘whoa this is too big for me’ or what role do they settle into. I love that, and I love putting them in those situations so see how they respond and we have guys who are responding the right way. Damon having to play earlier than anticipated typically in a regular football season … this guy is chasing down running backs and getting in on 14 tackles as a freshman. That type of energy and effort is contagious and we’re getting it out of our quarterback. The common theme is they all love football. We’re getting that type of effort from all our players, regardless what class they’re in.”

Freshman quarterback Keegan Shoemaker, who carried the ball 23 times against Sacred Heart and was scrambling all over the field, had 12 carries against Albany, and Garrett was asked whether that was a result of a different game plan on the defense of the Great Danes. Garrett said:

“No change in the game plan. We still had RPOs, still had QB runs, we still had those opportunities for him to run. They just didn’t present themselves as much. They were much more of a zone defense, where they were playing coverage rather than pressuring. That keeps him in the pocket and your pass reads are open quicker. He had opportunities in zones to get the ball out as evidenced by the passes he was able to complete. It was a completely different defense compared to Sacred Heart, which was pressure all over the place and a lot of movements and twists and the line of scrimmage was dirty, so he had to move around a lot. It wasn’t that way against Albany, so it really was the style of the game.”