Will Shoemaker, Leopards 'clean up' for Albany?

I wonder how good Lafayette football coach John Garrett thinks freshman quarterback Keegan Shoemaker can be.

At Tuesday’s weekly luncheon, Garrett praised the youngster from Texas, saying, “ … he allows us to play explosively … I’m really pleased with his play.”  But later, he said, “… he has a lot to clean up on his game.”

Shoemaker has completed 64 percent of his passes (57-for-89) in his first three college games. He has an efficiency rating of 148.53. How good is that? Well, last year, Sean O'Malley's rating was 93.97, and in 2017, it was just over 104. Shoemaker already has more touchdown passes than O’Malley had all of last season (four).

And, he has given Garrett an added dimension: escapability that makes for some good highlight-reel type running plays. He scored two touchdowns in Saturday’s game against Sacred Heart and was credited with 23 rushing attempts – most of them coming when he didn’t find open receivers but saw an open running lane. There was no hesitancy in his game. He took off.

I don’t think Garrett can expect any more of Shoemaker. What Garrett’s offense needs is a complementary conventional running game.

Last week against SHU, four other players were part of the running game. Wide receiver Joe Gillette had the best run, a 44-yard jet sweep that he turned into a touchdown. It was his only carry. J.J. Younger, John Gay and Jalen Sutton combined for 17 carries and 34 yards. Selwyn Simpson sat out the game with an injury. Gillette, Gay and Sutton are all freshmen.

It will be interesting to see how the University of Albany deals with Shoemaker this afternoon. The opposing team’s defensive staff is now well aware of Keegan’s willingness to take off and run and the fact that the wide-receiver sweep is still the best running play in the Leopards’ book.

At Tuesday’s luncheon, Garrett said, “The No. 1 goal isn’t yards, although they can help when the game is in the balance. We need to score points and don’t make it easy for (Albany) by making mistakes and turning the ball over. We have a lot to clean up.”  But he also cited things like his team’s relentlessness, toughness, competitiveness, determination and effort in last week’s loss. He figures as long as his Leopards continue to play that way, the wins will come.

Last week, Lafayette had more explosive plays than in any other game since Garrett has been head coach. The Leopards had pass plays of 44, 41, 40, 33, 33, 29, 21 and 20 yards and runs of 44 and 25 yards against SHU.

Because Shoemaker is not your quintessential dropback passer, protecting him has been a concern. In three games, he has been sacked 14 times. That’s only one less than the 2018 o-line allowed. Two freshmen, Alex Barshaba and Nathan Slater, have been starting on that line this year. Both have shown lots of promise, but they need a full offseason of work with strength and conditioning guru Brad Potts to build themselves up. The other starters – Joe Grundhoffer, John Burk and Gavin Barclay – are all underclassmen, too.  

The performance by Shoemaker sent me back into the archives to the last time Lafayette had a multi-threat quarterback. That would be Brad Maurer, who led the Leopards to league titles in 2004-2006.

In 2004, Maurer, then a sophomore, rushed 148 times for 838 positive yards. He was thrown for losses of 195 yards, giving him a net 643 for the year. He scored nine touchdowns running.  In 2005, Maurer rushed for 271 net yards on 97 carries and no touchdowns; and in 2006, he had 94 carries for 295 net yards and five TDs.

The important thing about those seasons, however, is the fact that Lafayette was not a one-man offense. In 2004, Joe McCourt rushed for 1,193 yards and 16 touchdowns; in 2005, Jonathan Hurt had 985 yards and 13 touchdowns, and in 2006, Hurt had 1,165 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Wouldn’t Coach Garrett like to have a weapon like either of those guys in his arsenal?