By Mathew Schlissel

Head coach Gordy Combs has pretty much seen it all in his 38 years with the Towson football program.

He is now in his 16th year as head coach of a program that made its third conference change in the last four years. Combs took over the program in 1992 when Towson football was downgraded to a non-scholarship program. In 1997, the Tigers joined the Patriot League, followed by a switch to the Atlantic 10 in 2004. This season, it's Colonial Athletic Association football, though the change is in name only, as all the teams from the Atlantic 10 made the switch.

"It has taken a long time for us to build to this point," Combs said. "Sometimes it's like a dream, not only for myself, but also for [associate head coach] Rich Bader and [offensive coordinator] Phil Albert, who have been synonymous with our program."

Quarterback Sean Schaefer is the first junior to be named as a Tiger co-captain since 1975.  (Courtesy of Towson Athletics)

Combs' squad finished 7-4 last season and was nationally ranked for most of the season. A third-place finish in the South Division was a step up for a program that was in its third year in the Atlantic 10 and was still not fully funded.

The 2007 Towson Tigers have a great chance of advancing to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs. They are fully funded for the first time, with 63 scholarships, and they will bring back eight starters on offense and seven on defense.

The key starter on offense is junior quarterback Sean Schaefer, a potential All-Conference and All-America selection. Schaefer threw for 3,033 yards and 19 touchdowns with just nine interceptions in 2006 to help Towson lead the conference in passing at 287.4 yards per game.

Schaefer has a talented receiving corps led by senior Demetrius Harrison and junior Marcus Lee. Harrison came on last year for the injured Andrae Brown and finished with 49 receptions for 650 yards and four touchdowns. Lee caught 50 passes for 546 yards and one score.

The offense's weakness last year was in the running game. Towson averaged just 2.8 yards per carry and 84.3 yards per game. Senior Nick Williams returns after an injury-plagued junior season. He will compete with senior Rasheed McClaude for the starting spot. McClaude was the most effective runner last year, leading the team with 344 yards and two touchdowns.

The offensive line had some issues last year as a run-blocking unit and struggled at times to protect Schaefer, who was sacked 34 times. The Tigers also have to replace left tackle Jermon Bushrod, who was drafted in the fourth round by the New Orleans Saints in this year's NFL Draft.

In the spring, former high school All-American offensive tackle and onetime commitment to Maryland Antonio Logan-El decided to leave Penn State and wound up at Towson with four years of eligibility.

New defensive coordinator Bob Benson implemented the 3-4 defense last season and the former Georgetown head coach realizes his squad needs to improve.

"We need to not give up as many big plays and stop the run a little bit more," Benson said. "We also need to be more consistent with what we are doing."

The linebacker corps should be one of the best in the CAA. Towson brings back three of the four starters and moves junior Jordan Manning from inside to the outside. Manning has led the team in tackles the last two seasons. Senior John Webb has been a constant on the outside for four seasons. Webb, who was a third team all-conference pick last season, was fifth on the team in tackles with 59 and led the team in sacks with four.

At inside linebacker, the Tigers have one of the premier defensive players in the conference in senior Brian Bradford. A a two-time all-conference pick, Bradford was second on the team with 74 tackles last season.

The secondary loses just one member and looks to be a very solid part of the defense. Junior strong safety Drew Mack became a starter late in the season and was a huge impact player with a team-leading four interceptions along with 42 tackles. At free safety, senior Kenny Scott returns as the starter and leader of the secondary. Senior cornerback Eric Clark is the team's top cover guy, having broken up five passes last year.
Towson opens up at home against Central Connecticut State Aug. 30.

JOHNS HOPKINS BLUE JAYS

The Johns Hopkins Blue Jays are picked to finish second in the Centennial Conference
despite losing 10 all-conference players, the second-leading receiver in school history, the entire defensive line and one the most prolific kickers in Division III history.

Could it be due to reputation? Under head coach Jim Margraff, entering his 18th season, Hopkins has grabbed a share of four Centennial Conference championships since the start of 2002.

The Blue Jays won the last two games of the season last year to finish with a 5-5 record (3-3 conference). There's optimism around Homewood Field, and most of the team's hopes will rest on the shoulders of the quarterback.

Sophomore running back Andrew Kase will pair with senior Phil Roberts to provide a strong running game for the Blue Jays.  (Courtesy of JHU Athletics)

Last fall, Hopkins started the season without a quarterback on the roster who had previously started a game. This season, the Blue Jays essentially have two starters -- junior Adam Waddell and sophomore Michael Murray. Murray threw for 713 yards, the most for a Hopkins freshman since 1990, and completed 57.3 percent of his passes. Waddell threw for 155 yards and rushed for 86.

The strength of the offense is at running back, with the duo of senior Phil Roberts and sophomore Andrew Kase. Roberts rushed for a team-high 561 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Kase rushed for 310 yards in his freshman season and added 10 receptions out of the backfield.

The running game will have to carry the offense early because of a lack of experience at wideout. Senior co-captain Corey Sattler is the team's only experienced receiver. Last year he caught 16 passes for 267 yards. Three sophomores, Sean Hennessey, David Rokeach and Grant Parker, will battle for playing time opposite of Sattler.

First-year defensive coordinator Bob Chesney will have his work cut out for him on the line, which lost four starters. Senior Chris DiForte is the most experienced returning lineman. He has recorded 37 tackles and 4.5 sacks in the last two years as a situational player. Junior Tom O'Neill is expected to hold down the other end spot.

The Blue Jays' strength of the defense will be at linebacker. Senior Adam Winter switched positions in the middle of the season, moving from defensive back last year. One of the fastest players on the defense, he finished sixth on the team in tackles (47) and added 5.5 tackles for loss. Joining him on the inside will be sophomore Colin Wixted, the team's top freshman on defense last year. Wixted posted 49 tackles with three sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss.

The only returning All-Centennial performer is senior cornerback Dan Requena, who, despite missing three games, totaled 22 tackles, two interceptions and one forced fumble.
Alongside Requena will be senior Rich Hill, who posted a career-high 25 stops last year and has played in all 21 games the last two seasons.

Johns Hopkins opens the season Sept. 1 at Hampden-Sydney.
 
MORGAN STATE BEARS

Morgan State head coach Donald Hill-Eley is looking forward to the 2007 football season, and why not? The Bears bring back 10 starters on offense and eight starters on defense from a team that finished 5-6 in 2006.

Hill-Eley, who is heading into his sixth season as head coach could have his best team yet. The Bears will need to get off to a better start than last season, when they lost three of their first four games.

Morgan State will also have to improve their passing game, which produced just nine touchdowns and only 117.7 yards per game. Hill-Eley is confident that junior quarterback Mario Melton can provide the consistent and accurate passing the Bears need. Melton threw for 924 yards and five touchdowns in 2006.

"I'm very comfortable with our quarterback situation," he said.

With athletic senior Byron Selby as the backup, the Bears have their best combo since the days of Bradshaw Littlejohn and LeJominick Washington.

The Bears, picked sixth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference preseason poll, will have more stability at quarterback this season, taking the pressure off electrifying senior running back Chad Simpson. Simpson, a preseason All-MEAC selection and second team All-MEAC pick last year, came to Morgan after two seasons at South Florida. He started out as a return man but became the premier back, gaining 795 rushing yards and scoring nine touchdowns.

Simpson will rush behind an experienced offensive line led by junior right tackle Dakarai Grimsley, a preseason All-MEAC second team selection. The key will be the play of new left tackle, Robert Norris, a red-shirt sophomore who transferred from Virginia Tech.
Senior receiver Roderick Wolfe, who caught 29 passes and scored six touchdowns last year, is the team's big-play man.

"He can change the game with his ability to get open and catch the deep ball," Hill-Eley said.

The Bears have to replace three key players from a defense that ranked first in the MEAC against the run, including Maryland-transfer Robert Armstrong (five sacks), who left early to explore the NFL and the supplemental draft (he was not selected). Senior Dominique Laurent will have to step up in the interior. At defensive end, sophomore Justin Lawrence showed some flashes in his freshman season, recording 29 tackles and three sacks.

At linebacker, junior Mark Hicks and senior Lamar West return on the inside. Senior Kofi Nkrumah, a former strong safety who had 48 tackles last year, has the athletic ability to have a breakout season at weak-side linebacker.

Morgan State opens the season Aug. 30 at home against Savannah State.

Issue 2.34: August 23, 2007