Preseason Preview - Part I (Offense)

After another season of missing the playoffs, offseason scheduling snafus, self-reported NCAA infractions and loss of key players; the fall of 2011 was a breath of fresh air for Statesmen fans.  Hobart destroyed out of conference rivals Dickinson and Saint John Fisher by 24 and 36 points, respectively, then was one point away from it's first undefeated regular season since the mid-1950's before claiming the share of the Liberty League (LL) and the NCAA automatic bid for the first time since 2008.  The Statesmen took #3 Wesley to the brink, but eventually fell 35-28 in a close contest which was recognized by pollsters in this fall's preseason #22 ranking.

This fall the Statesmen appear, on paper at least, to be a very strong contender for the LL title. Hobart returns virtually all of their key players from last year’s stalwart defense. The Statesmen “D” ranked first in the LL virtually every relevant category and was recognized by the LL with two players of the year awards, three first team all conference and one All-American selections on defense. On offense the Statesmen return the majority of their skill position players but will need to reload on the offensive line to expand on last year's success.

Below is a positional preview of how Hobart stacks up heading into the preseason:

Offense

QB - SR QB and Co-Captain Nick Strang and SR QB Kelly Olney look to lead the Statesmen offense back to the NCAA playoffs in 2012. Strang started all eight of Hobart’s 2011 regular season games, but was literally knocked out of line up after receiving a concussion on an interception return in the season finale at Rochester. Although he didn’t earn much in the way of LL post-season praise, Strang finished 2011 as the fourth rated passer (in YPG) and third in total offense. The 6’ 4” 225 pounder was a dual threat, passing for 1483 yards and 15 TDs through the air while adding 289 rushing yards and four TDs on the ground.

Although Olney will probably remain as the back up to Strang in 2012, he has proven to be more than capable of leading the team. Last season Olney threw for 267 yards and one touchdown (TD) and received compliments from Wesley Head Coach Mike Drass based on his going 16 for 37 and 211 yards with no interceptions against the #3 Wolverines (who boasted one of the best defenses in all of DIII) in the first round of the NCAA playoffs.

Waiting in the wings and likely to see some time in certain situations is SO QB Patrick Conlan. Conlan (the son of former Buffalo Bills All-Pro LB Shane) appeared in four games last season and could be the “heir apparent” to run the Hobart offense in 2013 pending the development of SO QB Kyle Bayly or incoming recruits such as FY QBs Parker Thelander and Cooper Merrill [editor's note:  Merrill checked into this fall's camp as a WR].

OL - The Statesmen graduated five seniors, including Kyle Sandy (2nd team All LL), Jarrid Blades, Kelvin Cruz, Brendan Hatlee (1st team All LL) and Anthony Coletta (2nd team All LL). Hobart’s only returning starter on this unit is SR OL and Co-Captain Art Garvey. The good news for the Hobart skill players is that the Statesmen have a number of underclassmen who received a good deal of playing time in 2011 and will welcome 10 returning linemen, including Garvey, into this fall’s camp. The likely successors to last year’s bedrock unit include Art’s cousin SR OL Tyler Garvey as well as JR OL Max Janoff, Alex Bush and Trevor Schutte and SOs DeAndre’ Smith and Ali Marpet.

FB - SO FB Dominque Ellis is the de facto starter after the offseason departure of Juan O’Farrill (see post on 2/29/12). The native Floridian finished the season fourth on the Statesmen’s rushing list, churning out 195 yards on 39 carries and one TD. Ellis was named to the All LL team as an honorable mention. Backing up Ellis will likely be classmate SO FB Aaron Sobell [editor's note:  Sobell was not on the 8/12/12 updated roster meaning one of three incoming FY recruits, including Christopher Holoman from VA, will vie for playing time]

RB - Hobart boasts arguably the deepest and best RB corp in the entire LL including JR RB Steven Webb (first team All LL), SR RB and Co-Captain Bobby Dougherty (second team All LL), and a tandem of talented second year men in SO RB Alex Delaney and SO RB Alex Furtado. Webb led all Statesmen runners with 553 yards on 119 attempts including an electric 70 yard TD run (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g62EBsub1jY) against Union. Webb tallied a total of seven rushing TDs and added eight catches for 124 yards and one receiving TD. Dougherty rushed for 446 yards on 97 attempts and matched Webb’s rushing TD output with seven while also making 14 catches for 117 yards.  Delany and Furtado appeared in a total of five games last season, Furtado getting the bulk of carries (18 vs. three) and scoring two rushing TDs.

TE - The TE position is mostly a blocking one at Hobart, but the Statesmen are happy to return SR TEs Brent Matazinsky and Andrew Zdrojewski along with SO TE Mike Berkowitz to the gridiron. Berkowitz lead this unit with two catches for 23 yards and one TD. Matazinsky added a 19 yard TD reception in the RPI game. Given the size and skill of these ends, I hope Coach DeWall has expanded the playbook to get them the ball more often this season.

WR - Although Hobart will miss the talents of last season’s leading receiver Garth Muratori ’12 (537 receiving yards and seven TDs); Strang or Olney will have plenty of targets as the Statesmen return a total of nine wide outs this fall. Leading the receiving corps is SR WR Junior Woodard. SR WR Jay Cronze, JR WR Yosh Karbowniczak (who also served as punter until injured and spelled by), SO WR Elvin Souffrant and SO WR Troy Robinson are all returning and looking to contribute. Woodard was second on the team with 27 catches for 373 yards, including an 83 yarder vs. Saint John Fisher, and three TDs. Souffrant and Karbowniczak caught 10 and 14 passes, respectively, for a combined 348 yards and two TDs. Although Robinson appeared in only three games, he scored a TD as one of his four receptions.

Next week I'll preview the defense.  Go 'Bart!