Post Classifieds
Position battles close spring
By A.J. Speier
On May 4, 2012
Buffalo State's football team concluded spring practices last Friday, showing signs of improvement as
the team prepares to split up for summer break.
"I'm pleased with what we saw during the course of our spring practices," head coach Jerry Boyes
said. "What I saw from the team, which is crucial to success besides having talent, was the working-
together aspect of the players.
"They're building great trust and faith in each other with everybody living up to their responsibilities
that they have," Boyes continued. "A lot of questions remain as we go into our fall preseason, but I think
we accomplished the things we wanted to accomplish during our spring practices."
If the spring sessions were any indication, the returning starters from last year will be front-runners for
starting jobs heading into training camp. As it stands, it appears that Casey Kacz will start at quarterback,
Zachary Best at tight end, Kyle Shreve at center, Josh Jesonowski at left guard and Brendan Barthel at
right tackle.
The running back competition looks to be a three-player contest between Rich Pete, Ismail Brooks and
Brooks Estarfaa. Last year, Pete led the team with 753 rushing yards and nine touchdowns while Brooks,
the starter, rushed for 478 yards and eight touchdowns. Estarfaa finished the season with 311 rushing
yards and four touchdowns.
At wide receiver, it appears that it will be a battle between Mike Doherty, Caesarae Lewis, Justin
Medley, David Jacobs, John Beers and Joe Ferraro. Doherty and Ferraro started the majority of games
last year, but the Bengals like to rotate their receivers around and each player should receive a fair
chance at significant playing time.
"I believe with the receiving corps we have, the catches will be spread out more," Doherty said. "We
have three receivers that will be getting the ball a lot, so it'll be a lot different. The more receivers we
have, the harder it's going to be to cover all of us. I think it's much better that way."
On the offensive line, the Bengals have two starting spots up for grabs at left tackle and right guard. The
three leading candidates are Adam Hurd, John Knudsen and Mike Feirabend.
On the defensive side of the ball, every position will be open for competition according to defensive
coordinator Terry Bitka.
"I would be hard-pressed to name starters right now until the pads go on," Bitka said. "My philosophy,
as far as defense goes, is that we want runners and hitters out there and it starts up front.
"We've got to be able to stop the run better," Bitka continued. "We did a good job and improved in that
area. Now we've got to be able to get after the quarterback and offset his timing."
The linebacker competition should be an interesting one. Eddie Weiser has returned to Buffalo State
after pursuing a career in MMA. He's a former NJAC rookie of the year that will challenge Jordan Boser
and Pasquale Vacchio.
At the Tiger and Bengal positions, which equate to hybrid safety/linebacker roles, the early favorites to
start appear to be Matt Wosolowski and Brandon Hodgins, who played in just one game last year before
an injury sidelined him for the rest of the season.
The defensive line will have just one returning starter in Jahi Owens. Since Bitka likes to rotate his
defensive linemen, it's safe to say that every player will be given a fair chance to win a starting spot.
"Over the past few years, I've received a decent amount of playing time - not as much as I would've
liked, but I've received a fair chance," junior defensive lineman Gorden Schubert said. "Everybody's
been given a fair chance to get a starting spot. We are all athletic in the way we play on the d-line and
anybody can take anybody's position on any given day."
In the secondary, Josh Mims has moved from cornerback to safety, leaving Buffalo State with two
cornerback spots to fill. Jeff Moore, Sean Mapp and Cortland-transfer Joe Montesanti look to be the
leading candidates to fill them.
The Bengals will head home following exams for summer break before returning to Buffalo State for
training camp sometime in August.
"I can't wait until August," Bitka said. "I'm excited about the direction we're going in. I expect us to be
working toward becoming a dominant defense. We put a lot of pride into what we do on our side of the
ball and we want to be able to play with high effort and intense attitudes. I want to become a defense
that people will respect and fear."
A.J. Speier can be reached by email at speier.record@live.com.
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