I am not a fan of Trainer and he better start to turn things around this season or I'll be posting a ton of "FIRE TRAINER" threads. For now I'll give him a pass for last season and try to be optimistic about this one.
http://www.projo.com/uri/content/uri_ra ... 56db6.html
URI football preview: Rams hope experience counts for something
01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, August 31, 2010
By MIKE SZOSTAK
Journal Sports Writer
SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Eighteen starters have returned to the University of Rhode Island football team, but they’re from a team that lost 10 consecutive games after winning its 2009 season-opener.
So are the Rams better for the experience, or just more experienced?
That’s the question coach Joe Trainer hopes to answer starting with Thursday’s opener at Buffalo. Experience alone does not produce victory. URI has had only three winning seasons since 1985, and the Rams fielded plenty of experienced players during those losing campaigns. Too often they were short on talent.
Last year, Rhody flashed hints of promise. Losses to Brown and Towson were by eight points and to Northeastern by six. The Rams scored 42 points at New Hampshire but allowed 55. The only blowouts were at Connecticut, Villanova and Maine.
This year could be more of the same. URI should compete against its New England rivals Maine and Massachusetts, which were picked to finish just ahead of projected ninth-place URI in the 10-team Colonial Athletic Association. The Rams should also have a chance against Towson, picked to finish last, and Brown in the Governor’s Cup game Oct. 2.
But home games against New Hampshire and 2009 FCS national champion Villanova; and road trips to William & Mary, Delaware and Richmond will be difficult.
FIVE AREAS TO WATCH
SIZE: When his team reported to camp, Trainer observed that in his three years with the program, this is the first time that he felt his offensive line could match up with an opponent. Offensive tackles Kyle Bogumil, 6-foot-6, and Jason Foster, 6-foot-5, both juniors, weigh 280 pounds and 285 pounds, respectively. Offensive lineman Michael Gross, 6-foot-4 and also a junior, weighs 280. Senior Dave Valley of East Providence is a 6-foot-3, 295-pound guard. On defense, 6-foot-3 tackle Willie McGinnis weighs 300 pounds and 6-foot-4 tackle Matt Rae 290 pounds. They are juniors. Linebacker Matt Hansen of Providence (La Salle), a senior, is up to 235 pounds.
“We are bigger, stronger and more athletic. I believe in my heart that will translate to success on the field,” Trainer said.
DEFENSE: The Rams will not win many shootouts — remember the UNH game? — so the defense must improve if Rhody is to break the cycle of losing. Nine of URI’s 18 returnees are on defense; they should know what it takes to keep people from scoring. The addition of transfers Stanley Dunbar, from Johnston, from Dean College and Chris Edmond from Hofstra should help the secondary. Dunbar was a standout for St. Raphael’s 2007 Rhode Island state championship team before starring for Dean for two years, and Edmond was fifth at Hofstra with 51 tackles.
QUARTERBACK: Chris Paul-Etienne is the incumbent but injured his knee in the first scrimmage of training camp. Junior Steve Probst took a lot of snaps after Paul-Etienne went down. He played in seven games for Hofstra last season and passed for 466 yards and 5 touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Bob Bentsen of Warwick (Veterans) is also in the mix. He was a prolific passer in high school.
RECEIVER: All-CAA wide receiver Shawn Leonard graduated, but the talented Brandon Johnson-Farrell is back. A third-team All-CAA choice in 2008, he missed most of 2009 after injuring his toe in the second game of the season against UMass. Ty Bynum also returns and Hofstra transfer Billy Morgan joins the receiving corps.
LEADERSHIP: Seniors Jarrod Williams, Victor Adesanya, Valley, Paul-Etienne and Hansen will be the keys to keeping the Rams together when the going gets tough. Valley and Adesanya are the co-captains.
FIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Matt Hansen, Linebacker: The four-year starter from Providence (La Salle) has 287 career tackles and needs 102 to break the career record of Paul Picciotti (1998-2001).
Rob Damon, Linebacker: He led the league with 124 tackles in 2009 and was third-team All-CAA but broke a bone in his foot last May. He will probably miss the first two games.
Brandon Johnson-Farrell, Wide Receiver: A dangerous returner as well as a receiver, he returned a kick 72 yards for a touchdown against Hofstra in 2008 and returned the opening kickoff 70 yards against Fordham last year.
Stanley Dunbar, Defensive Back: He has played on three consecutive championship teams, so he knows how to win. He broke up 12 passes in 2009.
Steve Probst, Quarterback: He arrived on campus having started five games as a freshman at Hofstra and having played in seven as a sophomore. He was the Pride’s second-leading rusher last season. When Hofstra dropped football, he did not transfer to stand along the sideline with a clipboard in his hands.
HOMEGROWN RAMS
QB Bob Bentsen, Warwick (Vets); WR Matt Brown, North Kingstown (Bishop Hendricken); LB Alex Craft, East Greenwich; CB Stanley Dunbar, Johnston (St. Raphael/Dean); LB Justin Favreau, South Kingstown; RB Anthony Ferrer, West Greenwich (Cranston West); C Matt Greenhalgh, Chepachet, Ponaganset; LB David Hansen, Providence (La Salle); LB Matt Hansen, Providence (La Salle); OL Jeff Kennedy, Scituate; DE James Murray, North Scituate; LB Daniel O’Connell, Barrington; RB Michael Okunfolami, Providence; WR Brandford Sowah, Providence (Bishop Hendricken); S Matt Urban, Warren, Mt. Hope; OL Dave Valley, East Providence
