Editor's Note: This preview is a two-part story, focusing on the defense and special teams for this upcoming football season. Tomorrow's conclusion will preview West Chester University's offense.
WEST CHESTER, Pa. - West Chester's top-ranked defense in 2009 underwent a major overhaul during spring practice. Only three starters from last year's unit return. The Golden Rams lost all four starting linebackers and three of four starters in the secondary. However, the linebackers picked to replace last year's talented foursome all have significant game experience while the re-built secondary might be one of the best unit's in head coach Bill Zwaan's tenure. The good news is that two of three starters on the defensive line are back. West Chester allowed just 77 yards rushing per game a year ago, and the coaching staff feels the D-Line should be even better in 2010.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Travis Ford-Bey finished seventh on the team in tackles a year ago and is the squad’s second-leading tackler among those returning. He is a force off the edge as one of the PSAC’s top pass rushers. He finished last year with 3.5 sacks and a team-high seven QB hurries. He made 31 tackles.
Ford-Bey is described as an All-American type defensive end. Opposing teams will concentrate their efforts on containing him first and foremost. On the other end will be senior Troy Wasserleben, who has earned his stripes over the past three years and is ready to let loose. Inside is senior nose guard Scott Schiavo. Red-shirt freshman Nick Garcia may also press for some time as well. Another red-shirt freshman, Eric Edwers, and senior Lucas Fickel will be another option on the outside.
Wasserleben has been waiting in the wings for his opportunity and the time has come. He has a large wing-span that can cut off passing lanes. He posted 21 tackles and a pair of sacks in a reserve role a year ago. Schiavo has been starting at nose guard for the better part of two years and has an uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time. He shuts down the middle of the line in the run defense – which ranked first in the league, allowing a paltry 77.7 yards per game. The Golden Rams were the only school in the PSAC to come in under 100 rushing yards allowed per game.
“(Wasserleben) deserves this,” Zwaan lauded. “He is a 6-5, 255 lbs, 4.8 kid that will do some things that we haven’t seen in a couple of years. He wants to prove to people that he is a good player. (Fickel) will be in the mix up front as well. We go two-deep at all three positions up front. I think that may allow us to show some 4-3 to people at times.”
Edwers is a very talented young pass rusher built from the same mold as Ford-Bey. He comes off the edge hard and pressures the quarterback. He will certainly have an impact on West Chester’s re-vamped defense. Sophomore Lew Esposito will see time along the defensive front as well. He brings some playing experience to the fold and adds a lot of depth to the front line.
LINEBACKERS
The Golden Rams’ top four tacklers last fall were all starting linebackers. All four would have landed on any list of the conference’s top six linebackers last year. They were difference-makers and a huge part of why West Chester had the top-ranked defense in the league.
However, change is unavoidable in any college program. It is just that it rarely comes in a fashion similar to what West Chester faces. All four linebackers in Zwaan’s 3-4 front will be new to the lead cast this fall. That has some worried. Though, Zwaan is confident in this group.
“This is their time,” Zwaan said. “It happens in every program. I think our defensive front is going to be very good, and I think we will be better in the secondary. Our depth up front might allow us to help out our linebackers.”
Ronnie Koons and Victor Iturbides are slated in at the outside linebacker positions while Andrew Sheehan and Morty Hoey are on the inside. Mike Lonergan is listed second at one outside linebacker position, and Anthony McCloskey and Mike Pereira are second on the inside.
“All of those guys have played and done a good job,” Zwaan said. “But, certainly not the amount of time of the guys they are replacing. It will be a bit of a challenge to come up to the level that we once had.
“Morty and Ronnie are seniors, who have been playing for three years. Ronnie has gotten bigger and stronger each year. Morty knows the defense really, really well. Iturbides came to us out of Pennsbury as a quarterback. He has that quarterback mentality on defense. He gets into passing lanes and sees things before they happen. He is physically ready. Sheehan is coming off an injury in the spring. But, if he continues to improve, then he is going to be one heckuva player as well.”
Lonergan has seen his fair share of playing time. Pereira and McCloskey are both young linebackers, who have impressed the coaching staff in a very short time.
“Pereira and McCloskey each played in the middle during the spring and saw plenty of action. They are young, but they will be solid players.”
Zwaan and his staff prefer not to throw true freshmen into the mix. However, the veteran coach indicated that the recruiting class has some excellent talent at linebacker and some of them could see playing time if they develop quickly enough.
SECONDARY
An area that has been the Golden Rams’ Achilles heel in recent years, should turn out to be one of the team’s strengths defensively. Returning to the defensive backfield is senior Cordero Newkirk and junior Matt Colyar. Newkirk ranked second in the PSAC in passes defensed (13) and returned an interception 61 yards for a touchdown a year ago. He is one of the best covermen in the conference. Colyar is in his third year as a starting DB.
The other two spots will be filled by John O’Donnell and Chris Mallory-Hughes. O’Donnell is a transfer from Penn State, who saw significant playing time last year. He intercepted one pass and was credited with three passes defensed. He is a natural talent in the secondary and is slated in to start at strong safety. Colyar will be the free safety once again this fall. Newkirk holds down one corner position while Mallory-Hughes, a red-shirt freshman, will slide into a starting role at the other corner.
“This is probably as good a group of players as we have had in years,” Zwaan lamented. “Newkirk is a big playmaker. We love (O’Donnell’s) talent. We are looking for him to step up. Mallory-Hughes is a little inexperienced, but we will bring him along. Bob Sabol will challenge at that corner position as well.”
Sabol, a transfer from Delaware in 2009, entered the program as a wide receiver on the offensive side of the ball. However, Zwaan needed some help in the secondary, and Sabol had the speed and talent to make the switch.
“Sometimes, I wish he was back on offense,” Zwaan concluded. “But, we need him on defense right now. He’s athletic and really tough and competitive.”
With Carl Barnes, Bryan Hinderer Cedric Jeffries and Zach Wood also entered into the mix in the secondary, West Chester can go two or three deep at any of the defensive back positions. Colyar might even make a move back to cornerback, where he spent his freshman year, if certain players develop quickly. Zwaan’s staff has plenty of options here.
“I don’t know that we’ve ever had this many good players in the secondary at one time.”
SPECIAL TEAMS OVERVIEW
West Chester’s special teams has always exhibited one of the conference’s top return men on both kickoffs and punt returns. Nothing changes there. Dan DePalma and Jackson Fagan will carry the bulk of the load there. D'Andre Webb may also be involved in returns. However, Chris Hill needs to improve his place-kicking, and the Golden Rams’ kick coverage features many new faces. Hill, one of the conference's top punters, returns in that capacity as well.
KICKING AND PUNTING
Zwaan fully admits that the kicking game was inconsistent a year ago. Junior incumbent Chris Hill returns with more experience and more confidence. Zwaan believes he will be much improved in 2010. Hill ranked ninth in the PSAC in scoring last season, averaging 5.7 points per game. However, he made just 54 percent of his field goal attempts and was a combined 1-for-6 from beyond 30 yards. He also missed four point-after attempts.
“Hill had an inconsistent year,” Zwaan said. “If he gets more consistent with his field goals, then he will keep his job.”
Hill has always been a much stronger punter than place-kicker. He ranked sixth in the conference in punting, averaging 38.2 yards per boot, and placed 16 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line and had three punts of greater than 50 yards. Of his 39 boots in 2009, only two were touchbacks and seven were fair caught.
Behind Hill are a pair of red-shirt freshmen and one true freshman. Shawn Leo and Sean Obermeier will challenge Hill. Both are solid place-kickers, but need to improve their punting ability.
RETURN MEN
DePalma and Webb should handle most of the kick returns with DePalma and Fagan teaming up on punt returns. Zwaan has indicated that he will go with two men back on most punts. DePalma ranked fourth in the PSAC in all-purpose yards. He returned 13 kickoffs averaging 24.4 yards. He returned two punts for eight yards.
COVERAGE
Kick coverage will see some brand new faces this fall, however. With the promotion of Koons, Iturbides and Hoey to the starting ranks at linebacker, it will be up to Lonergan, Gaunt and Hinderer to replace them in their roles on kick coverage. Zwaan also feels some freshmen could help out as well in this area. Zwaan likes his options on the cover teams with so many athletes dotting the roster in 2010.
Tomorrow, we will take a look at West Chester's new quarterback as we preview the Golden Rams' offense. Sophomore Mike Mattei leads a very talented group into 2010 surrounded by a very experienced offensive line and upperclass leaders in the backfield as well as on the perimeter.