University of Massachusets Athletics
Don Brown's Weekly Teleconference (Aug. 28)
August 29, 2006 | Football
Aug. 29, 2006
Question: Last year UMass improved its team win total from 2004, 6-2 in conference play, led the nation in scoring defense, took Army down to the wire in a game late in the season and for a lot of programs that's a strong, successful season but obviously your program won a national championship, you've been to the playoffs numerous times, a lot of conference titles. What was the mood of the team and the program at the end of the 2005 season?
Brown: Obviously, we felt disappointment and frustration, we were 7-2 after nine weeks, just had probably one of the biggest wins in our school for a couple of years with a big win down in Delaware and really looked forward to the Army game, they had come off beating Akron and beating Air Force so they were certainly hitting their stride. Obviously Air Force is no slouch, Akron had won the MAC and played a bowl game so we knew we had our hands full, unfortunately we just didn't get the win there. I'm not saying we should have because we didn't but we certainly had our chances to be successful there. Playing a I-A team that late in the year, I think had somewhat of an adverse effect on us from the physical stand point. We just couldn't get it done down at Hofstra in our last week. I think we were disappointed because we were so close. Things we can control we tried to do our best with, the things you can't control you don't worry about. So we were able to put that away, we had a tremendous winter followed up by a solid spring. Our camp has been excellent, extremely competitive and just feel good about were we are in the three phases as we get ready for our opener against Colgate.
Question: This UMass team has as much depth through out the roster as any you've had which is certainly high praise. What areas of your team will benefit the most from this added depth?
Brown: I think our running back position is as solid as any position on our football team. We have Steve Baylark returning who has rushed for three 1,000-yard seasons. Matt Lawrence who is a transfer from UConn had one carry for nine yards against Richmond and was lost for the remainder of the season. Tony Nelson is a young man we redshirted a year ago has had a very good spring and summer and we were able to add Tim Washington from Syracuse as our fourth tailback and kind of a package guy that we can do a number of things with so I think our tailback position has been enhanced. I like the way Brad Listorti a tight end transfer from Rutgers is playing as he will go into the opener as a starter. Our offensive line we brought in six guys at that spot and I'd say the weak spot is Nick Diana who is a transfer from Nassau Community College. So those are the areas I would say have been enhanced the most.
Question: One player who seemed to get better and better as the year went on was your quarterback Liam Coen. With the return of your teams top three receivers in Brandon London, J.J. Moore and Rasheed Rancher also the addition of Mike Omar and Liam obviously being more experience, will that allow you to do more things in the pass game that maybe you weren't able to do last year with a freshman quarterback?
Brown: I think Liam can pretty much handle just about anything we throw at him at this point and time. A couple of things that you alluded to, J.J. Moore only played in five games last year as a result of a broken leg and Rasheed Rancher was limited with a hip flexor for the last three weeks and London played with a broken wrist down the stretch so we had some issues there but Liam continued to be competitive and find ways to move the football team and that shows me the guy has come of age and he can handle anything we throw at him. The big challenge for us is we need to play well whether we are ahead or behind and take car of the football and he needs to manage the football game and I think he has improved in all those areas.
Question: Moving over to the defense, you lost a couple of real talented players in the secondary in Shannon James and Steve Costello but you have the luxury of welcoming back a number of talented guys that have a lot of experience back there. Who has stood out in taking over the starting rolls of James and Costello?
Brown: One thing we did a year ago is Brandon Smith, James Ihedigbo and Shannon were on a rotation roll for most of the year and do a lot of packages were we put that fifth defensive back on the field numerous times. Brandon has just moved into Shannon's spot, he has had a good spring and a great preseason camp. He played a ton of minutes for us a year ago. I don't know how you replace a two-time All American but we feel very, very good about the way Brandon has stepped up. Sean Smalls and Tracy Belton have been excellent at corner, Domenique Milton as well. Brandon Freeman has played well and we picked up Courtney Robinson just before camp started, a transfer from UConn who played a lot as a true freshman not only on special teams but at corner so we really feel that secondary-wise we should be in good shape.
Question: Taking a look at Colgate your opponent this week. What is it about Colgate that is characteristic of a team that makes them so formidable foe year in and year out?
Brown: Tradition. They expect to win, they believe in themselves, they have a strong system, they are a playoff contender from a year ago and I think their mindset and the way they have gone about their business as a program, they believe in their capabilities.
Question: Looking at Colgate, what are some of their strengths on offense and defense of this year's team?
Brown: They have their outstanding tailback back who is an excellent player he stepped up in the middle of last year as a true freshman and ended up the Patriot League's Rookie of the Year. Saraceno is back at quarterback who can scramble, can make plays. Three of their receivers are back, Kenny Parker is probably the number one, Erik Burke number two and Brent Dillingham at tight end is number three. They did loose three offensive linemen but Jake Sulovski is back in center and Steve Jonas at tackle. They have a solid nucleus coming back and when you have your quarterback and tailback back that were leaders of your football team, kind of puts you in good position.
