The 2016 University at Albany football season is set to kickoff Friday night, as the Great Danes head west to the University at Buffalo to visit the Bulls to begin the season for the second year in a row. The Danes return all 11 offensive starters, looking to improve on a 3-8 campaign last season and finish better than their 11th place selection in this years preseason poll.
Like all football teams, the Danes offense will revolve around their quarterback play. Sophomore Quarterback Neven Sussman will be handed the reigns to the offense Friday night, as Great Danes Head Coach Greg Gattuso will begin the game with the Sandy Springs, Maryland native who started four games last season. Sussman threw for 442 yards on 40% completion percentage last season, and will come in to this season looking to improve on his 2:8 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Right behind him is redshirt junior DJ Crook, who Gattuso said will also get his share of snaps at Buffalo. The Penn State transfer had the more impressive numbers last season, throwing for 1,168 yards to go with eight touchdowns in his seven starts last season. The battle between Sussman and Crook was one to keep an eye on last season for Danes fans, and that should be no different with still no clear favorite. Don’t count out redshirt freshman Will Brunson, a player who Dane coaches were raving about upon his arrival to campus a year and a half ago, as he enrolled early at UA, and could see some playing time this season.
A familiar face will be behind whoever the Dane quarterback may be this year in the form of Elijah Ibitokun-Hanks. The sophomore back led the Danes in rushing last year with 609 yards logged and two touchdowns on 104 carries, averaging an impressive near 6 yards per carry. The CAA Rookie of the Week twice last season will be the guy the Danes turn to in the running game full time this season after Elliot Croskey transferred out of the program during the summer. Kendall Rodgers Jr., a junior college transfer from Golden West College in California, will be the backup for Ibi, as he’s called, but Gattuso did mention that Dane fans should see a lot of Rodgers early, pointing out the more action he sees early the better it is for the long run.
Another thing that will be more than helpful to the passing game is the top talent the Danes bring back at wide receiver, including the top three pass catchers in the program a year ago. The one player opposing defenses will have their eye on is sophomore wideout Zee Roberson, the Danes leading receiver a year ago. Roberson led the Danes with 46 catches in the 11 games, reeling in two touchdowns and going for 431 yards. Another key piece to the receiving core is Brad Harris, the Danes leading receiver yard wise a year ago. The redshirt junior caught 32 passes for 438 yards last season, an average of 13.7 yards per catch and two touchdowns. Harris is looking to improve on his consistency within the offense, as two years ago he caught 26 passes for 448 yards and two touchdowns.
One thing the Danes struggled with in the receiving game last season was the lack of a solid number three wide receiver after the arrest and suspension of top receiver Josh Gontarek, and the Great Danes offense will look to fill the void with sophomore Dione Alston. Alston was used mainly as a kick returner last season, leading the Danes in all-purpose yards. Alston also caught a pair of passes and ran the ball 18 times last season, and Gattuso and staff are looking to use Alston’s speed to their advantage in the offense this season, putting him on the opposite side of the speedy Roberson, hoping to push the defense back and opening up more opportunities in the running game. Jordan Crockett is slotted behind Alston on the Week One depth chart, after catching 14 passes for 149 yards last season. Expect to see freshmen Tre Hopkins and Jerah Reeves also get playing time this season, two speedsters who hope to use their explosiveness to help the Danes.
The tight end group is an intriguing one for the Danes this year, as 518 native and redshirt junior Nic Ketter returns after missing last season due to a torn ACL he suffered in spring practice in 2015. Anthony Manzo-Lewis, who took over for Ketter last season, is slated as the starting fullback on the depth chart to begin the season, so see if Gattuso uses Manzo-Lewis as a possible receiving threat out of the backfield, he led with three receiving touchdowns last season, and apart of two tight end sets the Danes run.
On the offensive line all five starters return, highlighted by starting left tackle and third-team All-CAA selection a year ago Kevin Malloy. Nick Nerolien will share time at the right guard position with 518 native and Stillwater grad Matthew Campion, an important factor for quarterbacks to have an acclimated offensive line in front of them.
On the defensive side of the football, the Danes return eight starters and bring back Michael Nicastro, a third-team All-CAA selection two years ago, who was lost last season after tearing his ACL on a questionable block in the first half of the game at Buffalo. The top three tacklers return for the Danes, including the Co-CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year and third-team selection Julian Cox.
An emphasis this season has been placed on the defensive line, led by the literal poster child, Malachi Hoskins. Hoskins, who led the Danes with five sacks in 2015, leads the front four who Coach Gattuso points out will be crucial if the Danes have any improved success from last season. Jack Forster will be lining up on the other end of the line, a familiar face on the UAlbany defense who will look to start the majority of games for the third straight season. However, Forster will be held out of Friday night’s game for precautionary reasons after having surgery for a stress fracture during the spring. Sophomore Brian Dolce, who wears #81 because he also is used at tight end, will take his place on the line.
The interior of the line will be interesting for the Danes after graduating Zach Troutman and third-team selection Samuel Gray. Those spots will be filled by redshirt junior DaeSean Timmons and a positional battle between redshirt freshman Nick Dillon, an Eastern Michigan transfer, and Shaker graduate and sophomore Nick Griffin. Timmons registered six tackles, one for loss, and forced a fumble a season ago after registering 23 tackles in 2014, while Griffin had two tackles in the limited action he saw in his rookie campaign. Dillion registered four tackles last year at Eastern Michigan.
The heart of the defense stands at linebacker for the Danes, where the trio of Nicastro, grad transfer Abner Logan and senior Neil Morrison make up the starting core in the middle of the defense. Nicastro, who totaled an incredible 120 tackles, an average of 10 a game, two years ago as a redshirt sophomore, looks to have a bounce back year after suffering the gruesome injury last season. Morrison, on the other side, had 34 tackles and three sacks last season, and will look to improve off those numbers in his final season. Logan, who transfers in from Maryland, did not play last season after suffering a season-ending injury in preseason camp. Logan, an original four star prospect out of high school, totaled nine tackles during his time as a Terp. Cox, who led with 94 tackles last season, including six tackles for loss, will be the main backup at linebacker this season and may just as well work his way into a starting spot, now that he has a feel of the position after ultimately being forced to play it last season due to lack of depth at the spot and multiple early injuries.
At cornerback, the Danes return both starters in Jamal Robinson and Rayshan Clark. Clark, the second leading tackler last season with 76, is one of the leaders of the secondary and will look to continue to be the leading pass coverage defender in the UAlbany system after leading the Danes in passes defended and breakups the past two seasons. Robinson will look to continue trending up, after he registered 48 tackles in his freshman year and 58 last season to go with 6 pass breakups and 7 defended last season.
The back end of the defense remains strong for the Danes this season, as starters Kyle Sakowski and Mason Gray come back. Sakowski, also a leader for the defense due to his aggressiveness and passion, will look to finish his UAlbany career with another solid season and bounce back from only playing 7 games last season and fighting multiple injuries, and look to return to form and stay healthy after totaling 92 tackles in 2014. Gray will look to improve off an impressive freshman campaign, where he totaled 38 tackles, including 27 solo, in his first year in the Purple and Gold.
On special teams, Jon Martin returns for another season at the UAlbany punter, while Ethan Stark will assume all kicking duties for the first time in his UAlbany career.
Look to see if the Danes can fight off the injury bug that kept them from success all of last season and if the experience garnered from last years campaign will catapult the Danes into a surprising season this year.
