Scouting the HuskiesQuarterback
On Monday of this week Coach Joe Novak finally named his starting quarterback, Phil Horvath. Here is a direct quote from the coach, "I could go with either Phil or Dan (Nicholson) but one of them has to start. I do not have a lot of reasons, but it will be Phil." He went on to say that backup Nicholson could see some significant playing time this season. For some reason or another the coach had reservations with Horvath, or I imagine he would have picked him a long time ago. Last season Horvath led the NCAA in completion percentage, 70.6% and he was 6th in passing efficiency, 159.45 before he was injured. Horvath set many school records last year. He had 486 yards passing and 13 straight completions in a conference game. He had a broken left arm in early November, which sidelined him for the rest of the season.
Running Back
Senior Tailback Garrett Wolfe is the Huskie's best weapon. He has gained national attention by being one of 35 players listed to the 2006 Walter Camp Player of the Year Award. He has been mentioned as a black horse Heisman candidate. He has been listed as preseason first team All-American by Playboy and Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook. The Sporting News, Lindy's and CBS Sportsline have listed him as the Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year. His team has voted for him to be a team captain. All of this support is based on the fact that he is the leading returning rusher in the nation, having averaged 175.6 yards/game last season. He had two games with 277 and 270 rushing yards. In his career he has 3,286 yards in 20 games. However, his 5-7, 177 frame has been banged up over the years, having battled injuries with his knee and shoulder.
Receivers
The top two receivers from last year are gone. Britt Davis returns after having a great season with a school record 42 receptions for 441 yards and three touchdowns, catching a ball in all 12 games. He mostly played at flanker last year. Before last season he was a contender for the quarterback position. The Huskies sometimes go with a two-tight end set and they are lead by Senior TE Jake Nordin who had 26 catches for 266 yards and one score last season.
Kicking
Junior kicker Chris Nendrick is ranked among the Div I-A leaders and number one in the MAC with 94 consecutive PATs. He was 9-13 on field goals last year and hit a school record 52-yarder. At punter is sophomore Andy Dittbenner. Last year he had 54 punts with an average of 38.6 yards per kick.
Return Game
There are some big shoes to fill in this department since Shatone Powers and AJ Harris have left, both averaged over 25 yards per kickoff. Powers averaged over 8.3 yards per punt. Looking to fill the role is Marcus Perez and Britt Davis.
Defense
The Huskies return three seniors in the secondary, twins Adriel and Alvah Hansboro are at the corners. They also return senior Dustin Utschig at free safety, who led last year's team with 121 tackles and three interceptions. They will have to replace first-team All-MAC strong safety Ray Smith, with junior Mark Reiter. At Mike (middle) linebacker they return sophomore Tim McCarthy, who finished last year with 101 tackles and two fumbles. Filling the other linebacker spots is Keenan Blalark at Sam (strong) and Josh Allen at Will (weak.) On the D-Line the most experienced players returning are senior defensive end Ken West and sophomore Larrry English. The Huskies must replace two first team all-MAC tackles.
O-Line
Returning is senior left tackle Doug Free, who has started 36-straight games. They must replace a first-team guard, the two year starting center and the starting right guard from last season. Sophomore Jon Brost returns will be at right tackle and senior Matt Rogers will play right guard after taking a year off for academics. The left guard will be filled by Chris Acevedo and center will be red-shirt freshman Eddie Adamski.
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