UNH football notes Sept. 19
It felt like old times for the UNH offense last Saturday – footballs filling the air, a hail of points, eight different receivers catching passes, four runners carrying it, big plays all over the place and two measly punts. Who needs Ricky Santos anyway?
Okay, maybe that’s going a little too far. But in the 51-43 win over Rhode Island the Wildcat offense sure looked like the juggernaut it was during the last four years with Santos pulling the trigger. And at the very least it made significant strides from week one when it scored just 14 points against Army.
“I think we got the first game jitters out of our system and we’re back on all cylinders rolling again like we used to be,” said senior captain Mike Boyle, who had a team-high nine catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
Sophomore quarterback R.J. Toman was clearly more comfortable against URI than he was in the season-opener at West Point. He was accurate (29-for-40, 309 yards, five touchdowns), he played with the type of up-tempo rhythm UNH’s no-huddle spread attack needs and he delivered passes his receivers could take in stride and gain yards after the catch. And who doesn’t love YAC?
“R.J. did a very good job. I thought he took what the defense gave him, he made the right throws and I thought he located the ball pretty well too,” UNH Coach Sean McDonnell said. “And I thought he got some help.
McDonnell was referring specifically to tight end Scott Sicko who made three absurd catches and finished with six catches for 60 yards and a touchdown. But there was help all around. Chad Kackert ran for 164 yards on just 11 carries. Boyle made several tough catches. The offensive line opened huge running holes and gave up just one sack for only three yards. Travis Negron and Matt O’Brien had four catches each off the bench.
“Against Army it took me a couple series to really get into any kind of rhythm; against Rhode Island it came a little bit quicker,” Toman said. “But I think a lot of that too is, as an offense, we were playing really well all together and I think that’s what made it so much easier and more comfortable for me. To be able to come out and play when you’re all firing off the ball and it’s 11 for 11 and you’re all doing the right thing, it’s much easier.”
And since we’re only two games into the Toman era, the offense should keep improving.
“It is, certainly, (looking like the offense of old), but as a coach you always want to do better and at certain points during that game we weren’t clicking on all cylinders,” offensive coordinator Sean Devine said. “But the end result was there and as we talked to the kids, we got the win on the road and that’s a tough thing to do in this league.”
-While it’s the numbers, and the players who posted them, from last week that remind us of the UNH offense under Santos, none of the stats would happen if not for the offensive line. That group, which began with four redshirt seniors, was considered a strength before the season and it hasn’t disappointed.
According to Devine left tackle Josh Droesch and right tackle Andrew Elwell have graded out the highest among the linemen. But it was Chris McClurg who was the vocal leader of the group. “Was” because McClurg went down with a knee against URI.
But McClurg got good news last week when doctors diagnosed the problem as a posterior cruciate ligament sprain that should be healed in 4-5 weeks. McDonnell was hopeful that McClurg would return to action after that. Junior Dan Larkin will take McClurg’s spot in the interim.
The only non-senior on the line is junior Tom Neil, who played a post-graduate year at the Tilton School before going to UNH.
“He’s a different type of center for us – more athletic, very quick at getting to the second level and stuff like that,” McDonnell said. “He’s not the physical guy (last year’s starting center) Nick Couturier was, but we don’t expect that from him. His job is to be able to reach people on the run, get in there and cover ‘em up and he’s done a pretty good job.
“The other thing he’s done a good job with 0is help direct the flow of traffic up front, pointing out where the middle linebacker is and help direct the protection working with R.J. and those guys. Tommy has worked really, really hard in this program. He’s a very conscientious kid.”
-We know it’s early, but considering the schedule and the way the ’Cats have been playing, it seems like another trip to the postseason could be in coming for UNH. While McDonnell constantly preaches “the next game is the only game that matters” philosophy and his players do buy into it, they can’t help but speculate when asked.
“We talked, some of the seniors, and said listen we have a chance this year to do some big things,” free safety John Clements said. “Not only because of our schedule but because of the talent we have and the chemistry that we built. We have a very good chance to go further than we’ve ever gone before and it starts with Albany.”
If New Hampshire can get past Albany and then Dartmouth, which it should do, it will be 4-0 with a bye on Oct. 4 before going into its CAA schedule, which falls nicely for the ’Cats this year. UNH doesn’t have to play CAA South powers James Madison or Delaware and gets North preseason favorite Massachusetts at home. The longest road trip is to Villanova on Nov. 8.
