Delaware Blue Hens
Overall Rank: #7
#2 Colonial
Delaware Team Page
2010 Record: (12-3, 6-2)
2010 Postseason: FCS Playoffs
Coach: K.C. Keeler (74-42 at Delaware, 162-63-1 overall)
Returning Leaders:
Rushing: Andrew Pierce, RB, 1,655 yards
Passing: Trevor Sasek, QB, 199 yards
Receiving: Nihja White, WR, 752 yards
Tackles: Paul Worrilow, LB, 113
Sacks: Michael Atunrase, DE, 3.5
Interceptions: Marcus Burley, CB, 2
Delaware thought losing to William & Mary by one and to Villanova in overtime were tough losses. Those pale in comparison to the loss the Blue Hens suffered at the hands of Eastern Washington in the FCS Championship game. Coach K.C. Keeler’s squad was up 19-0 before blowing their big lead and losing 20-19. That one will sting for a while and those players who are still here will have to put last season behind them by the time their season opens on September 3rd.
Strengths:
With quarterback Pat Devlin gone, the Blue Hens will look to the ground. Andrew Pierce had a magnificent freshman campaign, rushing for 1,655 yards and 14 touchdowns. David Hayes is a nice secondary back to Pierce and those two should lead this offense. They will need the help of the offensive line and they will get it. Kevin Uhll will be missed at the right tackle spot, but the other four starters are back along with a majority of their depth. Guard Gino Gradkowski has a future in the NFL and he will lead what should be a great offensive line. The defense has a ton of retooling to do, but linebacker should not be a problem. Paul Worrilow led the squad with 113 tackles in 2010 and will move to the middle linebacker spot this year. Andrew Harrison is another fine tackler who is one of the few returning starters on this team. Leon Jackson, who rushed for 302 yards last year, is making the move to linebacker and will provide some depth. The addition of Auburn transfer Jessel Curry should make the linebackers better than they were a year ago, but they will need help from the rest of the depleted defense.
Weaknesses:
The only other starter returning to the defense is end Michael Atunrase. Atunrase led the Blue Hens with 3.5 sacks, but that is not good enough. This team averaged a mere 1.27 sacks per game and rarely got consistent pressure in the opposing backfield. Getting sacks is not exactly the Blue Hens specialty, but they could use an end who can do more than stop the run. Ethan Clark and Matt Hardison will be asked to contribute more, but the front four was not particularly great last year and have a lot of work to do to get back to where they were in 2010. The secondary has even more questions with the loss of All-Americans Anthony Bratton and Anthony Walters and fellow starters in the secondary, Darryl Jones and Tyrone Grant. Cornerback Marcus Burley is pretty much the only defensive back with any major experience for Delaware. Maryland transfer Travis Hawkins will help, but it is not going to be easy to replace four quality starters.
The Bottom Line:
Delaware’s biggest concern will be replacing the ultra-efficient Darryl Clark. During his senior season the quarterback threw 384 passes and was intercepted a mere three times. He finished off the season with 3,032 passing yards and 22 touchdowns. Tim Donnelly, Trevor Sasek and Justin Burns are all competing for the job. The return of wide receiver Nihja White will give the new quarterback a solid target. With Mark Schenauer, Rob Jones and tight end Colin Naugle back as well, the receiving corps should be in good hands as long as Delaware can find a quarterback who can get them the ball.
Projected Postseason: FCS Playoffs
2010 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 184.40 (27th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Passing Offense: 217.40 (41, 3)
Total Offense: 401.80 (19, 2)
Scoring Offense: 27.87 (37, 2)
Rushing Defense: 105.27 (12, 2)
Pass Defense: 175.47 (26, 3)
Total Defense: 280.73 (5, 1)
Scoring Defense: 12.07 (1, 1)
Turnover Margin: 1.13 (4, 1)
Sacks: 1.27 (93, 8)
Sacks Allowed: 1.80 (54, 6)
Madness 2011 FCS Football Recruit Rankings:
#52 Steve Hughes
#58 Eric Farkas
#112 Logan Shultz
#132 Christian Marchena
