Saturday's spring game at Robert Morris was the final step of stage two in the John Banaszak era in Moon Township.
Stage one began in the offseason, as Banaszak took over the keys to the program from Joe Walton and installed a certain mindset and philosophy that he want his team to show. It included an overhaul to the team's conditioning program, an emphasis on discipline, and the hiring of Darrin Hicks to install a brand new offense.
Spring practice was stage two, with the installation of the offense on the field, opening position battles, continuing the conditioning work, and otherwise preparing the returning Colonials for the 2014 football season. It all culminated in the events on Saturday, and much like everything this spring, even the spring game had a different feel to it. For one, it was sunny. Spring games in years past seemingly always were either cold, wet, or some combination of both.
Another change was in just how much work Robert Morris did in 11-on-11 work. In years past, the work was generally limited to a handful of 11-on-11 series, usually enough to get everyone a rep but not wear them down. Robert Morris ran exactly 100 plays on offense in a variety of situations, and the total was a bit surprising given that only 23 defensive players dressed for Saturday's events.
Robert Morris also had a handful of future Colonials in the house. Incoming freshmen DB Ryan Richards, DE Collin Giesey, WR Jamison Williams, OL Mitch Morrison and OL Mike Lamb all scoped out camp, and it's believed a few others were there as well.
So with RMU on the field for the last time until August, we begin our recap of the day how we always do...
FINAL SPRING DEPTH CHART
Listed in order of spring game rotations.
QB - Paul Jones, Luke Brumbaugh, Marcus Prather, Derik Abbott, Joe Carroll
RB - Kenny Davis, Erich Maine, Travis Gregg
H-Back - Justin Kempka, Nick Sponyoe, Mike Woltz, Corey Garry, Kaleb Springer, Henry Myers
WR 1 - Duane Mitchell, Chad Dawgiello, Matt Petrella
WR 2 - Sean Gavin, Luke Centofanti, Uni Akpan
WR 3 - Jordan Blackmon, Kyle Buss, Phil Peckich, Warren Fields
LT - Dylan Knight, Riley Feenan
LG - Max Robertson, Jonah Tyus
C - Nick Faraci, Anthony Lucian
RG - Josh Thiel, Carlton Watson
RT - Jon Hill, Chris O'Connor
DE - Ryan Lewis, Zack Zamiska
DT - Max Onyenwe, Zac Bennett
DE - Forrest Mason, Austin Trgovcich
OLB - Nic Lamica, Zach Cooper
MLB - Jake Tkach, T.J. Waters
MLB - Jimmy Masson, T.J. Waters
OLB - Luke Mueller, Zach Cooper
CB - Antwan Eddie, Keith O'Kelly
S - Logan Kelleher, Codi Casper, Christopher Batts
S - Sam Woods, Davone Swain, Desmond Kent
CB - Andy Smigiera, David Taylor
DEPTH CHART NOTES
DT Steve Fiadewornu, OL Blake Chambliss, OL Drew Garbenis, LB Mike Stojkovic, DB Jones Twenefor, LB Nelson Lucas-Murphy, HB Marty Thomas, HB Luke Zearing, RB Caleb Stennis, RB Ryan Thermil, RB Forrest Barnes and WR Chaq Nettles did not participate in the spring game.QB Derik Abbott participated but wore a red no-contact jersey as he continues his recovery from shoulder surgery.DL Zac Bennett also took snaps at defensive end while Zack Zamiska also took snaps at defensive tackleRiley Feenan and Dylan Knight rotated pretty heavily at left tackle with the first unit, while the rest of the second team offensive line pretty much stayed together.
SCRIMMAGE NOTES
The first spring game under John Banaszak was split into several periods. After warm-ups and a few individual drills, Robert Morris upped the intensity with live Oklahoma Drills. You can see footage of that drill here. That was followed by 7-on-7 drills and some special teams work before finally getting to a series of 11-on-11 drills.
The 11-on-11 drills were broken up into four styles: Normal 11-on-11, redzone, goalline, and then a 2-minute drill. Because of that, we'll detail some of the highlights and lowlights of each set. Every portion of the 11-on-11 drills were completely live, meaning full contact for all players (including quarterbacks, save for Abbott), and with referees monitoring the play.
Normal 11-on-11This ended up consisting of eight drives and a total of 39 playsUnfortunately the very first play of the scrimmage proved costly, as Paul Jones tried to make something happen on what appeared to be a somewhat broken play and ended up hurting his ankle or foot in the process. It proved to be the only snap of the day for Jones. Not only is it obviously disappointing for Jones, but it was a shame because it appeared Jones was doing pretty well in spring camp and ColonialsCorner was curious how that might translate to the spring game. That first play was pretty much a sign of things to come, as the defense dominated the normal portion of the scrimmage. The remaining four quarterbacks rotated each series. Of the eight drives, four ended in 3-and-outs. RMU managed just one first down in the 14 plays. But the offense did start to connect a little bit on its fifth drive under Joe Carroll. Two big plays helped the offense get its first points of the afternoon. Carroll hit Duane Mitchell for an 18-yard completion, and Kenny Davis ripped off a 20-yard run. It all ended with Connor Shennan booting a 46-yard field goal.Marcus Prather also led a scoring drive, turning out a methodical 9-play march that featured two strong runs from Erich Maine and a 16-yard pass to Phil Peckich. The drive sputtered, though, and Hunter Khaleghi came on and kicked a 38-yard field goal.On defense, LB Jake Tkach registered a sack during this portion, as did DL Zac Bennett.
RedzoneThis series featured 23 plays spread over five drives, with each drive starting on the 20-yard line.Being closer to the end zone immediately proved some dividends, as Luke Brumbaugh needed just four plays to get the offense its first touchdown of the day. He did it largely himself, too, as he ran on back-to-back plays for 10 total yards and then found Justin Kempka for a 9-yard touchdown pass.But that was it for the touchdowns in the red zone, as three of the final four drives ended in field goals. Not even Derik Abbott's 6-play drive could get into the end zone, as RMU settled for a 28-yard field goal by Shennan. Hunter Khaleghi also connected on a 33-yard field goal in the set-up.Defensively, RMU registered two more sacks, and this time both came from a pair of sophomore linebackers. First Zach Cooper burst into the backfield to take down Joe Carroll, effectively ending a drive. Then T.J. Waters dropped Brumbaugh to force Khaleghi's field goal.
GoallineRobert Morris took its next five drives inside the 8-yard line, as it had a maximum of three plays per drive to get a touchdown or a field goal.The offense didn't need those extra plays early. Being close to the goalline apparently served as plenty of motivation to score some touchdowns.First it was Jordan Blackmon racing in on an 8-yard score out of the slot. Then it was Kenny Davis slicing his way through for an 8-yard touchdown. Erich Maine got in on the party next, pushing his way in for his own 8-yard touchdown. And Kyle Buss capped off the barrage with his own 8-yard TD from the slot. Four straight plays, four straight touchdowns.That was it, though, as RMU couldn't find the end zone for the next five plays and the scenario ended with Connor Shennan's short field goal.
2-Minute DrillThe final portion of the scrimmage came with just 1:30 on the clock, the offense left with just one timeout, and needing to go 66 yards for a touchdown or field goal.The fifth sack of the day helped keep the first drive out of the end zone, as Cooper and Zack Zamiska teamed up to take down Luke Brumbaugh. Though Brumbaugh rallied to get the offense a little bit closer, the sack killed enough time that the field goal unit had to come in. And that led to the only time it misfired, as the snap went awry and led to punter Tony LaMancusa trying to complete a pass. Luke Mueller intercepted it to end the drive.The second drive also went to the defense. First it was Davone Swain forcing a big third down by laying a huge hit on Erich Maine to force an incompletion. Then it was David Taylor stepping up on a route to pick off Marcus Prather to end the drive. Taylor nearly had a pick-six, but ran out of real estate as former high school teammate Max Robertson tracked him down and shoved him out of bounds after a long return. Taylor might get some ribbing in the film room for getting caught by a lineman, though Robertson had a pretty good head start as the interception happened pretty far downfield.Derik Abbott stepped in next and managed to wiggle his way out of trouble to keep the drive moving. He found Kyle Buss twice, scrambled for 11 yards and hit Luke Centofanti downfield for 18 yards. After an incompletion, Abbott launched a pass down the middle of the field for Jordan Blackmon, who hauled it in but couldn't sneak his way into the end zone. Abbott spiked the ball and capped the drive off with a quick toss to Justin Kempka for a TD.Joe Carroll followed suit with his own touchdown drive to cap the day. Carroll completed his first four passes of the drive, including a 31-yard strike to Warren Fields to get the offense in striking distance. With seconds ticking down, Carroll lofted a pass for Chad Dawgiello in the end zone, and the junior came down with the ball for a 21-yard TD.
FINAL STATS
Some final stats for each position group on offense. Yardage is unofficial but pretty close.
QuarterbacksLuke Brumbaugh - 10-of-13 for 67 yards, TD; 5 carries, 26 yardsMarcus Prather - 3-of-9 for 27 yards, INT; 3 carries, 8 yardsDerik Abbott - 6-of-10 for 54 yards, TD; 1 carry, 11 yardsJoe Carroll - 9-of-12 for 109 yards, TD; 5 carries, 8 yards
Running BacksKenny Davis - 7 carries, 41 yards, TD; 3 catches, 12 yards.Erich Maine - 10 carries, 41 yards, TD; 1 catch, 2 yardsTravis Gregg - 8 carries, 13 yards.
ReceiversJustin Kempka - 4 catches, 18 yards, 2TDsPhil Peckich - 2 catches, 14 yards. 1 carry, 5 yards.Duane Mitchell - 1 catch, 18 yardsLuke Centofanti - 2 catches, 22 yardsWarren Fields - 4 catches, 64 yardsUni Akpan - 1 catch, -1 yardsKyle Buss - 3 catches, 18 yards. 1 carry, 8 yards, TD. Sean Gavin - 2 catches, 28 yardsJordan Blackmon - 2 catches, 29 yards. 1 carry, 8 yards, TDMatt Petrella - 2 catches, 12 yardsChad Dawgiello - 1 catch, 21 yards, TD
FINAL THOUGHTSDespite barely being able to go two-deep, the defense was impressive at times. The ability to push into the backfield to disrupt plays was pretty consistent, and the defense pursued the ball well sideline to sideline.The offense had more success on the ground when it ran up the gut and into the middle of the defense. When it ran to the outside, there was less traction, even if it was the speedy Kenny Davis.There were the expected number of hiccups in terms of some confusion lining up on offense and a few other misfires. That will be corrected in film and is part of running a new offense. The key is to make sure it's gone before Eastern Kentucky.The defense had significantly less success when the offense went into the two-minute drill. Maybe it was gassed by that point, maybe it was playing conservative, or maybe the QBs finally got into a rhythm, but all four quarterbacks moved the ball and three of them put the team in scoring position.This team truly can't be evaluated into all of its pieces are together in August, from the potential of a few freshmen making an impact to injured players being healthy. Because of that, Banaszak said afterward that every position is open competition, which should make August interesting.
That concludes our spring coverage. We'll have some stories and other features coming up over the next few days recapping the spring, including more input from John Banaszak and offensive coordinator Darrin Hicks. We'll also have some photos and other extras over the next few days.
Stage one began in the offseason, as Banaszak took over the keys to the program from Joe Walton and installed a certain mindset and philosophy that he want his team to show. It included an overhaul to the team's conditioning program, an emphasis on discipline, and the hiring of Darrin Hicks to install a brand new offense.
Spring practice was stage two, with the installation of the offense on the field, opening position battles, continuing the conditioning work, and otherwise preparing the returning Colonials for the 2014 football season. It all culminated in the events on Saturday, and much like everything this spring, even the spring game had a different feel to it. For one, it was sunny. Spring games in years past seemingly always were either cold, wet, or some combination of both.
Another change was in just how much work Robert Morris did in 11-on-11 work. In years past, the work was generally limited to a handful of 11-on-11 series, usually enough to get everyone a rep but not wear them down. Robert Morris ran exactly 100 plays on offense in a variety of situations, and the total was a bit surprising given that only 23 defensive players dressed for Saturday's events.
Robert Morris also had a handful of future Colonials in the house. Incoming freshmen DB Ryan Richards, DE Collin Giesey, WR Jamison Williams, OL Mitch Morrison and OL Mike Lamb all scoped out camp, and it's believed a few others were there as well.
So with RMU on the field for the last time until August, we begin our recap of the day how we always do...
FINAL SPRING DEPTH CHART
Listed in order of spring game rotations.
QB - Paul Jones, Luke Brumbaugh, Marcus Prather, Derik Abbott, Joe Carroll
RB - Kenny Davis, Erich Maine, Travis Gregg
H-Back - Justin Kempka, Nick Sponyoe, Mike Woltz, Corey Garry, Kaleb Springer, Henry Myers
WR 1 - Duane Mitchell, Chad Dawgiello, Matt Petrella
WR 2 - Sean Gavin, Luke Centofanti, Uni Akpan
WR 3 - Jordan Blackmon, Kyle Buss, Phil Peckich, Warren Fields
LT - Dylan Knight, Riley Feenan
LG - Max Robertson, Jonah Tyus
C - Nick Faraci, Anthony Lucian
RG - Josh Thiel, Carlton Watson
RT - Jon Hill, Chris O'Connor
DE - Ryan Lewis, Zack Zamiska
DT - Max Onyenwe, Zac Bennett
DE - Forrest Mason, Austin Trgovcich
OLB - Nic Lamica, Zach Cooper
MLB - Jake Tkach, T.J. Waters
MLB - Jimmy Masson, T.J. Waters
OLB - Luke Mueller, Zach Cooper
CB - Antwan Eddie, Keith O'Kelly
S - Logan Kelleher, Codi Casper, Christopher Batts
S - Sam Woods, Davone Swain, Desmond Kent
CB - Andy Smigiera, David Taylor
DEPTH CHART NOTES
DT Steve Fiadewornu, OL Blake Chambliss, OL Drew Garbenis, LB Mike Stojkovic, DB Jones Twenefor, LB Nelson Lucas-Murphy, HB Marty Thomas, HB Luke Zearing, RB Caleb Stennis, RB Ryan Thermil, RB Forrest Barnes and WR Chaq Nettles did not participate in the spring game.QB Derik Abbott participated but wore a red no-contact jersey as he continues his recovery from shoulder surgery.DL Zac Bennett also took snaps at defensive end while Zack Zamiska also took snaps at defensive tackleRiley Feenan and Dylan Knight rotated pretty heavily at left tackle with the first unit, while the rest of the second team offensive line pretty much stayed together.
SCRIMMAGE NOTES
The first spring game under John Banaszak was split into several periods. After warm-ups and a few individual drills, Robert Morris upped the intensity with live Oklahoma Drills. You can see footage of that drill here. That was followed by 7-on-7 drills and some special teams work before finally getting to a series of 11-on-11 drills.
The 11-on-11 drills were broken up into four styles: Normal 11-on-11, redzone, goalline, and then a 2-minute drill. Because of that, we'll detail some of the highlights and lowlights of each set. Every portion of the 11-on-11 drills were completely live, meaning full contact for all players (including quarterbacks, save for Abbott), and with referees monitoring the play.
Normal 11-on-11This ended up consisting of eight drives and a total of 39 playsUnfortunately the very first play of the scrimmage proved costly, as Paul Jones tried to make something happen on what appeared to be a somewhat broken play and ended up hurting his ankle or foot in the process. It proved to be the only snap of the day for Jones. Not only is it obviously disappointing for Jones, but it was a shame because it appeared Jones was doing pretty well in spring camp and ColonialsCorner was curious how that might translate to the spring game. That first play was pretty much a sign of things to come, as the defense dominated the normal portion of the scrimmage. The remaining four quarterbacks rotated each series. Of the eight drives, four ended in 3-and-outs. RMU managed just one first down in the 14 plays. But the offense did start to connect a little bit on its fifth drive under Joe Carroll. Two big plays helped the offense get its first points of the afternoon. Carroll hit Duane Mitchell for an 18-yard completion, and Kenny Davis ripped off a 20-yard run. It all ended with Connor Shennan booting a 46-yard field goal.Marcus Prather also led a scoring drive, turning out a methodical 9-play march that featured two strong runs from Erich Maine and a 16-yard pass to Phil Peckich. The drive sputtered, though, and Hunter Khaleghi came on and kicked a 38-yard field goal.On defense, LB Jake Tkach registered a sack during this portion, as did DL Zac Bennett.
RedzoneThis series featured 23 plays spread over five drives, with each drive starting on the 20-yard line.Being closer to the end zone immediately proved some dividends, as Luke Brumbaugh needed just four plays to get the offense its first touchdown of the day. He did it largely himself, too, as he ran on back-to-back plays for 10 total yards and then found Justin Kempka for a 9-yard touchdown pass.But that was it for the touchdowns in the red zone, as three of the final four drives ended in field goals. Not even Derik Abbott's 6-play drive could get into the end zone, as RMU settled for a 28-yard field goal by Shennan. Hunter Khaleghi also connected on a 33-yard field goal in the set-up.Defensively, RMU registered two more sacks, and this time both came from a pair of sophomore linebackers. First Zach Cooper burst into the backfield to take down Joe Carroll, effectively ending a drive. Then T.J. Waters dropped Brumbaugh to force Khaleghi's field goal.
GoallineRobert Morris took its next five drives inside the 8-yard line, as it had a maximum of three plays per drive to get a touchdown or a field goal.The offense didn't need those extra plays early. Being close to the goalline apparently served as plenty of motivation to score some touchdowns.First it was Jordan Blackmon racing in on an 8-yard score out of the slot. Then it was Kenny Davis slicing his way through for an 8-yard touchdown. Erich Maine got in on the party next, pushing his way in for his own 8-yard touchdown. And Kyle Buss capped off the barrage with his own 8-yard TD from the slot. Four straight plays, four straight touchdowns.That was it, though, as RMU couldn't find the end zone for the next five plays and the scenario ended with Connor Shennan's short field goal.
2-Minute DrillThe final portion of the scrimmage came with just 1:30 on the clock, the offense left with just one timeout, and needing to go 66 yards for a touchdown or field goal.The fifth sack of the day helped keep the first drive out of the end zone, as Cooper and Zack Zamiska teamed up to take down Luke Brumbaugh. Though Brumbaugh rallied to get the offense a little bit closer, the sack killed enough time that the field goal unit had to come in. And that led to the only time it misfired, as the snap went awry and led to punter Tony LaMancusa trying to complete a pass. Luke Mueller intercepted it to end the drive.The second drive also went to the defense. First it was Davone Swain forcing a big third down by laying a huge hit on Erich Maine to force an incompletion. Then it was David Taylor stepping up on a route to pick off Marcus Prather to end the drive. Taylor nearly had a pick-six, but ran out of real estate as former high school teammate Max Robertson tracked him down and shoved him out of bounds after a long return. Taylor might get some ribbing in the film room for getting caught by a lineman, though Robertson had a pretty good head start as the interception happened pretty far downfield.Derik Abbott stepped in next and managed to wiggle his way out of trouble to keep the drive moving. He found Kyle Buss twice, scrambled for 11 yards and hit Luke Centofanti downfield for 18 yards. After an incompletion, Abbott launched a pass down the middle of the field for Jordan Blackmon, who hauled it in but couldn't sneak his way into the end zone. Abbott spiked the ball and capped the drive off with a quick toss to Justin Kempka for a TD.Joe Carroll followed suit with his own touchdown drive to cap the day. Carroll completed his first four passes of the drive, including a 31-yard strike to Warren Fields to get the offense in striking distance. With seconds ticking down, Carroll lofted a pass for Chad Dawgiello in the end zone, and the junior came down with the ball for a 21-yard TD.
FINAL STATS
Some final stats for each position group on offense. Yardage is unofficial but pretty close.
QuarterbacksLuke Brumbaugh - 10-of-13 for 67 yards, TD; 5 carries, 26 yardsMarcus Prather - 3-of-9 for 27 yards, INT; 3 carries, 8 yardsDerik Abbott - 6-of-10 for 54 yards, TD; 1 carry, 11 yardsJoe Carroll - 9-of-12 for 109 yards, TD; 5 carries, 8 yards
Running BacksKenny Davis - 7 carries, 41 yards, TD; 3 catches, 12 yards.Erich Maine - 10 carries, 41 yards, TD; 1 catch, 2 yardsTravis Gregg - 8 carries, 13 yards.
ReceiversJustin Kempka - 4 catches, 18 yards, 2TDsPhil Peckich - 2 catches, 14 yards. 1 carry, 5 yards.Duane Mitchell - 1 catch, 18 yardsLuke Centofanti - 2 catches, 22 yardsWarren Fields - 4 catches, 64 yardsUni Akpan - 1 catch, -1 yardsKyle Buss - 3 catches, 18 yards. 1 carry, 8 yards, TD. Sean Gavin - 2 catches, 28 yardsJordan Blackmon - 2 catches, 29 yards. 1 carry, 8 yards, TDMatt Petrella - 2 catches, 12 yardsChad Dawgiello - 1 catch, 21 yards, TD
FINAL THOUGHTSDespite barely being able to go two-deep, the defense was impressive at times. The ability to push into the backfield to disrupt plays was pretty consistent, and the defense pursued the ball well sideline to sideline.The offense had more success on the ground when it ran up the gut and into the middle of the defense. When it ran to the outside, there was less traction, even if it was the speedy Kenny Davis.There were the expected number of hiccups in terms of some confusion lining up on offense and a few other misfires. That will be corrected in film and is part of running a new offense. The key is to make sure it's gone before Eastern Kentucky.The defense had significantly less success when the offense went into the two-minute drill. Maybe it was gassed by that point, maybe it was playing conservative, or maybe the QBs finally got into a rhythm, but all four quarterbacks moved the ball and three of them put the team in scoring position.This team truly can't be evaluated into all of its pieces are together in August, from the potential of a few freshmen making an impact to injured players being healthy. Because of that, Banaszak said afterward that every position is open competition, which should make August interesting.
That concludes our spring coverage. We'll have some stories and other features coming up over the next few days recapping the spring, including more input from John Banaszak and offensive coordinator Darrin Hicks. We'll also have some photos and other extras over the next few days.
