By ANDREW COEN
In 2008, the Pride is gearing up for perhaps its toughest schedule ever.
Connecticut will test Hofstra right out of the gate. The Huskies, who won nine games a year ago and participated in the Meinieke Car Care Bowl, host the Aug. 28 opener for both teams. The Pride will also be tested Oct. 25 at home when Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) power Delaware comes to town. The Blue Hens reached the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) title game last season. As if those two games weren’t enough to make for a challenging schedule, the Pride also has CAA road battles with James Madison on Oct. 4, New Hampshire on Nov. 1 and Massachusetts on Nov. 22 -- all playoff teams a year ago.
Another wrinkle to the Pride’s challenging schedule is four straight road games in the middle of the season due to security and logistical preparations needed for the Oct. 15 presidential debate Hofstra is hosting. “We’re going to be tested,” said third-year head coach Dave Cohen.
“Our goal is to just go 1-0 each week so that way we don’t look too far ahead,” said senior starting quarterback Bryan Savage.
Hofstra has not made the FCS (formerly Division I-AA) playoffs since current New Orleans Saints star wide receiver Marques Colston was a freshman in 2001, and after losing four of their final five games following a 6-0 start a year ago Cohen’s squad is hungry for a taste of the post season. “That is the goal of our program,” said Cohen of the desire to reach the FCS playoffs.
A key to whether Hofstra can qualify for the playoffs will be the play of Savage, who was fourth in the CAA in passing yards per game in 2007. Savage, who started his college football career at Wisconsin, also proved to be an effective runner in the West Coast offense by finishing as the Pride’s second leading rusher with 302 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“I feel a lot more confident under the system,” said Savage of heading into his second year directing Hofstra’s offense. “We have a lot of team chemistry.”
One of Savage’s big passing targets in 2007, Charles Sullivan, graduated so he will look to 6-foot-5 senior receiver Otto Lewis who recorded 27 catches last year. Sophomore wideout Anthony Nelson is also expected to be a large part of the passing game after ranking 12th in the CAA with 44 receptions for 543 yards. Savage will also have a capable receiver at the tight end spot in senior Phil Riley, who has 30 receptions the last two seasons. Baldwin High School graduate Aaron Weaver is expected to compete for a starting spot at wide receiver as a redshirt sophomore.
The ground game suffers a huge loss heading into 2008 with the graduation of Kareem Huggins, who became the ninth Hofstra player to rush for 2,000 yards in a career. Trying to fill Huggins’s spot at halfback are red-shirt freshman Larry Gaskins and Justine Buries, a graduate student who played three seasons at New Mexico State.
Cohen is hoping the offense can feature a solid balance of passing and running, something that was not the case when Hofstra ran the pass-heavy run and shoot system under former head coach Joe Gardi from 1990-2005. “If you have a 50-50 offense, you can keep defenses on their toes,” Cohen said.
On defense the Pride return only four starters from a unit that allowed 312.2 yards per game, Hofstra’s second-best effort in the past 12 seasons. One of its key returning defensive starters is junior linebacker Luke Bonus, who recorded 84 tackles last season and will try and fill some of the void left by departing two-time All American Gian Villante.
The one returning defensive back is senior Nick Altomare, who is expected to move from safety to cornerback this season. At defensive end, the Pride return juniors Kevin Smith and Al Carmody, who both started five games last season. Cohen is also hoping for production from University of Miami defensive lineman transfer Luqman Abdullah and linebacker Anthony Vernaglia, a graduate student who played 10 games at Notre Dame last year and arrives at Hofstra with one season of eligibility left.
“We have a lot of guys stepping up,” Bonus said.
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