2007 Season Outlook

2006 NESCAC Offensive Player of the Year Pat Lucey will lead a very talented, if slightly less experienced, Ephs squad this season.

But no one is calling this a rebuilding year for Williams, despite the loss of 16 to graduation including All-American Chris Kenney and highly-decorated wide receivers Brendan Fulmer and Jon Drenckhahn.

Head coach Mike Whalen (20-4) returns for his fourth season at the helm of the Ephs with a ton of talent and a 14-game win streak. But, like a great chef, Whalen and his coaching staff will be working hard on the right recipe for success. “I think they understand we have to take it one game at a time,” Whalen said. “We are not last year’s team. That said, we still have a chance to be a pretty good football team if we can get the right combination of guys on the field — guys who are confident and know what they’re doing.”

Lucey, also the ECAC-Northeast Player of the Year last fall, will lead an offense, which also has its two top ground gainers back. Last season, the Plymouth native completed 112 of his 168 pass attempts (66.7 percent) for 1,528 yards and 14 touchdowns while tossing only four interceptions. First-years Bryce Bennett and Patrick Moffitt will vie for the back-up spot as sophomore Tyler Ware has been moved to safety.

Joining Lucey in the backfield will be junior tailback Brian Morrissey, who gained 486 yards on 117 carries (4.2 yards per rush) last year while scoring four TDs. Junior Kevin Flynn will also see time there after rushing for 173 yards on 43 carries a year ago. Junior Brian Egan and first-year Ryan Lupo will also see plenty of action there.

Who Lucey will throw to is the big question mark for the Ephs. The top three targets from a year ago are gone, leaving some jobs wide open. Senior Jeff Egizi, who missed all of last year with an injury, will bolster the receiving corps with his return. Junior Ryan Powell excelled in limited duty as a slot
receiver last year and will get a long look. Junior Stew Buck, and seniors Ryan Karolak and Craig  Sundberg will all vie for a chance.

At tight end, veteran Kelly Madden and junior Ace Norris will see plenty of time, with sophomore Henry Montalbano and first-year Jon Carroll backing up.

That leaves the offensive line, which took a blow with the graduation of Kenney and veteran Mike Brown. The steady Jeff Callahan, a senior, will likely take over at center for Kenney once he returns from a preseason injury, but he also can line up at guard. Senior Jim Bierman will play center for the time being and he can also play guard. Senior Michael O’Brien will start at the other guard position, while the two tackle spots will likely be filled by Henry and John Szawlowski. Henry was a 2nd Team All-NESCAC selection last season. Sophomore Simon Kloeckner will start the season at guard and see plenty of time if and when Callahan returns with Whalen's frequent rotation of offensive lineman in games.

Others included in the offensive line mix are senior Rory Jensen and sophomores Mike McGuire and Tim Bishop.

“Offensively, having Lucey back gives us a starting point,” Whalen said. “Up front, if we can get consistent play from the center position, we should be solid. The tailback (Morrissey) has looked very good in preseason and Kevin Flynn … we have to figure out a way to get the ball in his hands more. Jeff (Egizi) gives us some experience and leadership at receiver, but we need some others to emerge there.

“It certainly helps that, a) we have strong competition at the (wide receiver) position, with a lot of kids pushing each other and, b), we have Lucey throwing the ball.”

Defensively, the Ephs lost key components of their line, their linebackers and their secondary, but, again, Whalen is upbeat because of the talent level he has returning. Two of his top tacklers from the 2006 season are back in the form of senior middle linebacker Jordan O’Reilly (46 tackles, 24 solo), a
captain, and junior cornerback Tim Batty (26 tackles, 20 solo.).

Two other key members of last year’s secondary, senior cornerback John Snipes and junior safety Luke Moran, also return. The other safety spot will be filled by junior Sean Milano.

The linebacking core should be strong with O’Reilly, senior Jon Pritchard, the team’s leading tackler 2005 and junior Trevor Powers returning. Eric Anderson and first-years Dylan Schultz and Dan Johnson will provide depth.

On the line, seniors Mike Eisert, Andrew DeSalvo and junior Devin McLoughlin fill the tackle spots. The big news at the end position is that former linebacker Nick Fersen, a senior, has been moved there. Senior David Turner and junior Charlie Birns will also vie for time at the ends.

“I think our front seven are pretty good,” Whalen said. “I think the question comes in the secondary. We played a lot of man-to-man last year and with (Elliot) Moffie and (Jonathan) Poppe, we felt comfortable doing that. It allowed us to blitz quite a bit. We’re still trying to figure out if we will be playing that way again, or if we have to adjust. We have some good young players back there, it’s a matter of how consistent they can be.”

Whalen will have to replace Fulmer at punter as well, although Montalbano filled in well early last season. Sophomore Scott Sobolewski returns to the placekicking duties after having a stellar rookie season, which saw him make 30 of 31 point-after attempts and 8 of 9 field goal tries.

The NESCAC will be filled with potential setbacks for the Ephs, starting with Bowdoin on Sept. 22. A road game at powerhouse Trinity looms the following week, and Whalen expects Tufts, Middlebury and Amherst to be strong once again.

“They are working very hard,” Whalen said of his team. “The work ethic is there, but the mental part of the game is coming a little slower. Obviously, with the experience we had last year, everything was ‘boom, boom, boom.’ The increased mental mistakes have been noticeable. The good note is we still have two weekends to work that out — we have to understand we’re young at some of the skill positions and it’s going to take a little time. A lot is going to depend on how quickly we can bring them along — and how quickly they can bring themselves along.”