My colleague Will Montgomery got over to UAlbany practice for the first day yesterday.

Here's his story.

By William Montgomery
The Record

ALBANY — Chris Blais didn’t play a single snap for the University at Albany football team in 2009 — he just heard that sound twice in his right hand.

Blais, a senior outside linebacker who played high school football at La Salle Institute, tore a ligament in his right hand during the 2009 preseason. He had that surgically repaired and was working to come back for the Great Danes' game against Monmouth in week eight when he broke two bones in the same hand and had to sit for the remainder of the season.

Not only was it frustrating for him to be off the football field as a player, it made life hard for the natural right-hander off the field as well.

“Everything I did, brush my teeth, make food, it was a little bit difficult to do,” Blais said after Monday's practice, the first of the season for UAlbany. “After about two or three weeks, I started to become ambidextrous. I started to use my left hand and I could throw a football with my left hand, but it was still really difficult to do everything.”

Blais didn't sit idly by during the 2009 season. He served as a sort of assistant coach to Akeem Cedeno, who was in charge of the linebackers and is currently the tight ends coach.

For that dedication to the team, UAlbany head coach Bob Ford mentioned Blais specifically as a leader to look for on this year's squad. The Great Danes are dealing with the absence of 17 seniors, many of whom Ford described as “franchise” players, including running back David McCarty, quarterback Vinny Esposito and wide receiver Tim Bush.

“The coaches say that it's never a rebuilding season, it's a reloading season,” Blais said. “We lost our whole linebacker corps, but we have guys that can step in and that are ready to go. We have guys that got some time last year and aren't afraid to get in there and know what they're doing.”

On the other side of the ball, Hoosick Falls native Jason Poore enters his senior season as the Danes' top returning wide receiver. He caught 26 passes for 243 yards and a pair of touchdowns in 2009.

“It's big. I have a big opportunity to make something happen this year,” said Poore. “With Bush leaving, we need someone to fill in all of his catches and all of the plays he made.”

Poore is one of UAlbany's few returning skill players, but he said that a solid group of 25 players were together for regular spring and summer workouts that made the first day of practice a little less nerve-wracking. Picked No. 3 in the Northeast Conference preseason coaches' poll, Poore and the Danes are also glad to have the target off their backs for once.

A season ago, the Great Danes went 7-4, finishing second in the NEC standings.

“Every year our goal is to win the conference and hopefully make the playoff game,” he said. “This year, if we win our conference, we get an automatic (NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoffs) bid. Now that we're No. 3, not everyone is gunning for us. Now we can go start hunting people out."

I'll be getting over to practice today to do another story on the Great Danes.