ALBANY - I'll admit that was a pretty bad use of the first opponents name in the headline.
The University at Albany football team is getting ready to kick off the 2010 season against Maine on Thursday evening.
I caught the tail end of practice on Tuesday and heard a couple of rave reviews about redshirt freshman running back Tramaine Wilson.
Wilson supposedly has had a great preseason camp and will help carry the load at the running back position.
UAlbany coach Bob Ford said that he thinks Wilson will play quite a bit.
The Great Danes lost a lot of players from last season, but Ford thinks they can plug the gaps.
“What you hope is that you replace him, or those specific kids, with an adequate replacement and then some of the other positions step it up a little more,” he said.
Ford was asked who he thought had most some big steps during the preseason camp, leading up to the season and he added in no particular order.
Wilson Junior safety Jake Ciccarello Senior captain offensive lineman Andy Sparano Sophomore wide receiver Nick Hutcherson Sophomore linebacker Jon Morgan Redshirt freshman punter Paul Layton
Ford also said they are getting good play from senior defensive linemen Trevor Anderson and Eddie Delaney and they expect that from those two.
"We have the talent," Ford said. "I think the major question is how are we going to gel."
Another note from UAlbany camp. Former player Chris Simpson, who played last season at linebacker, is going after a Rhodes scholarship.
Simpson has one year left at RPI, after setting out for a 3 & 2 program with UAlbany and RPI, to get his undergraduate degree and his master's.
The team leaves for Maine at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
Look for our preview pages in The Record and a feature on the versatile Andrew Smith on Thursday.
Those were the words from graduating seniors David McCarty, the all-time leader in rushing yards, and Vinny Esposito, the starting quarterback, to red-shirt sophomore Andrew Smith (who will be further mentioned as Drew for various reasons, most notably there's another Andrew Smith - a freshman from Wading River, NY - on the roster).
Smith said he was really close with both players, especially Esposito and that those guys want to see the team continue to succeed.
"I'm playing for them and for the University," Smith said.
The 2010 season UAlbany football season unofficially began on Tuesday with Media Day.
Smith said he is really ready for the season, especially since he basically has been waiting two years for Esposito to graduate so he can try to play more quarterback.
While he will compete with Dan Di Lella and Buddy Leathley, Smith will also be playing at running back (the position he will be listed at on the roster) and wide receiver.
"It's pretty much my time right now," said Smith.
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Look for a story on the season being close to start and a story about transfer Said Gaida, who will play his final season at UAlbany after Hofstra eliminated their football team in Wednesday's edition of The Record.
Here is Gaida talking about what Great Danes fans can expect from him.
I talked with Andy Sparano, son of Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano and he gave me some great quotes for Wednesday's paper.
Sparano was named a captain of the 2010 team, along with Mike Kelly, Troy native Chris Blais and Kyle O'Keefe.
Here's one.
"This team lost a lot of very important players. You can never downplay what those guys have done here. They started a dynasty. Guys like myself and the other three captains and guys like Drew Smith, we look to build on that. We don't look to step backward, we look to go forwards."
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Burnt Hills native Zach Morton received the Capital District Student Scholarship, sponsored by the New York Giants.
I had a chance to talk to Zach, who was selected an all-NYS Class A second team after his senior year with the Spartans.
The 6-foot-5 Morton, who could stand to put on some bulk (I'm sure he's working on that), said that the main reason to come to UAlbany was the tradition and sense of "Purple Family."
Morton also looked at Sacred Heart and some schools in the Ivy and Patriot Leagues.
Andrew Santillo is a sports reporter at The Record in Troy, New York. Originally from Niskayuna, Andrew graduated from Ithaca College in 2005 with a degree in journalism. He currently resides in Albany.
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