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.

ALBANY - University at Albany fifth-year defensive lineman Trevor Anderson knows that the accolades are coming his way and he doesn't mind.

Anderson was named preseason All-Northeast Conference last week and was a first team All-NEC selection after the 2009 season.

After working hard over the summer, the Warnersville native believes he can have his best season yet.

"I’ve taken a lot from what I’ve learned over the years and I’m ready to put it all together and see what happens,” he said Tuesday before the Great Danes' walk-thru on University Field.

While he came into preseason camp a little heavy, according to coach Bob Ford, Anderson knows that while people are expecting big things from him, he is harder on himself to be great.

“I expect that out of myself,” Anderson said. “I’m not trying to sound too cocky, but I know what I can do.”

Anderson is expected to lead a defensive unit that should be strong up front with him and Eddie Delaney.

“We’ve been a very good run stopping defense in the past and this defensive line had a lot to with that,” Delaney said. “As a d-lineman, I’m really excited to see what we’re going to do on the field this year.”

Ford said if Anderson and Delaney both play to their potential they will make things awfully tough for opponents.

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One big question for the Great Danes is how to replace quarterback Vinnie Esposito.

The two options seem to be junior Dan Di Lella and ultra-athletic redshirt-sophomore Andrew Smith from Guilderland.

While Ford said the position is a work in progress, he added “We are going to line Drew Smith up in a multitude of positions, quarterback being one of them."

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If you've missed any of our preseason stories here are links

8/11 - Delaney, Danes set the bar high in '10

8/10 - Blais returns to spark Danes' D

Below junior defensive lineman Eddie Delaney talks about the excitement of the start of the 2010 season and the hopes for the defensive unit.