TOWSON, Md. - The skies opened up, pouring rain down on the Towson area throughout most of Saturday. Fortunately for the Towson football program, the weather held up for most of their first scrimmage on Saturday afternoon at Unitas Stadium.
The Tigers were able to get some good work in throughout the practice (most of it remained dry), and predictably, there were some impressive efforts along with some sloppy play as well.
One of the newcomers who is expected to see the field early and often is sophomore Leon Kinnard. The ultra-fast athlete from nearby Loyola High School and a former Connecticut Husky was able to display some of his all-around skills on Saturday. While Kinnard, who was an All-Met quarterback in high school, didn't line up at quarterback, he lined up at wide receiver and returned kicks and punts for the Tigers. During the scrimmage, he wore number 9 and caught a few passes on screens and was able to turn a few up the field.
Consistency was a problem on offense. Considering this was the first scrimmage, everything didn't seem to be in sync, especially at quarterback. Grant Enders, a sophomore transfer from Lackawanna Junior College, was seeing his first action and displayed some fine athletic ability getting out of the pocket. Yet he also appeared to be lacking cohesiveness with many of his new targets. At times, Towson lined up juniors Tom Ryan and Alex Blake, with Kinnard or junior Erron Banks, in three-receiver sets. Kinnard's quickness and explosiveness really seem to compliment the size of Ryan and Banks, along with the vertical ability of Blake.
Last year, depth was a problem at running back. Tremayne Dameron carried the ball 128 times for 477 yards (3.7 avg.). No other back had more than 62 carries and Towson averaged just 3.6 yards per carry.
This season, the Tigers have brought in two impressive transfers along with a talented true freshman, who had a tremendous spring.
In Saturday's scrimmage, the running game was on display and at times, Towson showed potential for an excellent three-pronged attack. Even with Boston College transfer Sterlin Phifer still not cleared to play yet due to injuries, the Tigers' running game looked pretty strong. Colorado transfer Trea Jones (5-10, 205) ran hard between the tackles and also showed an ability to get to the next level.
First-year freshman Terrance West (5-11, 222) was one of the team's impact players in the spring. He showed toughness, speed and the innate ability to run through arm tackles. Since All-American Tony Vinson set records in the early 1990's, there have been very few backs who have had West's power and speed.
Coach Rob Ambrose and his offensive coaches will have a tough decision regarding West and the rest of the running backs. If Phifer is healthy, they will have Jones, Dameron and Dom Booker competing for playing time.
Defensively, junior Danzel White is back at middle linebacker, about 20 pounds heavier than he was when he led the Tigers in tackles in 2009 with 105 before missing last season. White is certainly one of the impact players on defense, along with junior safety Jordan Dangerfield and junior preseason All-CAA defensive end Frank Beltre.
Towson recorded just 14 sacks last season, so the onus will be on Beltre, junior defensive end Romale Tucker, junior defensive tackle/end Matt Morgan and defensive tackle Marcus Valentine, to get some more pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
