‘Trying to do too much’
QB Undercuffler struggled last week with 3 interceptions
University at Albany redshirt sophomore quarterback Jeff Undercuffler said Wednesday he must be himself after throwing three interceptions in an overtime loss to Rhode Island last Saturday.
By the lofty standard Undercuffler set two years ago, that means reverting to the quarterback who threw a Football Championship
Subdivision-leading 41 touchdown passes in 2019. To head coach Greg Gattuso, it’s about being a game manager who doesn’t make crucial mistakes.
Either way, it would help the Great Danes (1-2 overall, 1-2 Colonial Athletic Association) if Undercuffler can get back on track for the rivalry game against Stony Brook (0-3, 0-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Casey Stadium.
“I think personally, I struggled in that game against Rhode Island, honestly,” Undercuffler said on a Zoom call. “I just think I’ve got to be myself. Just trust all my reads, trust my footwork and all that kind of stuff. Just kind of take a deep breath because I feel like I’ve been trying to do too much in a short amount of time and I’ve just got to let my teammates know that’s my fault and everything’s going to be all right and just got to keep moving forward.”
Undercuffler didn’t speak to the media after Saturday’s loss, but said later that was just a miscommunication. He was “a little beat up” physically and the press conference room was closed by the time he got there, which was confirmed by a Ualba
ny athletics spokesman.
Still, the performance didn’t sit well with Undercuffler. All three interceptions came in Rhode Island territory, including one in the end zone near the end of the first half and another in the final minute of regulation to prevent a potential game-winning field-goal attempt.
“Well, I was definitely frustrated just because of the outcome of the game and how poorly I played, and I let my teammates down,” Undercuffler added.
Ualbany coach Greg Gattuso said after the game he had sympathy for Undercuffler, who is working with an inexperienced and injury-stricken receiving corps. He didn’t have his leading receiver, Tyler Oedekoven, last week.
But Undercuffler declined to use that as an excuse.
“I think we’ve got great receivers right now,” he said. “They’re doing a great job. They’re in the right spots and they’re flying around and they’re actually making plays for this offense. We’ve got a lot of young guys that have been stepping up and they just need to continue to keep doing that and we’ll be all right.”
Gattuso said he had a “great” meeting with Undercuffler this week.
“I really think that’s he’s trying to do too much,” Gattuso said. “I have so much faith in him. It’s like a bad word in the quarterback world to say ‘manage the game.’ But I think managing the game is the key to being a great quarterback. He gave us a chance to win that Maine game because he managed the game really well. We beat New Hampshire because he managed the game really well.”
It could help to face a Stony Brook defense that is struggling against the pass. The Seawolves
are allowing opponents to complete 63.4 percent of their passes with eight touchdowns and no interceptions.
Undercuffler has completed 55 percent of his passes for 552 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions.
“We’re in position,” said Stony Brook coach Chuck Priore, a Ualbany graduate. “We’re not making plays right now. We graduated a lot of the back-end (secondary) guys and we have two injuries to back-end guys that would be playing, as well as linebackers. It’s really been a little of everything. I think we’ve got good players there.”
Gattuso said Undercuffler is trying to push the envelope after a stellar redshirt freshman year, which is a characteristic of a great quarterback. But he just needs to not do too much.
“He’s in that growth period,” he said. “I think he’s doing really well. I just think it’s unfortunate this situation has made him want to do more. And I think we’re going to not see that this weekend. I think he’s going to be Jeff Undercuffler and play his game. I’m very confident in that.”