Young Bulls working to improve
Orlando Sentinel college insider Matt Murschel ranked all 128 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in the country entering the 2017-18 season. The Sentinel staff takes a closer look at a new team daily, counting backward from No. 130 to our projected No. 1 team.
Buffalo Lance Leipold (7-17, entering third season; 116-23 overall)
2-10, 1-7 in Mid-American Conference, sixth in East Division
Youth and inexperience forced Buffalo to take a major step backward during coach Lance Leipold’s second season. The Bulls put 42 new faces on the field in 2016, with many of those players forced into big roles. The team won just two games in a season for the first time since 2010, going a dismal 1-7 in the MidAmerican Conference play.
6 Tyree Jackson, WR Kamathi Holsey, OL David Goldsby, OL Thomas Jack-Kurdyla, OL Brandon Manosalvas, OL James O’Hagan DT Chris Ford, LB Jarrett Franklin, LB Ishmael Hargrove, DE Demone Harris, LB Khalil Hodge, CB Cameron Lewis, S Tim Roberts, S Ryan Williamson
Redshirt freshman Tyree Jackson stepped into the starting quarterback role midway through the first game and remained at the position until an injury forced him to the sidelines for the final two games of the season. At 6-foot-7, Jackson has the size and a big play arm to be an elite quarterback but turnovers remain a concern (9 interceptions, 2 fumbles lost).
The offensive line returns four starters from a group that allowed 23 sacks in 2016. The unit helped Buffalo finish with a 1,000-yard rusher for the first time since 2014. James O’Hagan, a third-team All-MAC selection last season at center, returns to anchor the front line. He’ll have some from transfers Jacquis Webb (Rutgers) and Paul Nosworthy (Grambling State).
The trio of Jarrett Franklin, Ishmael Hargrove and Khalil Hodge form the core of the defense at linebacker. All three players started every game last season. Hodge and Hargrove combined for more than 200 tackles, helping create chaos in the middle.
The Bulls will have a crucial hole to fill at running back. Jordan Johnson capped a productive career by earning third team All-MAC honors after rushing for 1,040 yards and six touchdowns last season. Sophomore Johnathan Hawkins (338 yards, 1 touchdown) appears the most likely candidate to step into the starting role in 2017.
The departure of Mason Schreck, Marcus McGill and Malcolm Robinson leaves the team looking to replace the majority of its receiving yards from last season. Kamathi Holsey steps into the spotlight after finishing with 119 yards on 21 catches in 2016.
Tight end has been an especially productive position for the program under Leipold and the team will have to find a way to replace an all-conference level player in Schreck.
Buffalo has holes to plug on the defensive line. The unit must deal with the departure of Remaine Douglas and Brandon Crawford. The Bulls struggled on the defensive end of the ball last season, finishing next-to-last in the conference in sacks (17). It was the program’s lowest sack production since 2011.
Leipold has lost more games during the past two seasons at Buffalo (17) than he did in eight seasons at Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he won six Division III championships.
But when you consider the Bulls program has only had two winning seasons since 2000, success will take time.
The inexperienced players who carried a heavy workload in 2016 should benefit from the lessons they learned the hard way.
“There were good things on both sides of the ball,” Leipold said after the Bulls’ spring game, according to the Buffalo athletics website. “We're moving in the right direction.”