Lack of hype no big deal to Wildcats
BALTIMORE >> Linebacker Drew Wiley and tight end Simon Bingelis weren’t bothered by the fact that Villanova was picked to finish ninth out of the 12 teams in the Colonial Athletic Association in a preseason poll of the league’s coaches.
They had reason to brush it off. Historically, that predicted order of finish rarely pans out.
Maine was picked to finish eighth a year ago and won the conference and reached the FCS final four. Two years ago, Stony Brook was expected to finish eighth and wound up second in the conference behind James Madison.
It seems like every year a team that is picked to finish at the bottom of the league standings winds up at the top. It’s sort of a CAA tradition. So Wiley, Bingelis and Wildcats head coach Mark Ferrante paid the poll no mind.
“It doesn’t bother us because
we know what we have,” Wiley said during CAA media day Tuesday at M&T Bank Stadium.
“We don’t look too deep into the rankings,” Bingelis added. “It’s based off of what we did last year. It’s a new season and we don’t look at it at all.”
The Wildcats are coming off of a second straight 5-6 year (2-6 in conference play), still haven’t decided on a starting quarterback and only have 10 returning starters listed on team’s 2019 information guide, but that’s not the only reason for the low preseason prediction from around the league. The team also underwent a number of coaching changes in the offseason.
Chris Boden, the all-time leading passer in program history, returns to his alma mater as the offensive coordinator.
He replaces Sam Venuto, who retired following the 2018 season. Boden spent the last four years as the head coach at the junior college ASA College Miami, and has also coached in the Arena League and at Fordham.
Ola Adams was promoted to defensive coordinator. He takes over for Joe Trainer, who left to pursue other opportunities and recently was hired as the athletic director at Pope John Paul II High School in Royersford.
Ross Pennypacker takes over for Adams as the special teams coordinator. Nate Pagan replaces Brian Flinn as the recruiting coordinator. Flinn, who also coached the receivers, left to join the staff at Princeton.
There’s also a lot of new faces, so this shapes up to be a transitional year for the Wildcats.
“There’s some newness, a new feel to things. That’s for sure,” Ferrante said. “(The coaches) were all there in the spring so we at
least have spring practice under our belts with the new coaches, unlike some years where maybe you have a coaching change after spring ball and before the preseason starts. There was a new feel to practice, a little more enthusiasm, which was exciting.”
While the coordinators are new, don’t expect massive changes from a scheme standpoint.
“It’s not like we’re going to be going on offense from a shotgun, zone read-type stuff to going under center, Power-I fullback,” Ferrante said. “We’re not going that dramatic. On defense, it’s not like we’re going to go from primarily a threedown front to a four down front. We’re still going to stay with our base stuff, but there will be some new stuff once we get rolling.”
The big question is who will be the quarterback. Redshirt freshman Qadir Ismail and junior Jake Schetletich are listed as the quarterbacks on the
two-deep preseason depth chart, but junior J.J. Scarpello, grad transfers Dan Smith (Campbell) and J.P. Petricca (Howard), and freshmen Connor Watkins (Loyalsock) and Matt Connor (Lower Merion) are vying for the position, too.
“The quarterback position is wide open,” Ferrante said.
Smith is an interesting get for the Wildcats. He has more playing experience than Ismail, Schetletich and Scarpello combined. He was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman in the FCS in 2017 and left Campbell as the career leader in total offense (5,411 yards), passing yards (3,471), passing touchdowns (31) and rushing touchdowns (25). Smith graduated in three years and since he sat out the 2016 season as a redshirt he has two years of eligibility remaining, as does Petricca.
“It’s really Jack and Qadir starting it off,” Ferrante said. “That’s how we finished
spring practice, and we’ll see how it goes when we’re able to evaluate those guys in person as a coaching staff.”
Whoever the quarterback is, he will have a number of weapons at his disposal. Changa Hodge leads a deep and talented receiving corps that includes Jevon Jones and Dez Boykin. Justin Covington and Jalen Jackson take over in the backfield. Paul Grattan, MJ Dumas and Kofi Appiah are experience linemen. And Bingelis is a veteran presence at tight end, although his role will change.
“I think this year it’s really important specifically to get my pass catching down, my route running,” said Bingelis, who was used primarily as a blocking tight end last season. “Coach Pagan has worked with us every day. Coach (Josh) Fletcher has worked with us on our footwork and our route running ability, and well as Coach (Sean) Devine continuing to emphasize how important the run is. So think this year is absolutely crucial to establish a good rhythm on both aspects of offense.”
Wiley is one of six starters back on defense. The other returning starters are end Malik Fisher, linebacker Keeling Hunter, cornerbacks Christian Benford (the conference Rookie of the Year last season) and Jaquan Amos and safety Julian Williams.
As far as that preseason prediction is concerned, however...
“Everyone seems to have us circled on their calendar,” Wiley said. “So we’re the hunter and the hunted.”
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NOTES >> Bingelis, Wiley and Amos were named honorable mention preseason AllCAA . ... James Madison was a near-unanimous choice to win the league, followed by Towson, Maine and Elon. ... The Wildcats open camp Friday and start the 2019 season with a visit to Colgate Aug. 24 at 12 noon.