This was supposed to be a "what to look for this spring" article, but that's not going to work based on the current situation. Although the timeline will be extended, the top three issues for the 2020 Golden Ram football team remain the same:
3. Special Teams
The often taken for granted part of the game has incurred several losses. All-American punter
George Lambritsios has departed with a year of eligibility left while punt returner
Jarey Elder and long snapper
Shane Griffin have exhausted their playing time. Although it's expected that three-time All-PSAC East kicker
Andrew Chegia will return, since he spent his
redshirt year at Temple, he's on track to graduate this spring, so there's a possibility he may decide to join the real world. Among the other available kickers,
John George had one kickoff last season which went for a touchback at Millersville,
Derek Krug and
Chris Barbera both redshirted in 2019 and
Sean Henry is coming to campus in the fall.
Phil Poquie was West Chester's top kick returner and also had eight punt returns last season.
2. Defensive Leadership
Safety
Jarey Elder and defensive end
Ch'aim Smith were both outstanding players for the Golden Ram defense for several seasons. Elder was a three-time All-PSAC East performer, nabbed several All-American plaudits over the past two years and was the PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year after last season. Meanwhile, Smith bounced back from a season-ending injury in 2018 to earn All-American recognition by the AFCA and D2football.com this past season. But besides filling their individual trophy cases, they provided leadership beyond their final playing year when both were team captains. It will be interesting to see who steps up to take charge of this defense and team in 2020.
1. Quarterback
Yes, many fans were frustrated by the number of interceptions (11) thrown by
Paul Dooley last season, but over the final three games of the season, he threw nine touchdowns with no picks against Lock Haven and California to vault the Golden Rams into the postseason and at Notre Dame in the playoffs. And no one can deny his guts when he pulled the ball down and bullied his way for first downs in critical situations. But all that is gone now.
Among the other quarterbacks that were on the roster in 2019,
Mike Piperno has seen the most action, having thrown 73 passes over his first two seasons including starts at Shepherd last year and at East Stroudsburg in 2018. While
IUP transfer Yahmir Wilkerson saw action in seven games for West Chester, the southpaw only threw a handful of passes as he was often called on to run the wildcat.
Zach Gilbert has also seen limited action. So who will play quarterback and what effect that will have on the offense is a significant question.
Finally, there's the impact that the school being closed and not having spring football will have. Certainly this is the situation for all teams in the NCAA, but now the onus to maintain and improve conditioning falls to each individual. Which team can assemble a group of individuals in shape may be the key to success next season.
