2008 Woodie Awards
Kicking game, defense looks to improve for '08
Casey Bowman
Issue date: 8/28/08 Section: Sports
Floyd Stadium's 75th season is set to begin Thursday night as the MT Blue Raider football team opens the 2008 season against the Troy Trojans in the annual Battle for the Palladium.
MT will be bringing some new faces to the field. A lot of unanswered questions loom about the Blue Raiders on offense and defense. Here's a bit of what you can expect to see.
On Special Teams
With a decent kicking game, last year might have been the second straight year that the Blue Raiders went to a bowl game. But, that wasn't meant to be. Inconsistencies in the field goal department were MT's Achilles heel. This year, however, it seems there is reason to breathe now during PAT's and Field Goal attempts, as freshman Alan Gendreau showed a steady leg during the offseason, and has the ability to split the uprights from 50 yards without a problem.
Punter David Defatta will be focusing solely on that aspect of the kicking game this season, which should help him improve upon his performances last year, where he was impressive. Defatta led the Sun Belt Conference last year with 20 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard-line and carried a solid overall average of 40.9 yards per punt.
Returning kicks could be interesting this year as well with the always dangerous duo of Desmond Gee and Phillip Tanner handling the duties. Both possess the speed and field awareness to make things interesting this year. If Troy is not careful, one of these guys will be taking it to the house. Wide Receiver Patrick Honeycutt will be handling punt returns to open the season. Honeycutt is great at staying shifty in coverage lanes and could be a legitimate threat.
On Offense
MT has yet to even name a starting quarterback for their matchup with Troy, not that it matters as both Joe Craddock and Dwight Dasher are more than capable of handling their own in the pocket.
The Blue Raiders' big concerns are with the offensive line. Sophomore sensation Mark Fisher is out until at least the midway point of the season with a torn labrum. Redshirt freshman Jake Padrick was on tap to start at center this year after an impressive fall camp, but has been declared out for the season with a knee injury. MT will bring a young and certainly unproven core into its matchup with Troy, and if MT is going to have any success against the Trojans, then these players will have to step it up.
MT will be bringing some new faces to the field. A lot of unanswered questions loom about the Blue Raiders on offense and defense. Here's a bit of what you can expect to see.
On Special Teams
With a decent kicking game, last year might have been the second straight year that the Blue Raiders went to a bowl game. But, that wasn't meant to be. Inconsistencies in the field goal department were MT's Achilles heel. This year, however, it seems there is reason to breathe now during PAT's and Field Goal attempts, as freshman Alan Gendreau showed a steady leg during the offseason, and has the ability to split the uprights from 50 yards without a problem.
Punter David Defatta will be focusing solely on that aspect of the kicking game this season, which should help him improve upon his performances last year, where he was impressive. Defatta led the Sun Belt Conference last year with 20 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard-line and carried a solid overall average of 40.9 yards per punt.
Returning kicks could be interesting this year as well with the always dangerous duo of Desmond Gee and Phillip Tanner handling the duties. Both possess the speed and field awareness to make things interesting this year. If Troy is not careful, one of these guys will be taking it to the house. Wide Receiver Patrick Honeycutt will be handling punt returns to open the season. Honeycutt is great at staying shifty in coverage lanes and could be a legitimate threat.
On Offense
MT has yet to even name a starting quarterback for their matchup with Troy, not that it matters as both Joe Craddock and Dwight Dasher are more than capable of handling their own in the pocket.
The Blue Raiders' big concerns are with the offensive line. Sophomore sensation Mark Fisher is out until at least the midway point of the season with a torn labrum. Redshirt freshman Jake Padrick was on tap to start at center this year after an impressive fall camp, but has been declared out for the season with a knee injury. MT will bring a young and certainly unproven core into its matchup with Troy, and if MT is going to have any success against the Trojans, then these players will have to step it up.
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