Football injuries curbed

After two consecutive seasons plagued with injuries and disappointment, Delaware football will take the field Thursday looking to prove their talent. 

"We have 17 seniors returning. You have to like that we have about 30 guys who started at least one ball game in this league," head coach K.C. Keeler said. "The key thing for us is staying healthy. We were in those close games last year, but we missed 45 starts due to injury and we can't do that again. We need to keep our guys on the field. This is a deeper team though, so if we had an injury or two, we could survive a lot better than we did last year."

Keeler said he has high expectations for his players after watching them during preseason camp and is anxious to get them out on the field.

"I think that it has been a productive spring, a productive summer camp and I think the guys are itching to play someone else," he said. "It always gets a little stale towards the end of camp. You can only go so many days in a row hitting the same people."

Much of the focus this season will be on senior transfer quarterback Pat Devlin. Devlin is entering his second year at the university and the Hens hope he will lead them to a deep playoff run. 

"This is his team, make no mistake about it, this is his team," Keeler said.

Devlin was on the watch list for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, the only FCS player to receive such an honor. While Devlin thinks it is a great honor he said his concern is with helping the team get better.

"We're worried about being the best team that we can be," he said. "Our focus is getting better every day. If we do that then we'll be the best team we can be."

Last season, with the team slumping to a 6-5 record, Devlin was able to put up some impressive numbers, throwing 220 completions for 2,664 yards and 16 touchdowns. With a deep wide receiver core consisting of seniors Mark Mackey, Tommy Crosby, Phillip Thaxton and underclassmen like Rob Jones and Nihja White, those numbers could improve.

"We've got a lot of depth," Thaxton said. "Some young guys that actually played last year too, so even they're going to help us out; it's looking like a good year for us at the receiver position."

Thaxton switched to wide receiver at the end of last season after playing two seasons as a running back. He said he feels more comfortable at his new position than he did last season. Thaxton's teammates said they're optimistic about Thaxton at receiver.

"Phil looked good when he moved over, and he looks a lot better now," Mackey said. "He just kept getting better over spring and especially over the summer."

The offense will get a boost in the backfield as freshman Andrew Pierce now stands at the top of the depth chart. Keeler said he is very excited to see what the team's new weapon can do.

"He's had just a terrific spring and a terrific camp, and he's earned the right to be the number one guy," Keeler said. "He really can kind of do it all. I don't want to anoint him as anything because he's only a gray-shirt freshman but in terms of the training camp we had, he really had an outstanding training camp."

To the backfield also returns the two leading rushers from last season: David Hayes, who rushed for 409 yards, and Leon Jackson, who totaled six touchdowns for the year.

Defensively, the Hens were able to return with star Matt Marcorelle after he was granted a sixth season of eligibility by the NCAA. Marcorelle missed most of last season due to an injury but was a huge part of the defense when the Hens made it to the FCS Championship in 2007. Marcorelle said he is happy to be back and is looking forward to being the team's leader on defense.

"I'm happy to have teammates again," he said. "I'm excited about 2010. I think we're going to have a great defense this year. Pat's a great leader he's going to have those guys on the offense on point, and I feel like it's my job to have the defense on point and hopefully we're very successful this year."

The defense is also anchored by Anthony bratton, preseason All-CAA First Team member and last season's team-leader in interceptions, along with fellow senior Anthony Walters, who form one of the top safety pairs at the FCS level.

While the depth charts for the defensive back positions look set, questions about health remain on the defensive line.  Sophomore Irvin Titre is coming off a broken leg and is seven to 10 days away from being healthy, Keeler said. Senior Carl Batson is also returning after breaking a bone in his leg and Keeler said he thinks it will be at least two weeks before Batson can play again. Meanwhile, senior Siddiq Haynes is returning to practice after a shoulder injury.

 The defensive line's newest addition, Matt Hardison, a transfer from Rutgers, was slowed by a hamstring injury for about 10 days in training camp. Keeler said he hopes the ex-Scarlet Knight can play right away as Hardison is very dynamic and has shown flashes of being a real asset to the defensive line. 

"Defensive line is probably the biggest mystery and the biggest concern I have," Keeler said. "I think we are one of the better D-lines in the league if we are all healthy. I think what is perceived right now as an area of concern could be an area of strength two weeks from now."

Another change is the new FieldTurf surface on which the team will be playing. Devlin said he is happy about the change because the Hens's game-field will match the turf on their practice field. Marcorelle was also enthusiastic about the new change.

"I'm really excited about the turf," he said. "The thing about turf is no matter what weather it is, turf always holds up. You can always wear one specific type of cleat and you should be good to go, so it doesn't really affect your play."