Colonials Corner

Colonials Corner made its way up to training camp for the first and only time this summer, catching the final 45 minutes of practice before doing a host of interviews for the 2010 Beaver County Times’ college football preview special.

That comes out September 3rd and most (if not all) of the content will be newspaper only. I encourage you to pick up a copy at a local newsstand, not just to help support the newspaper industry, but because it’s going to be a fantastic special issue. I’ve contributed a feature on local products Jon Baldwin (Aliquippa/Pitt) and Derek Moye (Rochester/Penn St.), plus an RMU preview that includes a feature story on Alex DiMichele, a Q+A with new receiver Jamie Cobb, and a position by position breakdown.

Some observations from camp (and I welcome others to post theirs):

• Jeff Sinclair looked good, as did Kyle McNeil. Coach Walton, in particular, is impressed with both, and he singled out McNeil for his progress,  saying he’d be comfortable playing the sophomore in any game situation.

• Myles Russ and Jeff Link are both a bit banged up and held out of practice and were supposed to be held out of the scrimmage. Apparently hamstrings have been a problem among the running backs, so the staff is conserving them. There is little doubt that Russ and Link will be 100% for this week and should be fine for Dayton.

• Freshman tight end Alex Smith has impressed in camp. He’ll wear #21.

• Freshman Deontae Howard and sophomore Monty Ashby will have some sort of impact on the team. Howard’s been credited for being physical despite his size, and defensive coordinators Scott Farison and Scott Benzel loved Ashby’s relentless work on the scout team.

• Donte Jeter, who played QB/DB for Oliver High in the city, has been moved to wide receiver. Wearing #13, he made a spectacular catch in 11 on 11 drills and has impressed Walton and the rest of the staff. He’ll contribute somehow.

• Speaking of new wide receivers, Jamie Cobb was very personable during our little Q+A session. He said he’s adjusting to the pro-style offense and that he’ll be the third wide receiver to start. Cobb has been compared to J.T. Kirk and reportedly has excellent hands.

• Brad Banas was working quite a bit with the first team and will play a lot at outside linebacker. The staff was high on the sophomore last year, when he played on special teams as a freshman.

• Rolf Bathold and Mike Landers are known quantities in the secondary, as are Marvin McCalla and Mike Richards. But McCalla and Richards have taken another step. Richards has become an excellent jammer on the line, while McCalla has looked very good in camp.

• Nolan Nearhoof and Steve Mitchell, who stepped in as freshmen, will play heavily on the defensive line again and have impressed the staff in camp.

• A couple freshmen linemen to keep an eye on – Jon Hill (6’4, 250), Henry Jartu (5’11, 260), and Chris Thompkins (6’1, 235). All have made some early waves. Naturally the depth on the team and the learning curve of adjusting to the 3-4 will limit the playing time, but these guys should be on your radar.

• Also impressive is someone who could end up returning kicks – Evan Taylor. Benzel compared him to Mike Niklos as far as his athleticism, build, and conditioning.

After one of the best seasons in program history, Sal Buscagalia has signed a 3-year contract extension that takes his deal through 2015-2016.

We talked to Sal earlier on Monday for this story that’s in Thursday’s Beaver County Times.

Couple things that didn’t make the cut:

• Several RMU players played for their respective national teams over the summer, including Mary Durojaye (England), Anna Gailite (Latvia), Yohanna Morton (Dominican Republic), and freshman Artemis Spanou (Greece).
• Gailite and Durojaye apparently impressed their national team coaches during the summer. Buscaglia said the English coaches were “really happy with her progress.”
• He also pointed out that the international players benefit from playing top competition all year around, noting that per NCAA rules, coaches aren’t allowed to do much at all with their players during the summer. The international players get to play at a high level during the summer sessions, which helps their development and skillset.
• As you’ll see in the article, Vega Gimenez-Martinez will not be back. Buscaglia said that she really enjoyed her time at Robert Morris, but it’s “hard to turn down” an offer that includes a pro contract in your native Spain that includes education benefits.
• Coach Sal said that replacing Angela Pace, the reigning NEC Player/Defensive Player of the Year, will be the toughest task. It’ll likely fall to a combination of Morton and freshman Danielle Bounds.
• Season opener is against Lehigh, followed up with a game at North Carolina.

Our colleague Eric Hall at the Beaver County Times has an excellent article showcasing how Andy Toole is settling in as the youngest head coach in college hoops.

As has been mentioned, Toole finally has a complete staff and roster to work with as the school year draws near. Mike Byrnes (Winchendon Prep School) had been mentioned several times over the last month or so as a potential assistant coach and he’s officially been added to the staff this week, as a couple commenters have posted. That finalizes Toole’s staff for his first year. Toole has Byrnes, former Vermont assistant Matt Hahn, and holdover Robby Pridgen as assistants. Dave Richards and Dave Scarborough stay on as the video coordinator and director of basketball operations. Hahn is likely Toole’s number one assistant – he has the most D-I experience – and has been very active with Toole on the recruiting trail.

As for the roster, it’s extremely doubtful any additional players are added this late. Deion Turman was about as late as it gets anymore. Turman’s officially through the clearinghouse and a member of the team. The depth chart looks something like this:

F – Lijah Thompson (6’7, 200, So.), Bernard Webb (6’9, 230, So.), Deion Turman (6’9, 215, Fr.)

F – Russell Johnson (6’6, 180, r.So.), Lawrence Bridges (6’6, 220, Jr.), Yann Charles (6’5, 220, Fr.)

G – Gary Wallace (6’3, 200, Sr.), Elton Roy (6’2, 195, Fr.)

G – Karon Abraham (5’9, 150, So.), Coron Williams (6’2, 170, rFr.), Shane Mahoney (6’1, 175, Sr. walkon)

G – Velton Jones (6’0, 170, rSo.), Anthony Myers (5’11, 170, Fr.)

And with that, we’re officially onto football for the next few months. Basketball should be quiet until the 2011 commitments begin to come in and practice begins in October.

Training camp for the 2010 football season begins today and will go through the end of the month before the Colonials open the season at Dayton on September 4.

Due to our new responsibilities at PaPreps and the insanity of preparing for a football season involved with a Rivals.com site, as well as our continued responsibilities at the newspaper, there likely won’t be the kind of camp coverage longtime readers are used to. We do plan on getting out to some sessions, but we also encourage the fans to check things out.

You can post some comments about individual players, your expectations, and anything else RMU football related in the comment section below. We’ll do one of these for each week, as well as add in our own observations/interviews/news in separate posts.

For the first time, the Northeast Conference will send its champion to the Division I FCS playoffs. And for the first time in several years, the NEC coaches believe Robert Morris might have a shot.

The Colonials were picked to finish 2nd in the preseason coaches poll and earned three first place votes. Central Connecticut State, the defending champion, was picked to finish first. Albany, practically a dynasty the past few years, was picked to finish third.

Robert Morris finished a 5-6 season with five straight wins and returns 19 of 22 starters. The Colonials also placed four players on the All-NEC first team – RB Myles Russ, LB Alex DiMichele, DB Rolf Bathold, and K Garrett Clawson.

Robert Morris fans looking for some additional size on the 2010 Colonials men’s basketball team may get their wish.

Our colleague Eric Hall at the Beaver County Times reports that RMU is close to signing 2010 Mount Lebanon graduate Deion Turman. The 6-foot-8 center/forward would be joining the Colonials very late in the process, but head coach Andy Toole certainly could use an extra forward. As of now, the Colonials only have redshirt sophomore Russell Johnson, sophomore Lijah Thompson, and junior college transfer Bernard Webb as players 6-foot-6 or taller at forward, Johnson profiles better as a wing/small forward.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says that Turman has accepted the scholarship offer, and quotes him as saying that he believes RMU is a place he can succeed on and off the court, but Hall reports that Turman has paperwork that still needs to clear with the NCAA Clearinghouse.

The annual Northeast Conference coaches teleconference is coming up on August 4th, a chance for all of us media types to talk to coaches about the upcoming season.

The NEC is doing things a little bit differently, though. Along with questions from the media, the NEC is allowing questions from fans as well.

Go to this site here on the NEC page to submit a question for Joe Walton or any of the NEC football coaches. The conference will sort through them and pick the best ones to ask during the teleconference.

It’s still unofficial, as it hasn’t been released on the official Robert Morris website, but it looks like the schedule has been finalized for the first year of the Andy Toole era in Moon Township.

There are no surprises – after all, much of the schedule has been speculated on even before Mike Rice left for Rutgers. The only thing that has changed with Toole in charge is the return of Youngstown State to the schedule, the addition of a home game that became the season opener (St. Peter’s), and the confirmation that the Colonials will indeed play Pitt early in the season.

The schedule includes 3 buy games – Pitt, WVU, and Arizona – and just three non-conference home games. The Colonials will play four teams (Pitt, WVU, Morgan State, and Ohio) who played in the NCAA Tournament last year.

No word on if any games will be televised outside of the ESPN game against Kent State. Other logical bets include the games against Duquesne, Pitt, St. Francis Pa., and the rivalry games (especially the final game of the regular season) against Mount St. Mary’s.

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This is the final regular season tripleheader at Greentree. The league will host playoff games next Tuesday before crowning a champion and handing out awards on Wednesday.

We’ll see if Karon Abraham continues his hot shooting from Monday night. The Colonial sophomore led all scorers with 32 points on 11 of 18 shooting, including 7 of 12 from beyond the arc. Unfortunately for Karon, his P&W team is winless.

This week also brings a surprise appearance by former Colonial Chaz McCrommon. He’s been playing overseas much of the past few years and is listed by the Pitt website PantherLair as being on a roster this week.

Schedule:

7 p.m. – Center Court vs. SPK
8 p.m. – UPMC vs. P&W
9 p.m. – PGT vs. The Lair

Standings:
The Lair (No RMU connections) – 5-1
Center Court (Russell Johnson, Coron Williams, Yann Charles) – 5-1
UPMC (Mezie Nwigwe, Josiah Whitehead) – 4-2
SPK (Velton Jones, Lijah Thompson) – 2-4
PGT (Jeremy Chappell, Dallas Green) – 2-4
P&W (Karon Abraham, Anthony Myers, Chaz McCrommon) – 0-6

A while back, Robert Morris teamed up with VisitPittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Penguins to submit a bid to host the 2013 or 2014 NCAA Frozen Four at the new Consol Energy Center in downtown Pittsburgh.

Tuesday, that bid became reality. The group was announced as the host for the 2013 semifinals and finals to the Division I college hockey tournament.

It’s become a popular tournament, broadcast on the ESPN family of networks, and in a hockey crazed market like Pittsburgh, it’s bound to attract large crowds and plenty of media attention.

The 2014 event was awarded to Philadelphia.

Some relevant links:

• Coverage from the Post-Gazette’s Michael Sanserino.
• Official release from the school