Q: Coach Longo, in the off-season you stressed that recruiting kickers and linebackers were your top priority. Now that camp has ended, do you feel that you have successfully achieved that goal?
A: I haven't achieved anything, our staff did an incredible job in the off-season of addressing the needs we identified. Our former Recruiting Coordinator, Josh Zagorski identified three outstanding kickers/punters that we recruited very aggressively. All three of them committed and they are an extremely talented stable of kickers. Anthony Perlozzo is handling our punting duties and our short-range FG's, and Chip Ingle is currently slated to handle kick-offs and long range FG's. Nick Scrivens can do all three and at some point this season, he will get his opportunity also. At LB, we are very impressed with a number of newcomers, particularly Marcus Ayers, what a great individual. Casey Walsh and redshirt freshman Preston Plevretes have also progressed nicely. We have been pleased with the entire unit and this group will contribute in the future. We are very pleased with the improvement of returners Nick DePinto, Nick Sipics and Tom Grossman.
Q: Have the players adapted well to Coach Petitte's new defensive scheme and do you feel that you will be better on defense this year?
A: There is no question that we will be better, the final product on defense will depend on the leadership of our veterans and the execution of the entire unit. Coach Petitte and the defensive staff demand that we play physical, aggressive, sound football. It has been evident in camp that we are more athletic and more physical at this point. The key is to stay healthy now and progress with each opponent.
Q: I have asked you this before, how difficult will it be to replace Vernard Abrams? Can Michael Jump run this offense?
A: You don't replace an athlete like Vernard Abrams. He is doing a terrific job preparing our QB's as the Quarterbacks coach. His experience in this offense has been a tremendous asset to our younger guys. I would have loved to have had him for four years, I think Vernard makes that comment to me once a week. Unfortunately, he was a defensive player when I first arrived here. He has certainly demonstrated what the offense can do when we have a good trigger man at the helm. As for Michael Jump, he and Dwayne Lodge have done a tremendous job preparing for this season and I have the utmost confidence in both of them.
Q: Does your game plan change when a guy like All-American WR John Zabel is in the line-up?
A: The offensive game plan is fundamentally the same each week, take what the defense gives you. Having an individual like John in the line-up certainly warrants more attention and we certainly plan to create match-ups for him. This offense is predicated on sharing the wealth and we will need to do that with athletes like Kevin Sullivan, Lou Russo, Josh Brumfield and Greg Vacarro on the field. They are all capable of standing out and making big plays. Steve Adelman and Bernie Cevis have shown that they can contribute as well.
Q: What is the philosophy on defense and how will you defend against a number of different offensive systems this year?
A: The philosophy on defense mirrors that of the offensive philosophy. We will attack identified weaknesses and try to exploit them. The key for us on defense is to be fundamentally sound, put our kids in a position to make plays and then be able to finish when we get there. The aspect of finishing a defensive play comes down to our athleticism and our execution.
Q: You mentioned the offensive philosophy, other than attacking weaknesses, how would you characterize the system that you run at La Salle? Is it the Run-n-Shoot, the Spread, Multiple-Pro, etc...?
A: There are characteristics from a number of different systems in the offense. There are very few concepts from the Run-n-Shoot and the Pro-I in our system. We are multiple in nature and we rely on balance, not balance with plays but balance with our athletes. Each position must be a weapon so the offense has to be defended equally. We aren't concerned with 35 carries in the run game to be effective, we are concerned about 5 yds. per carry or more, whether we run it 40 times or 10 times. We strive for 12 yds. per catch in the passing game, whether we throw it 20 times or 50 times. The key is to be efficient in every phase of the game. To us, that is true balance.
Q: Coaches don't usually answer this question, but can you make a prediction for the season?
A: I predict that we will be a very well-prepared football team each week and I also feel that our kids will display their best efforts week in and week out. This is a very high-character football team and we see that everyday in practice. The staff and our veteran leadership will not accept anything less. As always, we will take everything one day at a time.
Q: Who would you identify as your biggest challenge this season?
A: I would not identify any one team, each week we have a major challenge. Right now, Ursinus is the big challenge because it is the next one. As a staff, we do feel that the first two games against partial-scholarship schools will serve as a barometer for our program. I am excited about attacking this season after having our first full off-season together as a staff. Last year was a whirlwind after being hired just before spring ball. The team is settled and we all have an understanding as to what needs to be done to succeed here.
