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DePauw football hopes scrimmage at Franklin will help sort out starters
The DePauw football team has spent the past week of practice trying to get closer to picking its starters, and the hope is that after Saturday's scrimmage at Franklin College, every spot will be settled.
The coaches have a pretty good idea of how things will come together, head coach Bill Lynch said, but there aren't many places where guys are comfortable in their spot.
"Some guys have separated themselves a little bit more than others," Lynch said. "You want to have competition so everybody has got to be constantly striving to improve and get better. Sometimes when guys get comfortable they don't get any better and as a result their performance generally slides.
"That's why you try to create competition and why this (scrimmage) is going to be so good for us (Saturday)."
The two teams will start warming up at noon, with seven-on-seven starting at 12:30 p.m. While the skill guys are playing on the full field, linemen will be doing one-on-one pass rush drills against their opponent off to the side.
A full half of play, using standard rules, starts at about 1:10 p.m. That will be followed by two-minute drills and anything else the coaches want to work into the scrimmage.
Evaluating the players and sorting out position battles at quarterback, wide receiver, tight and in the defensive backfield are one of the things Lynch will focus on, but mostly he just wants to see his new team compete.
"We're playing against an elite Division III football program," he said. "They've been a top 10-20 football program over the last several years. It'll be a good measuring stick. ... I think we've been competitive in practice but now we've got to go compete."
This is particularly important with some of the freshmen and guys who are fighting for a spot deep in the roster. NCAA rules limit the number of players who can travel with a team for road games, so in addition to finalizing starters, DPU will also use the scrimmage to sort out who gets to go to next week's opener at Sewanee.
Some of the more intriguing position battles include:
Quarterback: Justin Murray v Drew Seaman
While there are a few others in the mix for a spot on the depth chart, the two main players both have experience as starters for DePauw. Seaman missed last week's intra-squad scrimmage, but he is expected to play against Franklin. Freshmen Matt Hunt and Ian Good, along with sophomore Griffin Dolle, have also stood out, Lynch said.
Running back: Amen Galley, Armani Cato and several underclassmen.
Lynch said he isn't concerned about which back wins the starting job since both Galley and Cato will get work, but the Tigers running game was non-existent last year so whoever gets carries this season will have a lot of pressure to do more. Senior Andrew Cusumano, who will sit out of the scrimmage, and freshman Jason Kirchhoff also have a chance to see a lot of time in the backfield.
Linebacker:
A pair of freshmen, Tommy Gray and Will Longthorne, have caught the attention of the coaching staff and may solidify a spot on Saturday with a strong scrimmage. They'll be battling several experienced players.
Defensive back:
This area is pretty wide open. The Tigers lost several starters from last season to graduation, though even that group struggled at times by giving up big plays. The new group includes veterans and a few others, including freshman Cody Baker and converted quarterbacks Jake Hemrick and Kolten Everts (North Putnam).
One other intriguing spot still open is place kicker. Senior Eric Malm was solid but unspectacular last season. He's been fine in camp as well, but freshman Marko Adams has also impressed the coaching staff.
A final note:
DPU began camp with 12 quarterbacks and that number is down to seven. Two, Everts and Hemrick, have transitioned to defensive back, and three others are now wide receivers. Moving smart, athletic players into new spots is pretty common for Division III teams and the high school quarterbacks recruited by DePauw fit that bill. The setup of the scrimmage will give every kid a chance to play, so the guys moving to new spots will get on film.
Franklin College also has two Putnam County kids, sophomore linebacker Nate Bryan (North Putnam) and freshman safety Hunter Smith (Greencastle).