The Blue Hens will be back in the friendly confines of Delaware Stadium on Saturday, looking to go 5-0 at home.

Full details of our lunch below. Asst. Head Coach Terrence Archer, a former player and coach at Monmouth University will give us the information on the Hawks’ high powered offense. and we will hear from our Head Basketball Coaches:

Next BHTC Luncheon Friday, November 4, 2022

Guest Coach: Terrence Archer, Assistant Head Coach Head Coach/ Wide Receivers/ Pass game Coordinator

Guest Speakers: Sarah Jenkins and Martin Ingelsby, Women’s and Men’s Head Basketball Coaches

The Bob Carpenter Club – Doors open: 11:00 am, Food served: 11:15 Program begins: Noon

Members $25 / Non-members $30

Register here:

Weekly Luncheon Reservation

As a bicycle gets older, it doesn’t work as well and nor does it ride
as smoothly as it did when it was new. Coach Chris Rogers, UD’s
offensive line coach and run game coordinator, used this
metaphor to explain his ability to do a split which he performed for
the team after UD was victorious over FBS Navy. He developed
this skill as a young man who was embarrassed by the flexibility
and athleticism of young women dancers in a dance class in
which he participated.
Rogers was the offensive line coach at Sam Houston State when
Coach Carty asked him to join the Delaware staff serving in the
same position. He explained the reasons for some of the
changes made to continually improve UD’s offensive line play.
He also talked some about the type of players that he looks for,
long, big and athletic.
Rumors are flying that Coach Rogers will again perform a split
after Delaware defeats Villanova. We can only hope someone
films it and posts it to YouTube!

Our second speaker was St. Elizabeth High School graduate,
current UD student, and reporter for Hero Sports covering the
Colonial Athletic Association, the Patriot League and the NEC. A
lifelong UD fan, Dan Steenkamer, told the audience that the first
book read to him as a child (and his family in attendance
confirmed this!) was Return to Glory the story of Delaware
football’s 2003 National Championship season published by the
News Journal. Now that is training fans from a young age!

Dan’s sports journalistic endeavors are taking off as he broke the
story this year that Howard University would not be joining the
CAA and he is doing play by play for Delaware games for WVUD
91.3 FM. He offered his expertise on national polls at the FCS
level as well as how the CAA may be aligned after the addition of
North Carolina A&T and Campbell University to the football mix in
the CAA.
The Touchdown Club is very proud of “Delaware Dan” and hope
that his star continues to rise in the field of sports journalism.
(Dan Steenkamer pictured at top)

BHTC MVP’s – Morgan State University – 10/22/2022

Members $25 / Non-members $30

Register here: https://securepayment.link/bluehentdclub/weekly-luncheon-reservation/

Describing tight ends Bryce DeMaille, Braden Brose, and Luke
Frederick as a three-headed monster, position Coach Garrett
Smith took time to explain a tight end’s role in Ryan Carty’s
offense. Combining power needed to block 280 pound defensive
ends and the skill to run good pass routes, Coach Smith said he
was fortunate to have players with great ability to do both. A
former QB at Louisiana Monroe, Smith was hired by Coach Carty
at Sam Houston State after a brief stint at his alma mater. When
Carty called him to travel north to join the new Delaware staff,
Garrett jumped at the chance (although he is still getting used to
the colder weather. He described the off week as a “get better
week”, developing younger players and hitting the recruiting trail.
Coach Smith is responsible for recruiting northern Virginia and
Texas (where he can have the opportunity to warm up!).

Have you ever complained about doing laundry? Not Alec
Schwartz, the Head Football Equipment Manager, who washes 100
“loops” (devices to hold each player and coach’s dirty laundry)
daily. He and his assistant and 16 student interns do laundry
from 6 am well into the afternoon and at times later. But that’s
only the tip of the iceberg.

They are responsible for:
1. Ordering all the gear and equipment from Adidas in the off-
season.

2. Fitting helmets and shoulder pads on the first day of pre-
season.
3. Prepping new footballs (16 steps) for practice and games by
washing and applying shaving cream, lotions and “mud” to
get the balls ready.
4. Reporting at 6 am each day to set up the fields with
equipment for the daily 8 am practices.
5. Starting on Tuesdays to prep for gamedays by packing large
trunks with additional clothing and equipment, checking the
Coach’s com system, preparing travel bags for each player
and coach for away games, and passing out uniforms on
Fridays.
6. Repairing broken equipment and torn uniforms.
But wait, there’s more! But I’m too exhausted to continue! I did
not even describe all the work done on gamedays. Kudos to Alec
and his staff for the seven day per week work schedule to provide
for the team’s every need. We certainly now realize and
appreciate the efforts that goes on beyond the scenes. (Reported by Mark Werrell)

After a one week pause, the Team and the Club are back to it for the “stretch run”!

Two loyal Blue Hens have passed in recent days. Former Club President and passionate fan and friend, Ken Schilling, and former player and coach, Bryan Bossard have gone to the Lord. Our thoughts are with Ken and Bryan and their families.

Corner Backs coach and Recruiting Coordinator, Holman Copeland
gave us a brief scouting report of the William and Mary offense
(run, run, play action pass). Based on the results of the game, we
knew what to expect!

Asked what does the staff look for when recruiting, Coach Cope
said, first and foremost, they look for players who love the game.
Certainly, all the measurables such as height, weight, and
position are important but the desire to succeed at the game they
love is the number one attraction for this staff. He also stated that
speed is very critical as UD’s defense is predicated on
aggressively flowing to get the ball.

The team is potentially losing many starters but Coach Cope
emphasized that the staff continually develops guys behind the
starters to provide depth and to create next year’s starters.

If you did not attend the lunch you missed a FASCINATING talk
by Christina Rasnake, the Director of Sports Science and
Analytics.

Chris came to the University with a background in
strength and conditioning but began to apply data gathered from
sports teams first at Dartmouth and then at Missouri State. She
holds a one of a kind position at Delaware in that her analytic data
is applied to all sports teams, not just football.

Chris, along with her 20 graduate/undergraduate interns, takes
data from the weight rooms to provide information to coaches
which they can make actionable. 62 gps devices worn by football
players measure speed, intensity and what she called
“fatigueability”. Trends can be used to map out practices and
empowering coaches to utilize data for conditioning purposes and
how that relates to game plans. She works in conjunction with
athletic training, strength and conditioning, and nutrition. No other
CAA schools utilize these methods. Data analytics is used
regularly in professional sports.

We did not get the result we wanted, but the opportunity to win was there, right until the final play. It is time to regroup for the second half of the season “push”. All of the team goals are still there!

MVP’s for the game:

Offense – Blaise Sparks #67 OL
Defense – Drew Nickles #51 LB
Special Teams – Justis Henley #21 DB

Reminder: There is no luncheon this week, and no game on Saturday. We next meet on Friday, 10/21/2022 prior to the Homecoming clash with the Morgan State University Bears. Details to follow next week.

Watch for a report on last week’s interesting meeting soon!

Our MVP’s for Towson:

Offense: #24 Kyron Cumby, Running Back
Defense: #21 Justis Henley, Defensive Back
Special Teams: #16 Alex Villas, Defensive Back

Next BHTC Luncheon:

Thursday, Oct 6, 2022
Guest Coach: Holman Copeland – Assistant Coach/Corners/ Recruiting Coordinator
Guest Speaker: Christina Rasnake – Director of Sports Science and Analytics
The Bob Carpenter Club – doors open: 11:15 am & program begins: Noon
members $25 / non-members $30

Prior to Saturday’s victory over Towson, Linebackers Coach Rich Yahner gave lunch goers what would be expected from the Tigers offense. He also gave a glimpse into the work ethic and spirit of the linebacker’s room telling us he has to chase his crew out of the weight and film rooms monitoring his players so that they don’t do too much in preparation for each game. Luncheon
attendees gave a cheer when Yahner told them the end of each linebacker meeting ends with “Beat Nova!”.

Colonial Athletic Association Commissioner Joe D’Antonio shared his take on today’s NCAA football environment, why JMU left the CAA, and answered a multitude of questions from BHTC members. He explained the addition of new members to the CAA (Hampton, North Carolina A&T, Stony Brook, Monmouth, and next year Campbell) was a proactive move to provide stability,
sustainability, and competitiveness. The new schools were offered membership to the CAA (the only way in which a school
can gain membership to any conference) based on geographic fit, academic commitment, and an ongoing commitment to give
athletes the best opportunity for success. By the way, if you see the Commissioner ask him to tell you the one about his friend,
his friend’s mother-in-law, and their trip to the Holy Lands!