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!

The Blue Hens throttle Hampton 35-3, and move to 4-0! The BHTC MVP’s for the game are:

Offense – Wide Receiver, Thyrick Pitts
Defense – Defensive Back, Amonte’ Strothers
Special Teams – Tight End, Braden Brose

Join us in the Bob Carpenter Club to hear from:

Guest Coach – Rich Yahner, Linebackers
Guest Speaker- CAA Commissioner, Joe D’Antonio

Doors open at 11:00 AM
Food served at 11:15 PM
Program at Noon Members $25, Non-Members $30
Please reserve and pay on this website, for ease at sign-in.

Also, check out the report of last week’s meeting!

https://bluehentdclub.com/meeting-report-9-23-prior-to-hampton/

Parking: Remember, we park behind the BOB, in the lot between the soccer and softball fields. Enter the BOB through the doors in back. Other areas could result in a UD parking ticket.

Imagine being hired to handle the special-teams duties on a new
football staff and when you show up there is only one kicker on
the team. That’s what Coach Art Link related to the club about his
arrival at Delaware. The starting kicker had transferred to
Cincinnati and the starting punter was in the transfer portal.
Fortunately, Coach Link got to work and brought in a transfer
punter and two freshmen place kickers. The special teams room
got a little bigger! Coach link told us about his special-teams
experience learning from both Ron Zook and Urban Meyer at the
University of Florida, as a graduate assistant, to his experience at
Division III Christopher Newport where he was the head coach
with responsibilities for special teams.

The second speaker was Blue Hen legendary linebacker Ralph
D’Angelo. Ralph entertained us with his Tubby stories including
the time Tubby was painting Ralph’s senior portrait. Apparently,
an assistant coach and the long time Delaware head coach had a
lengthy discussion about the color of Ralph’s eyes. According to
Ralph’s wife (who was also in attendance at the lunch) the color
match was perfect. Ralph also let us know who was the craziest
player on the team during his time – Kenny Bailey. Kenny would
regularly challenge his team mates to push up contests after
practice. It seems that very few, including Ralph, desired to
participate after a grueling practice!

The Offense that Coach Carty told us about, was on full display vs. Rhode Island in a game that was already decided before halftime.
Be sure to attend our meeting this Friday. We hope to again have the BHTC MVP’s of the game in attendance.

Offense – Nolan Henderson #2 QB
Defense – Drew Nickles #51 LB
Special Teams- Liam Trainer #11 LB

Our speakers this week are:
Coach Art Link, Special Teams and Safeties
Ralph D’Angelo, Passionate Blue Hen alumnus and record setting linebacker.

Doors open at 11:00, food served at 11:15, program at noon. Members $25, Guests $30

Please pre-register at: https://securepayment.link/bluehentdclub/weekly-luncheon-reservation/

Check out the report of last week’s meeting in the prior blog post. GO HENS!

Defensive Coordinator Manny Rojas gave us information on the
upcoming game with Rhode Island detailing some players for
whom to watch on the Rhody offense. Fielding questions, he
explained the 3-3-5, particularly the use of three down linemen
rather than four. Specifically, he asked the audience if we noticed
the many times he rushed 5 players. Perhaps as Rojas’ defense
remains effective, he won’t have to answer questions about the
use of four down linemen!

G.J. Crescione, a member of the 2003 National Championship
team, told of his journey as walk-on to partial scholarship recipient
back to walk-on before receiving a full scholarship in his final year
of eligibility. His experience in being chosen for and then acting in
the film “Invincible”, the story of Vince Papale and the Eagles,
was fascinating. As we viewed the video of G.J. hitting film star
Mark Wahlberg on the sideline, the “budding actor” let us know
that the hit was a mistake and he thought he would be in trouble
with the producers (he wasn’t).

BHTC MVP’s for the Delaware State game:

Special Teams MVP – Trey Austin #28 – Defensive Back

Next Club Lunch – Thursday September 15th in the Bob Carpenter Club. Lunch at 11:15, Program at Noon.

Please register and pay in advance: www.bluehentdclub.com

Report on our 9/9 meeting to follow!

Defensive line coach Sam Daniels regaled attendees with his coaching career
journey from an NAIA school to the University of Delaware. Coach Daniels served
as coach of the defensive tackles at Richmond prior to taking the job with the Blue
Hens. He gave us some insight into the rugged Blue Hen defense touching on
some player profiles and his interaction with Manny Rojas, the Hens defensive
coordinator.

Frank Burton provided very inspiring words regarding the Delaware/ Delaware
State rivalry. A man who certainly wears two hats (or at the luncheon two sets of
gear!), Mr. Burton played for DSU in the 1980’s including time with Coach Joe
Purzycki (a Blue Hen alum and a former DSU head coach). His son Frank
completed his eligibility in 2021 after a solid career with the Hens and another
son, Riah, is currently in the cornerback rotation for Delaware this season. The
importance of Delaware playing their in-state FCS rival was clearly delineated.