West Chester Opens Football Camp Under Blue Skies And Pleasant Temperatures

WEST CHESTER, Pa. - The practice fields behind the East Stands of John A. Farrell Stadium were full once again as West Chester University's gridiron gang hit the sleds and ran through drills while coaches blew their whistles and barked out commands on the first day of training camp. As summer days quickly dwindle in the twilight of South Campus, the Golden Rams face high expectations placed on them by both the coaching staff and the rest of the conference as they begin preparation for the 93rd season of West Chester football.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Today's segment is the first in a short series that will preview the 2014 West Chester University Golden Rams football team. Today's segment will include the quarterbacks and tight ends. Tomorrow, the running backs and wide receivers will be unveiled with the offensive line coming on Monday.

How do you replace 1,989 yards rushing and 3,107 all-purpose yards? I mean … White touched the football 494 times last fall, including an NCAA Division II record 406 carries out of the backfield. As for the offensive line, it helps that preseason All-America center Derek Schatz returns to anchor a mostly veteran group. But, finding another "Delly" is virtually impossible.

Keeping West Chester focused during the dog days of August will be two things: 1) winning that elusive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division title outright, and (2) getting another shot at the national semifinals in conditions better suited for the significance of that game. That, maybe above anything else, is what has been gnawing at the Golden Rams' coaching staff all winter, spring and summer.
 
Neither goal will be easy to obtain. The PSAC East is a minefield full of potential pitfalls. One preseason magazine lists three Eastern Division schools in the nation's Top 25. And don't count out Shippensburg just because QB Zach Zulli is gone. For a division that produced the last two Harlon Hill Trophy winners, the East does not look like it has skipped a beat at all.
 
West Chester is coming off a 13-2 campaign, its best in the 92-year history of the program, and a magical run to the national semifinals where a 42-14 loss in the mud to No. 13 Lenoir-Rhyne ended the Golden Rams' Cinderella run one game short of the prize. West Chester returns seven starters on each side of the ball and three of its four special teams performers. In all, 40 letterwinners off last year's squad list return while only 22 were lost. A grand total of 62 players from a year ago are back for what promises to be another big year for the purple & gold.
 
The prognosticators seem to have jumped on West Chester's bandwagon early in 2014. All of the preseason polls have Zwaan's group located in the Top 10 entering this fall, and the PSAC coaches tabbed the Rams as the team to beat during media day this past Monday. Winning brings with it great expectations, and those expectations just got much larger for the coming season.
 
If West Chester is to repeat some of last year's magic, then the Golden Rams will need to stay healthy on both the offensive and defensive lines while seeing untapped potential from players stepping into new roles blossom. The pieces are in place for another standout campaign. The leadership of this team is impeccable, and the squad is coming off what Zwaan calls its best spring practice in his tenure on South Campus. All that is left is for the players to put the game plan into action.

OFFENSE SHOULD BE FUN TO WATCH ONCE AGAIN
 
Bill Zwaan's teams have always seemed to score as though it is double parked. The Golden Rams can put up numbers quickly, and 2014 should not be any different. West Chester ranked fifth in the PSAC in total offense a year ago, and sixth-year senior quarterback Sean McCartney returns to lead a cast of characters that is one of the most productive units in the conference. The Golden Rams averaged scoring 37.6 points per game (fourth in the PSAC) and racked up on average 462.8 yards per contest. Issues of depth on offense only creep into the second and third units on the offensive line. Everywhere else, West Chester seems to go three, or even four, deep with experience and talent.
 
Zwaan entrusts the offense and the play-calling to his son, Bill Zwaan Jr., who first took over that responsibility a year ago. The younger Zwaan serves as offensive coordinator for his father and is comfortable working with McCartney. Running backs coach and former WCU great, Osagie Osunde helps to develop some of West Chester's young running backs, molding them into the type of threat that departed Rondell White represented over the last four years. It is a challenge, but one that Osunde embraces, especially with the plethora of talent returning to the backfield.
 
Quarterbacks

Sean McCartney's decision to return for a sixth season was met with great relief from Zwaan. McCartney ranked second in the PSAC and 12th nationally in passer efficiency rating (163.02) while tying for second in the conference in touchdown passes (34) and tying for fifth nationally in the same category. His 3,569 passing yards was second in the league as well while ranking sixth in all Division II. He led the PSAC with a 63.0 completion percentage.
 
McCartney is the most salient choice at quarterback. His presence in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage is unparalleled in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. "Unflappable" is how Zwaan describes his signal caller, and the moniker fits perfectly. There is no situation in a game that gets McCartney rattled. He is comfortable and composed in the pocket, knows when to tuck it under and run, and always seems to make the correct reads at the line of scrimmage. If the quarterback is going to audible out of the play sent in from the sidelines, then the Zwaan's would want nobody else out there besides "Big Red".
 
Behind McCartney is sophomore Andrew Derr, who proved his worth last year on the road at Shippensburg by leading the Golden Rams on a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter. Derr appeared in four games in 2013 for West Chester, making one start, and completed 20 of 34 passes for 398 yards and four touchdowns. His heroics against the Raiders solidified his status as the team's No. 2 quarterback. Zwaan has confidence in Derr. The young signal caller has an understanding of the Spread Wing-T that keeps the entire playbook open, if anything were to happen to McCartney. Derr plays within himself and lets the talent around him make plays.
 
Third on the depth chart is junior James Rusenko, a two-year veteran in West Chester's system, who possesses the ability to run the football out of the wildcat formation when he is on the field. Rusenko gives Zwaan another option off the bench and one that is calm under pressure. Both Derr and Rusenko are talented, capable backups, who Zwaan and his staff know can get the job done.
 
Red-shirt freshman Pat Moriarty is coming off a solid performance in the spring game and continues to develop. The coaching staff is really likes his progress. Moriarty will need to advance his knowledge and understanding this fall. Zwaan suspects that Moriarty is not ready, but is keen to the steps Moriarty is taking towards evolving into a Division II quarterback.
 
Sophomore Alec Werner, who started seven games for PSAC East rival Kutztown last season, red-shirts this fall as he transitions into the Golden Rams' system. He threw for 1,804 yards and 13 TDs and nearly engineered an upset of nationally ranked West Chester last year at Farrell Stadium. He started all seven games in which he played and was the first true freshman to start a season-opener for Kutztown since 1998. He has been around the Eastern Division and knows what it takes to be successful against some of the best Division II has to offer.

The departure of Jared Bonacquisti at fullback has necessitated a few changes for Zwaan. In that milieu, Zwaan has transformed that position into the more modern H-back position that plays more like a tight end, than a fullback. Juniors Tim Brown and Shawn Driggins will rotate between that newly created role and the traditional tight end position. Brown returned from an injury late in the regular season last year and put together an impressive playoff run for the Golden Rams. He turned into one of McCartney's top targets. Brown's pass-catching ability is what sets him apart from everybody else. The junior caught 20 passes for 429 yards and five TDs.
 
Driggins has drastically improved his ability to catch the ball, including hauling in a pair of TD receptions last fall. He has won the confidence of McCartney to throw the ball his way and keep defenses honest. Driggins, already a top-notch blocker, has big-game experience and is perhaps the best blocking tight end on the roster.
 
Red-shirt freshman, Bill Ford, is another candidate at the H-back, or traditional tight end, position. He spent the spring as a catcher on West Chester's baseball team and will need to catch up with everybody else in the preseason. However, Zwaan likes his blocking ability. Fellow junior Camille Max is the guy in short-yardage or goal line situations when Zwaan needs a true fullback to block. He only carried the ball three times for seven yards and caught a 10-yard pass last fall. His main responsibility is in the blocking game. Max is one of the best blocking backs in the league.