TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

Your last two recruiting classes have both been ranked among the top five in the Mid-American Conference by Rivals.com. What are your methods for recruiting successfully in general, and in particular, to bring student-athletes to UB?
Our recruiting efforts start at home, first. We have signed more New York State players in the last three years than any Division I school. All of our coaches are responsible for at least one section of the state, and some coaches have multiple areas that they recruit in state. We believe in regional recruiting also, but our roster indicates we have had success recruiting across the country, with newcomers arriving from California, Texas, Missouri, Florida, Minnesota, as well as from other eastern and MAC states. We have been able to have success with summer campers as well, and our offer-to-commit ratio for campers is fantastic – we plan to keep it that way. UB has a unique combination of outstanding quality with its curriculum and opportunity for growth in football.

How important is the spring season and what types of achievements and improvements does it allow you to make as a team?
While any football practices give a team opportunities to improve, the 15 allowed in the spring really give young players a significant chance to get high quality reps without game-planning distractions. Spring football is a time to work hard on the fundamentals of football. The much larger portion of the non-season (because there is no such thing as an off-season) is devoted towards personal physical development of strength, explosion, flexibility, endurance, speed and change of direction. A lot can change for a young man between December and July.

Have the roles of true freshmen changed throughout your coaching career in that they are now more likely to make an immediate impact? Do you expect many true freshmen to impact your team this upcoming season?
I can't say that true freshmen are counted on any greater now than they were 25 years ago. It is rare, with a mature football program, that a true frosh would significantly impact a team. With our program being as young as it is in Division I-A, they have had more of an impact than they normally would have had somewhere else. We didn't predict who would play during the 2002 season as freshmen, and it would be impossible to predict who, if any, will play in 2003. We are glad to have every one of them though, that are joining our program.

What type of progress needs to be made this season for UB to continue growing into a successful Division I-A football program?
Our challenge is to simply play better football. That will directly impact the number of wins we have. Better blocking, tackling, running, passing, catching and kicking will provide us with greater success.

Last year Northern Illinois made a three-game turnaround as far as MAC record, and was one of the best MAC football teams. Is that the type of turnaround that can happen in the short term here at Buffalo?
NIU had been very solid for three seasons before posting an overall record of 8-4 last season. They made a jump from 2-9, to 5-6, then 6-5 twice, and then 8-4. They have built their program on a solid foundation and it should hold up for a long time. We want to build a rock solid foundation as well, so that the house can stand for a long time, too!

What does it do to your ability to recruit when you can advertise games against Iowa in 2003 and Syracuse in 2004, for example?
Having the type of future schedules that we have simply makes the statement that this is an opportunity for a prospective student-athlete to play against the best the nation offers out-of-conference, as well as a highly-competitive MAC schedule annually.

Discuss the changes in your coaching staff, including the additions of Quarterbacks Coach Rob Best and Defensive Backfield Coach Miles Aldridge.
The addition of Rob Best to coach our quarterbacks brought experience to our staff. Appalachian State has been an almost annual I-AA playoff contender over the last 15 years, and has won their conference championship three times in that time span. He has seen and coached a lot of football.

Miles Aldridge also brings extensive college and pro football experience with bowl games and championships coaching on defense or coordinating defenses. These are two great additions to our staff, as well as a new strength and conditioning coach, Cheyenne Pietri, who joined us from Arizona State.

Last year's offensive unit struggled throughout the season. What types of differences are there in the perspective offensive for this season?
The differences on either side of the ball from '02 to '03 are that there simply won't be the number of newcomers playing for the first time. With as many returning players as we have, whether they are starters or role players, there will be much more familiarity between coaches and players, as well as players to players, which should make our preparations better for each opponent.

What does it mean to the program to have players like Chad Bartoszek and Andre Forde move on to try out in National Football League camps?
The first thing it means is that we have to replace two highly productive players. That may take more than just their replacements at the respective positions. Other than that, it simply shows that if you are good enough with talent, work ethic and character, you will be found, evaluated, and perhaps given an opportunity to play pro football no matter where you are in college.

As a former assistant coach at both Syracuse and Wake Forest, what are your feelings on the prospect of the conference shakeup that involves both the Atlantic Coast Conference and the BIG EAST? What impact could that have on UB, as well?
Having coached in both conferences, it will clearly make one of them stronger, and weaken, if not destroy the other to the point that it will be something much different than that which was originally created in 1991. It is the landscape we live in however, and I would expect more changes in the near future regarding college football nationally. It has no impact on UB becoming more competitive and successful in the MAC. That will be up to us, and no one else.

-The “10 Questions with…” feature is compiled by Geoff Nason.