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BUFFALO, NY - University at Buffalo head football coach Jim Hofher has used the term "filling the bus" many times to describe one of the goals of spring practices. In other words, determining what players are physically and mentally ready to travel in the fall when the real games begin.

After his team's 14 spring practices and its final scrimmage, Hofher said the bus is more filled than at any time during his tenure at Buffalo.

"Perhaps that's a sign of developing maturity on our team," said Hofher, who will enter his third season as head coach in 2003. "We have areas in which we're superior to where we've ever been in terms of depth and other areas where time is going to tell...but overall, if we can sit here and say we have more spots filled up on the bus, that means we're further along than where we've been."

Hofher was pleased with his team's work throughout the spring.

"I think we had a very good spring, a very physical spring," Hofher said. "We probably pushed ourselves to the limit with what we chose to do with live scrimmage work. We got 300 plays of live scrimmage work, which is approximately the equivalent of four college football games. Nobody could hide during the spring."

"We have, and will continue to have, great work from guys who are starting to earn starting spots," he noted. "We have more answers than questions, but that doesn't mean we have starters at every position. We likely do have more alternatives than what we've had."

Part of the improved depth is that the Bulls graduated less than a dozen seniors last year while Hofher's first two recruiting classes continue to progress. The Bulls will be extremely young again this season, as just 13 seniors are on the roster after spring practices.

On offense, the Bulls have plenty of healthy battles going on for starting positions, including at offensive line where Hofher and offensive line coach Roy Istvan have more depth than they've ever had.

"We have two guys who have started 11 and 12 games, respectively, at center," said Hofher of 2002 starter Kevin Dunn (Mission Viejo, CA/Mission Viejo) and Eric Weber (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua), who started all 11 games in 2001 as a redshirt freshman. Weber is coming off knee surgery that ended his season last fall and missed much of spring practice with a foot injury.

Erik Zeppuhar

At guard, UB's depth really begins to show. Erik Zeppuhar (Allison Park, PA/Shaler), Dan Minocchi (Canton, OH/Central Catholic), Alex Alvarez (Los Angeles, CA/Bell-Jeffeson) and Mike Schifano (Webster, NY/Webster) have all started in their UB careers. Zeppuhar is a two-year starter who Hofher said "might be our most improved offensive lineman." Schifano missed the spring but Hofher noted that he is in the process of a complete recovery from shoulder surgery.

UB also has improved depth at tackle, despite the fact that two-year starter Jeff Mills (Wilkes-Barre, PA/Coughlin) missed the spring after minor back surgery. Mills returns at right tackle, while sophomore Zack Love (Strath Haven, PA/Strath Haven) is already a force at left tackle and had another solid spring.

The depth comes from redshirt freshmen Tim Schmidt (Apalachin, NY/Owego Free Academy) and Gerry Weissinger (Webster, NY/Webster), "two exciting redshirt freshmen," according to Hofher as well as juniors Terrance Miles (Buffalo, NY/McKinley) and transfer Luke Johnson (Wayzata, MN/Wayzata). "Terrance continues to improve," said Hofher, "and Luke Johnson was a terrific addition from junior college. We've never had a group like this since I've been here in either the numbers or the quality."

The offensive line's continued improvement will certainly make life easier for whoever lines up at the skill positions for the Bulls. Junior quarterback Randall Secky (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove) and sophomore P.J. Piskorik (Swoyersville, PA/Wyoming Valley West) "both had very productive springs," according to Hofher and will continue to battle for the starting nod in the fall.

"Randall's experience shows up at the line of scrimmage," said Hofher, "while P.J.'s athletic ability shows up every time he's on the field."

The Bulls also have quite a battle in full swing for playing time in the backfield. Aaron Leeper (Jamestown, NY/Jamestown), last year's MAC Freshman of the Year, missed most of the spring after suffering a sprained knee, and yet Buffalo still looked extremely competent and returns 93.1% of its rushing yardage from last season.

Dave Dawson

Sophomore Dave Dawson (Camp Hill, PA/Bishop McDevitt) and redshirt frosh Steven King (Hempstead, NY/Uniondale) saw the majority of time at tailback while Leeper and another redshirt frosh - Chris McDuffie (Amherst, NY/Williamsville North) - were shelved for much of the spring with injuries. At fullback, Jared Patterson (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere) showed great promise while sophomore Ramon Guzman (Bronx, NY/DeWitt-Clinton) was slowed by an early spring hamstring pull, but started as a true freshman in 2002. With none of those six backs older than a sophomore, Hofher knows he has tools to work with.

"That's potentially an area where we have exceptional depth," said Hofher. "We can grow with those guys. Jared, Steven and Dave Dawson were warriors because they had to go every day. They did productive and exciting things in the spring. While I think we have some answers in terms of depth, there are still some questions that we'll get sorted out in the preseason."

At receiver, a healthy Matt Knueven (Cincinnati, OH/LaSalle) helped ease some concerns after Buffalo was hurt by the graduation of seniors Andre Forde, last year's MVP, Maurice Bradford and Dan Lindsay. Knueven and sophomore Tim Dance (Erie, PA/Cathedral Prep) both had productive springs while getting a lot of reps. They will be joined by redshirt frosh Brian Watson (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth), sophomore Gabe McClover (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Coconut Creek) and senior Adam Johnson (Alta Loma, CA/Etiwanda) as the top five receivers coming out of spring ball.

"Matt Knueven was healthy and is an improved football player physically," said Hofher. "He's a good football player. Tim Dance was very solid. Brian Watson is a developing player and Adam Johnson played as well as he ever has. Gabe McClover continues to improve and develop. Those are all guys who have been in games, besides Brian, who is a good young prospect."

Defensively, the Bulls were banged up at defensive tackle and cornerback, which limited some of the progress in those areas, but had some players take a major step forward.

Chris Clifton

Start with senior linebacker Chris Clifton (Amherst, NY/Amherst Central), who Hofher said made a thin linebacking corps much better.

"By the nature of the development of Chris Clifton, we have a good situation at one of our linebacker spots," said Hofher, noting that Clifton and returning incumbent Rodney Morris (Pahokee, FL/Pahokee) will both see plenty of action.

"At defensive end, we have four guys who were really strong in the spring, Phil Jacques (Farmington Hills, MI/Brother Rice), Anthony Andriano (Howard Beach, NY/Christ the King),

Demetrius Austrum (Coral Springs, FL/Taravella) and Aaron Sanders (Clarence, NY/St. Joseph's), while Ken Soltis (Boca Raton, FL/Coconut Creek) makes a fifth."

Jacques also spent some time at defensive tackle where only returning starter Rob Schroeder (East Rochester, NY/East Rochester) - who was rock solid -stayed healthy throughout.

Hofher noted that Kirk Berry (Norristown, PA/Norristown) "has been a very positive development," at tackle while senior Rashad Clark (Los Angeles, CA/Ontario) was performing well before a series of injuries put him on the shelf. However, sophomore Bill Meholif (Parma, OH/St. Ignatius) suffered Buffalo's only long-term injury when he was lost for the 2003 season with a torn ACL in his knee which severely hurts UB's depth. Meholif started all 12 games last year.

"There's a real opportunity for guys like (incoming recruits) Sagan Atuatasi (Los Alamitos, CA/Los Alamitos) and Marck Abraham (Deerfield Beach, FL/Deerfield Beach)," noted Hofher, referring to pre-season camp.

At linebacker, Buffalo has four solid returnees in Clifton, Morris, senior inside linebacker

Lamar Wilcher

Lamar Wilcher (Ossining, NY/Ossining) -who was injury-free for the first time in years this spring -and rising sophomore Bryan Cummings (Cincinnati, OH/Madeira).

In the secondary, sophomore Gemara Williams (Oak Park, MI/Brother Rice), who started at strong safety much of last year, moved back to cornerback and had a solid spring. Senior Mark Graham (Monroe, MI/Monroe) continues to quarterback the secondary from free safety while junior J.J. Gibson (Amherst, NY/Sweet Home) has been extremely productive in his first two seasons at strong safety.

Redshirt freshman safety Ryan Sherwood-Ericsson (Erie, PA/McDowell) also had a solid spring while playing both free and strong safety spots.

"At the safety area, we have the development of, or the proof of, three solid safeties," said Hofher. "We have candidates at corner, but we don't necessarily have starters, other than Gemara Williams who has great experience and making that transition from safety out."

In the mix at corner after solid springs are redshirt freshmen Delando Bradford (Franklin, MI/Groves), Mike Arroyo (Seymour, CT/Seymour), Brandon Smith (Miami, FL/Coral Reef) and sophomore Angel Baines (Syracuse, NY/Henninger), who moved over from receiver this spring.

Hofher also noted that "we got good work in our kicking game," as both senior Dallas Pelz (Holland, NY/St. Francis) and sophomore Michael Baker (Jamestown, NY/Jamestown) shared placekicking duties. Pelz also handled most of the punting duties with Hofher noting that, "Dallas has been a very positive guy stepping in at the punting position. He certainly gives us depth there if we need it."

All in all, Hofher knows that his "Baby Bulls" are continuing to develop nicely. The question, as is the case with all youngsters, is when will that potential meet with success.

"A year ago, Andre Forde was not a pro prospect, and as a senior he became a prospect," said Hofher, in illustrating the strides a player can make in an off-season, before adding with a laugh, "but we hardly have any seniors. But we do have guys who are going to be playmakers like Andre. Time, and the players' efforts, will determine how quickly they get to that point."