The University at Buffalo football team is reaping the benefit of its first full offseason under head coach Maurice Linguist.
There’s a stronger offseason camaraderie, forged through meetings, position-group dinners at Linguist’s house, and offseason workouts with UB’s strength and conditioning staff.
“It’s the benefit of being able to have those seven and eight weeks of being able to watch film, lift weights, have a couple walkthroughs and have uninterrupted time as a coaching staff to meet and be able to teach the players in meeting rooms,” Linguist said. “And from a relationship standpoint, being able to get guys over to the house and taking guys out to eat.
“Being able to do all those things leading up to practice really put us in a good frame of mind and put guys in a very good environment and mindset, heading in to this thing.”
People are also reading…
But as UB enters its third week of spring practices, there are areas for improvement, whether it’s to make position groups stronger or to eliminate some of the ambiguity within them due to transfers, coaching changes or graduation.
Two areas that should be strengths for the Bulls are at wide receiver and at defensive back, where the Bulls return productive players like receiver Quian Williams and safety Marcus Fuqua, and have added productive transfers like safety Jahmin Muse from Boston College.
Two areas that are question marks, though, are at quarterback and at running back. Kyle Vantrease transferred to Georgia Southern after starting 25 consecutive games at quarterback the last three seasons, and running back Dylan McDuffie re-entered the transfer portal March 31.
Here’s a closer look at each of those areas for the Bulls, who completed their sixth practice with a scrimmage Saturday, and will play their spring game at noon April 30 at UB Stadium.
Areas where UB should be solid
Secondary
The secondary is where the Bulls should benefit from the transfer portal to build depth. The Bulls have added three transfers with Power Five experience: Muse and cornerbacks Elijah Blades (Florida) and Caleb Offord (Notre Dame).
They’ll help tighten a secondary that gave up 2,654 passing yards last year, but gave up an average of 246.8 passing yards in its final four regular-season MAC games. The secondary allowed 20 passing touchdowns and had only three interceptions and 34 pass breakups (11th in the MAC).
They’ll also help fill voids left by defensive backs Cory Gross Jr. and Aapri Washington, who entered the transfer portal.
“The guys coming, I’m really excited about, but we’re really proud of what we were able to do, recruiting-wise, bringing in what we feel like is a very strong, talented defensive backfield,” Linguist said.
“We feel like we have a good combination of length, athleticism and experience. Game experience in that position, with older guys coming in from other places, to come in and do a really good job.”
Wide receiver
Like it did with its secondary, UB’s coaching staff brought in transfers with college experience, including a pair from Power Five programs in Justin Marshall (Louisville) and Boobie Curry (Arizona).
Marshall (36 catches for 544 yards and a touchdown in three seasons) and Curry (37 catches for 390 yards and three touchdowns in three seasons) will join Williams (831 yards, two touchdowns on 63 catches). Their additions will help a receiving corps that returns 63% of its yardage production in 2021 (1,614 yards of 2,579). Expect receivers Jamari Gassett and Jovany Ruiz, a Fredonia High School graduate, to take on bigger roles in the passing game as well.
The transfer additions helped with growth in the position group, as well as the exchange of ideas and easing Williams’ workload.
“They bring experience, and I feel like we have a lot more experience than we did last year in our group,” Williams said. “That’s the biggest thing, and maturity.
“It’s being put into play right now, and this helps alleviate that pressure. I’m not saying that last year I couldn’t count on guys to make plays, because I definitely could, but I feel like it’s even more of a help this year.”
Areas where UB must make gains
Quarterback
UB has a hole to fill when it comes to consistent experience. There is no quarterback with significant in-game experience aside from West Seneca West/Bishop Timon product Matt Myers (56 for 103 passing, 703 yards, four touchdowns, five interceptions in 2021). His closest competition is Cole Snyder, a Southwestern High School graduate and a transfer from Rutgers who played in nine games and completed 21 of 31 passes for 165 yards with one touchdown in four seasons. Casey Case and Brian Plummer also are in the mix.
A new Bulls starter will gain on-the-job training, as the four quarterbacks have played in a combined 29 college games.
While a starter won’t be determined in the spring – those decisions are typically made during August – Myers explained the benefit of spring practices in the course of preparation.
“Everyone knows once camp comes, the bullets are flying and we’re getting ready for the season,” Myers said. “The spring’s a great time to worry about yourself and try to improve every day. If you can pick one thing that you weren’t so good at, at practices before, work on that the next practice and keep on stacking good days on top of each other. It’s a good development period for everybody.”
Running back
The running backs face the same issue as quarterbacks: the group returns little experience, and UB has to cultivate its own talent. Of the backs in spring practices – Ron Cook Jr., Al-Jay Henderson, Mike Washington, Jackson Paradis and Caron Robinson – only Cook has substantial rushing experience, but he has been limited in practices so far.
The Bulls didn’t bring in transfers at the position. At the time, it didn’t appear UB needed it, as McDuffie withdrew from the transfer portal in January and was poised to build upon a season in which he had 1,049 yards and 11 touchdowns on 206 carries.
With McDuffie re-entering the transfer portal, UB not only will need to develop a bell cow back who can produce, it needs to find a way to build depth and experience.
“We’re very confident in our ability to develop running backs,” Linguist said. “We had a guy that didn’t play much the year before and ended up having over 1,000 yards, so we feel like we have a really good, talented group of guys. They’re running the ball well right now, and we feel very confident in our ability to be able to run the ball.”
