By Chris Mazzocco
To kick-off the 2008 football season the Gorillas will travel just north of Oklahoma City to Edmond, home of the Central Oklahoma Broncos for a 6:00p.m. kick this Saturday. Like the Gorillas the Broncos boats one of the Winningest records all time in DII football. In recent history however, both programs have slipped from historical dominance.
The Broncos will look to rebound from a losing season in 2007 plagued by inconstancy and more heavily by a NCAA rules violation investigation. The dust has settled in Edmond and the Broncos are a few scholarships lighter (along with a few other minor restrictions, including T.V. coverage) and have a new leader in first year Head Coach Tracy Holland.
Holland’s football carrier has taken him from being an assistant at his alma mater, and former DII foe, Northern Colorado to the front office of the former NFL Europe. He has spent the past six years coaching high school football locally in Edmond. Coach Holland took a few minutes this week to talk to TeamKong.
TK: What changes have you implemented making the Broncos of ‘08’ different from the ‘07’ squad?
TH: From a defensive standpoint we are very similar to what we were last year. We have made some staff changes that have tweaked some things but primarily we are still a 4-3 defense and that defense was one of the top defenses in the Lone Star Conference last year and we expect that to kind of continue to be a mainstay for us. Offensively last year they were more of a “power I” team with play action passes, we tend to more of a spread team. We like throwing the ball and that will primarily be the difference between the two.
TK: Is there any certain team that you have mimicked in designing your offensive system Gorilla fans can use as reference in anticipation of Saturday?
TH: There a lot of teams that run spread these days, we run different versions or hybrids off of it from different personnel groupings. Well be under center some, in the shotgun some, we spread the ball. It’s really just our version of the spread.
TK: Implementing this system in the spring you have had less than two months to teach the kids threw spring ball and fall camp. How do you feel about the evolution of your scheme?
TH: Obviously any time you put in a new offense it’s going to take some time. It’s been a lot and we have continued to make progress and we feel pretty good about were we are at right now. Everyday we get in practice well improve that much, but were in game week this week so our focus is to get ready for the Pitt State defense, but overall we are pretty happy were we are at.
TK: Tell me about your Quarterback situation right now?
TH: We are still in the process of evaluating our quarterbacks. Two guys were vying in the spring and did a nice job for us. Colin Clancy returns with some starting experience and came into the fall as the #1 QB as far as getting the most reps. Brandon Noohi transferred in the spring and has done a nice job for us. (Noohi) offers different skills and kinds of things that are good for us. This fall we had a transfer from New Mexico State in Alex Gibson that comes from an “air raid” Texas Tech type offense and has a lot of composure in the pocket. But we are still trying to resolve what that situation will be come Saturday.
TK: Did you have to bring in a lot of transfers to meet the needs personnel wise in your new offense?
TH: No, we didn’t bring in a lot of kids. In fact we only have a hand full of transfers on the team. Primarily were using who we had and they have adjusted well, in fact that one of the reasons we went to the spread is that we felt our personnel fit that scheme.
TK: Kids you expect to impact not only Saturday’s game but also impact players for you this season?
TH: We have lot of different kids that can make a difference. Our returning wide receiver Ryan Galmore (# 1) is a kid we are looking at to be a factor. We have an All Lone Star Conference running back returning in Ben Birmingham (# 22) that we are really expecting big things from this year.
TK: Will you see another offense sillier to what PSU runs this season?
TH: No, last year they faced one option team and they ran it out of the wishbone, which is not even really the same concept in terms of Pitt State. They (PSU) present there own unique problems for us in terms of style and the way they execute it, the way Mark Smith runs the offense. It’s a tough offense to prepare for because its unique in nature from things you will see.
TK: Considering you will not see this type of offense again and it is a non conference game, how much time do spend tweaking your scheme to defend PSU or are you as a staff more concerned with the big picture and the long season ahead?
TH: Being the first game were a more worried about the big picture. However this Pitt State and you don’t over look a game like that. This is a big game for us, but at the same time this is a new staff, we have moved kids around, changed their positions moving them to the best position for us and basically you teach what is your going to do. Were going to take advantage of this time and get our kids ready for the season overall.
TK: You talk of competing for conference championships in your season outlook. You have a huge conference opener next week with defending conference champion West Texas A&M. Are you concerned about your staff of players looking to next week and losing focus?
TH: That’s something that’s always in the back of your mind when you have a big game coming up, but the reputation and history of Pitt State has sort of taken care of that for us. I might worry about that a little more if we were playing a program that didn’t have the reputation, or the legacy, or the history that Pitt State has. I think our players and the community in general is really looking forward to this game, it’s going to be a fun game.
TK: Keys to winning the game for UCO?
TH: If you look at last season we had some consistency problems that basically boiled down to turnovers. Offensively we have to take care of the ball and keep it away from that defense and not put our defense in bad positions because Pitt States offense is too good. Another key is to take what Pitt State gives us on offense and let the defense play its game plan.
Tidbits:
The 2-Deep chart I received from the sports information director Tuesday listed Noohi as the starting QB, followed by Gibson. Holland deferred from answering if we could see multiple QB in the game or who the definite starter is. Expect anything.
Offense –Spread, 4 wide, 1 tailback, no tight ends
Defense was tops in the Lone Star North in 2007.
Position Breakdown:
OL – Return both tackles and center. Jonathan Llama is anAll Conference center, prepped at De La Salle, Calf.
WR- Return both starters from there two reciever scheme of ‘07’. Return 2 letterman with extensive playing time. We will probably see a ton of different kids, as this is a work in progress.
RB- Return starter (all conference) and a reserve with extensive plating time.
DL-Return all four starters. DT Jermelle Curjo All conference.
LB-1 returning starter but added 2, D1 transfers.
DB-Return 8 letterman, 4 saw at least partial starting duties last season.
We talked about consistency problems last season; try this on for consistency problems. Week 1 last season the Broncos defeated Abilene Christian in Abilene by 10 points. Week 2, lose at home to Emporia State by 10. Go figure!
Questions, comments, and even criticism welcome @ chris@teamkong.net