Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh football opens up preseason camp
8/10/2011 3:09:00 AM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh football team will begin its quest for a tenth Patriot League Championship this week as the Mountain Hawks open up preseason camp. The Mountain Hawks reported to campus on Monday for physicals and meetings and held their first workout of camp Tuesday under the lights on Frank Banko Field. Lehigh will have almost four full weeks of practice leading up to the September 3 season opener at Monmouth and head coach Andy Coen is excited to get things started.
“One of the most fun days of training camp is the day where everyone reports,” said Coen, the 2010 Patriot League Coach of the Year, who begins his sixth season. “We've had a lot of guys on campus so a lot of guys have seen each other. It's a good chance for the coaches to reconnect and for the guys to reconnect with teammates they may not have seen. Plus, I like to see how the upper class guys always do such a good job welcoming our young guys into the program. It's a great time of the year and I'm really excited that it's here.”
Lehigh enjoyed a banner 2010 season, posting a 10-3 record, which included an eight game win streak in October and November. The Mountain Hawks defeated rival Lafayette for the third straight season, won their league-best ninth football championship and went on the road to defeat Northern Iowa in the first round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs before being eliminated by eventual national finalist Delaware; a loss that left a bad taste with many of the returning Mountain Hawks, who are eager to take another step forward in 2011.
“The guys weren't happy with how the season ended. They are eager to do more than they did a year ago. We haven't talked about repeating or defending a championship. We've talked about earning another championship. It puts a little pressure on our guys. Our expectations are high and we're working the right way to meet those expectations. They understand the situation they're in.”
Coen knows there are still a lot of areas to improve upon since the end of spring practice.
“We didn't lead the league offensively in any category,” Coen said. “Obviously the most important statistic is how many games you win but there still are so many areas to improve upon. We have to get better running the football and do better in short yardage and goal line situations. We have to take better care of the football. Our defense did a nice job creating turnovers last year but we still turned the ball over too much.”
In addition, there will be several key positional battles to watch. Juniors Zach Barket and Marcus Dormevil and sophomore Keith Sherman will all vie for carries at tailback, running behind an offensive line that must replace the loss of Will Rackley to the NFL and Ricky Clerge to graduation, while also developing depth.
Defensively, Lehigh graduated its leader Al Pierce but the rest of the front seven returns with plenty of depth waiting in the wings. One area to watch will be how Lehigh replaces four senior starters in the secondary. Seniors Kenyatta Drake and Jonathon Littlejohn and juniors Bryan Andrews, Gabe Johnson and Billy O'Brien will contend for those spots while being pushed by a talented group of sophomore defensive backs.
“Offensively we need to continue to focus on the little things that make a difference,” Coen explains. “We must be committed to doing better in the red zone and on third downs, things we continue to value. Defensively, our analysis showed we had a pretty solid season. We need to take another step this year.
The biggest challenge will be how our new secondary handles themselves. They will be tested early by some good football teams.”
One of the keys to Lehigh's title run a year ago was the strength and influence of its senior class and Coen once again feels confident in this new group of seniors' ability to lead.
“Last year's senior class will be remembered as a group of guys that simply did things the right way,” Coen recalled. “This year's senior class is very similar. Without a doubt we have a focused group. We have good chemistry. I like the fact that we still have veterans and seniors working hard to make their contributions. Particularly in our league you recruit guys and they develop at different stages. You would like every kid to be a three or four year player but that's not going to happen.
Coen continued, “My expectation is that our seniors are going to come out and show that they really know how to work. They have to be initially the best coaches for our freshmen. If you have seniors who think they've got it all made and are walking around thinking they're better than everybody, you're not going to have a lot of success. Our guys do it the right way.”
Lehigh's head coach also commented on what to expect from Lehigh's freshmen class, “We will give them a lot of opportunities early on. If they deserve to play they'll play. It's a good problem to have because if freshmen get on the field, it's because they are good players. There are better opportunities at some positions than others to make an impact and provide depth. We're happy with the class we brought in and I'm excited to see them try to step up and establish themselves.”
As per NCAA rules, Tuesday's workout was conducted without pads, just helmets for the Brown and White. Over the next few days Lehigh will progress to uppers (helmets and shoulder pads only) before donning full pads for the first time on Saturday morning. Lehigh's preseason camp will run through Sunday, August 28 with the annual Alumni Steak Fry taking place that evening.
“The plan is to be very aggressive in our first ten or 11 practices,” Coen explains. “We will have a few built in days off during camp, but after the first 11 we can reassess where we're at. Do we need to keep challenging the secondary, or run ball more or whatever it might be? We have good enough football players. We have to challenge the guys. This is a group that expects to be challenged because they've been through it. Last year worked out very well. We came out of camp fairly healthy, went halfway across the country and got a solid win. The most important thing is that we're ready to play that first game.”
The Mountain Hawks will open the 2011 season on Saturday, September 3 when they travel to West Long Branch, N.J. to take on the Monmouth Hawks. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Lehigh will open its home schedule the following Saturday when defending FCS national quarterfinalist New Hampshire visits Goodman Stadium. Tickets for Lehigh home games can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME, by visiting the Lehigh Athletics Ticket Office located in Grace Hall, or by logging on to Lehighsports.com.
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