FOOTBALL MEDIA DAY INTERVIEW WITH TIM BECKMAN

August 6, 2011 - Now that the football Rockets have a few practices under their belts, it feels like the 2011 season is just around the corner. The players reported on Tuesday, and were divided into Blue and Gold teams with about 52 players on each team. One group practices in the morning, the other in the afternoon. This increases every player's repetitions and gives the staff a better chance to evaluate. There is also more individual one-on-one coaching with smaller groups.

"It's all back to the basics right now," head coach Tim Beckman said. "It's about blocking and tackling, throwing and catching the football and getting your reads. It's Football 101."

With so many returning players, Beckman feels that the players know the system and what's expected of them, and that is going to pay big dividends this season.

After eight wins and a bowl game last season, there is plenty to build on for the upcoming campaign. One area that will be critical is developing receiver depth. All-American Eric Page had 99 catches, but running backs were #2 and #3 on the reception list.  "Kenny Stafford has had a great camp, (Tim) Cortazzo started out very well, (Bernard) Reedy has matured and we have Cassius McDowell and Cordale Scott who weren't available last year," Beckman said. "Then we have Justin Olack and Zach Rogers, two freshmen. I see us better and more mature at receiver, and I see the standards being set higher."

McDowell was a dynamic player in high school, but was injured last season. According to Beckman, he's about 98% recovered and has made a number of plays in the first practices.

Depth on the defensive line is better than it's been in years. Toledo can go four deep with scholarship players at each of the D line positions, which will be a big bonus. And having three projected senior starters should pay dividends. "We're not where we want to be yet, but you're talking about players with a lot of experience," said Beckman. "They just need to improve their game, and that's the challenge for the next 25 days."

Injuries always seem to be a factor when talking about the secondary. While senior cornerback Desmond Marrow is ready to play, safeties Mark Singer and Jermaine Robinson missed spring ball and could be challenged for playing time. The secondary gave up an average of 231 passing yards per game last season, a number that needs to improve.

"We're older, Des Marrow is back, we return Taikwon Paige, and Keith Suggs and John James are two new guys who came in January and both have had exceptional camps so far. At the corner position there are just a slew of them, plus some freshmen that are very talented," Beckman said. "Safety-wise, since we went through spring without Jermaine and Mark, that meant that Diauntae Marrow and Ross Madison got a lot of reps. That's made them better. We can't give up the big plays in the big games, and I do see a big improvement."

The kicking game has been a problem for Toledo for a number of years. Whether the pieces are now in place to see a big improvement remains to be seen. One thing is for certain, the number of players vying to win starting positions has certainly increased. "I put put pressure on our specialists, not just our special teams, but our specialists," Beckman said. "We brought in four punters. We feel that they are all capable. The one that's the most consistent is going to be our punter. As for the kickers, we moved Bill Claus there last season because of injury. Bill can still kick, but he can also do some punting because Ryan Casano is back. He's back from the knee injury and has made tremendous strides. We also have freshman kicker J.D. Detmer. We've pressured those guys to become better football players and, so far, they have been better."

Another top-rated recruiting class is in camp, but Beckman says now there's a difference. "In other classes, our young freshmen could challenge for starting positions, but it's a lot tougher now to be that guy. Right now if you look at the skill position kids like Wilcher, Key, Norrils and Dukes, those are all players who can run really fast. The question is how quickly can they learn. That's what will decide how quickly they get on the field."