Lafayette Leopards
2016 Record: 2-9 Overall, 1-6 in Patriot League
Head Coach: John Garrett, 1st year
Last Patriot League Title: 2013
Last FCS Playoff Appearance: 2013
Key Returning Players
Offense: RB DeSean Brown (Sr.), WR Matt Mzarek (Sr.), WR Rocco Palumbo (Sr.), TE Dylan Wadsworth (Sr.), OT Cam Smith (Sr.), C Kevin Zataveski (Jr.)
Defense: DT Demitrius Breedlove (So.), DE Beau Bosch (Sr.), LB Brandon Bryant (Sr.) STRK Jerry Powe (Jr.), CB Phillip Parham (Sr.)
2016 Review
To say last year was a bumpy road for Lafayette would be an understatement. The Leopards posted their 7th straight losing season in 2016. A little over a week after Lafayette’s 45-21 loss to rival Lehigh long time head coach Frank Tavani resigned. By most accounts it was a forced resignation.
Tavani took over a Leopard program in 2000 that to be frank, was in the dumps. By the time Y2k arrived the Lafayette administration had all but forgot about the team and the facilities. Despite the obstacles Tavani guided Lafayette to a winning record in 2002 (their first since 1993). Two years later Lafayette went 8-3, captured the Patriot League Championship and the automatic bid to the FCS playoffs. It was the first playoff appearance in program history. The Leopards would go on to 3-peat by winning the title in ’05 and ‘06. Each time they earned a trip to the postseason. After an 8 win season in 2009 the wheels began to fall off. Lafayette fell all the way to 2-9 in 2010. 2011 (4-7) and 2012 (5-7) weren’t much better. The Leopards went 0-5 in the OOC portion of their schedule in 2013 but caught fire in November. They upset then #5 Fordham and #17 Lehigh in back-to-back weeks to capture the outright league title with a 5-6 record. For whatever reason Lafayette was not able to capitalize on the momentum that was gained from the 2013 championship. For a multitude of reasons the losing more than winning trend continued in 2014. The lone highlight that season would be a historic win over Lehigh at Yankee Stadium. Ultimately, a 9 and 10 loss season in 2015 and 2016 respectively proved to be Tavani’s undoing. During his time on College Hill the Leopards won 4 Patriot League Titles and saw their facilities become among the best in FCS.
The 2016 season got off to a positive start for Tavani and his team. The Leopards beat Central Connecticut State 24-10 in New Britain to open the year. The win broke a 7 game losing streak dating back to 2015. Unfortunately, what ensued after the win over CCSU was another 7 game losing skid. Lafayette would finally get back in the win column by taking down Georgetown in late October. The positive mojo was sort lived as the season would conclude with blowout losses to Colgate and Lehigh. Subpar play from the QB position along with a leaky offensive line and youthful defense were major reasons for the 2-9 record. The loss of 2015 1st Team All-PL LB Brandon Brant during the fifth game of the year really depleted the LB corps. He’s expected to be back to 100% for the start of the 2017 campaign.
Despite the poor record there were some positives from an individual standpoint. Dylan Wadsworth (42 rec 591 yards 2 TD) had an excellent season at TE. Junior WR Matt Mzarek (71 rec 755 yards 8 TD) was the team’s leading WR and seems destined for a big 2017 season. Beau Bosch, Jerry Powe and Phillip Parham continued to excel on the defensive side of the ball despite the overall struggles of the unit.
2017 Offense
Key Returning Player to Watch: OL Tanner Smith
Freshman to Watch: QB Brycen Mussina
The first order of business for new head coach John Garrett (OC at Richmond in 2016) is to determine who his starting QB will be. Senior Josh Davis is the only returning signal caller with significant playing time. Davis curiously was switched to WR last year but Garrett has since wisely returned the California native back to his traditional position. If Garrett wants a completely fresh start freshman Brycen Mussina could be the ideal candidate. Brycen is the son of 5x MLB All-Star pitcher Mike Mussina. Given that nugget of information one must assume the 18 year old from Montoursville, PA has some serious arm talent.
Whoever assumes the starting QB role will have two of the best pass catchers, WR Matt Mzarek and TE Dylan Wadsworth (Preseason 1st Team All-PL) in the Patriot League to work with. Rocco Palumbo (22 rec 331 yards 1 TD) and Joey Chenoweth (37 rec 371 yards 2 TD) provide excellent depth at WR position. If the QB play improves in 2017 the Leopards should have one of the best passing offenses in the league. It’s not an exaggeration to suggest the Leopards possess the best set of receivers (Wadsworth included) in the league.
While Lafayette seems set at WR, the running back “situation” remains a work in progress. DeSean Brown figures to be the day 1 starter but anything beyond that is likely up in the air if the senior does not improve upon his 2015 production (341 yards 3.6 ypr 3 TD). Diminutive Junior C.J Amill should continue to see time as the change of pace back. Beyond that it appears to be a flip of a coin. The issue Garrett and his staff faces is a lack of depth at RB. There simply isn’t much talent in the junior and senior classes. The most likely freshman to see time is Selwyn Simpson. The 6’2 205 pounder already has the physical tools needed to succeed at the D1 level.
The third area of concern is the offensive line. To be frank its performance was subpar last year. Garrett will be looking for it to become quicker and nastier. Far too often last year the line play was slow and soft. One big reason for Lafayette’s downfall in recent years has been its sluggish OL play. With 3 (Cam Smith, Kevin Zataveski, Logan Greiser) of the 5 starters back and several talented sophomores and juniors on the two deep there’s potential for a significant turnaround. The return of Tanner Smith (9 starts in 2015) can’t be overlooked either if he’s fully healthy. New Offensive Line Coach Gordon Sammis will certainly have his work cut out figuring out the right combination.
Given Garrett’s experience coaching offense there’s no doubt the pieces are in place to improve upon the paltry 19.6 ppg the unit averaged in 2016
Defense
Key Returning Player to Watch: DE Beau Bosch
Freshman to Watch: LB Major Jordan
By most metrics (35 ppg allowed, 251 rushing ypg allowed, 462 total ypg allowed all worst in PL ) the 2016 Lafayette defense was terrible. The lone bright spot was the pass defense (178.9 ypg allowed) which ranked 1st in the league. The perplexing part about the poor numbers is the amount of individual talent on the defensive side of the ball. And it’s only going to be better in 2017. The return of Brandon Bryant at LB immediately makes the run defense better. His intangible impact will also be significant.
Like Bucknell, Lafayette’s starting linebackers are excellent. The return of Bryant overshadows just how good Jerry Powe (37 solo tackles, 9.5 TFL in ‘16) has been at the striker position. At 6’1 210 Powe is big enough to play in the second level of the defense while possessing the athleticism to defend the back end if needed. Then there’s senior Michael Root who led the team in total tackles (85) last year. Root is the most physical of the 3 linebackers. Rob Hinchen started 6 games at the WILL position (appeared in all 11) for the injured Bryant will become a key reserve. The senior from New Jersey gives Lafayette depth at LB that no one else in the league has.
With the top two corner backs returning the Leopard secondary should once again be the strength of the defense. Phillip Parham has developed into one of the best corner backs in the Patriot League. It would not be a surprise to see the senior show up on numerous postseason All-League Teams. Sophomore Eric Mitchell (31 solo tackes, 1 INT) returns at the other CB position. The safety positions seem up for grabs heading into the fall. Yasir Thomas is likely headed back to offense after providing some emergency work at safety late last year. With Thomas potentially out of the picture T.J Jones and Trent Crossan could be in-line to take over at the safety positions. Izaiah Avent and Colin Thorne should also be in the mix.
The key to Luke Thompson’s defense improving in 2017 is the defensive line. They got run over and around last year but opposing offensive lines and running backs. Like the Leopard OL, the units must get more physical and quicker off the ball. DE Beau Bosch (19 solo tackles, 8.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks) was the one consistent force in 2016 despite facing numerous double teams throughout the season. Sophomore Demetrius Breedlove should be more effective now that he’s accustomed to battling D1 offensive linemen. Getting 5th year seniors Matt Rothrock (6’2 280) and Andy Labudev (6’3 270) back will be a huge boost for the Leopards. Another potential impact defensive lineman is Syracuse transfer Tony Giudice (6’2 275).
While production is still to be determined there’s no question Lafayette enters 2017 in far better shape along the defensive line than they did in 2016.
Special Teams
Junior Jacob Bissell is locked into FG and kickoff duties. Bissell has started since his freshman year. Freshman punter Michael Turk (nephew of former NFL punter Matt Turk) seems likely to snag the starting duties. Punt and kickoff returns seem to be in good hands with C.J. Amill and Joey Chenoweth seeing the bulk of the action. Both are extremely dangerous in the open field.
2017 Outlook
In general, the 2010’s (7 straight losing seasons, 2-5 record against rival Lehigh) have not been kind to Lafayette football. John Garrett inherited a program that was at its lowest point moral wise in nearly two decades. Not since the “vote” happened in the late 90’s were Leopard fans as down in the dumps as they were at conclusion of last year’s 45-21 blowout loss to Lehigh. Then Frank Tavani resigned and suddenly there was once again reason for optimism in Easton. What the Garrett regime will entail is anyone’s guess. He still has to deal with an administration that considers football something of a nuisance. With that said, it’s hard not to be optimistic about Lafayette’s chances to once again be a factor in the Patriot League moving forward. They might not be as consistent as Fordham and Lehigh, but the days of 9 and 10 loss seasons will be a distant nightmare.
If Garrett can figure out the QB and offensive line the Leopards have a great chance to be one of FCS’s biggest turnarounds in 2017. The added depth along the defensive line should provide immediate improvement against the run. With the talent at LB and two lock down corner backs in place the defense should be capable of keeping Lafayette in games until the offense finds their legs.
Garrett gets no breaks with the out of conference schedule. The first year coach will be making trips to Ancient 8 power Harvard and regular CAA contender Villanova. There’s also home game against defending Ivy League champion and Lafayette kryptonite Princeton. Then there’s the Leopards first opponent of the year, Monmouth. The Hawks beat Fordham and Lehigh last season. With that in mind, Lafayette has a great opportunity to set a positive tone early (and send a message to the rest of the league) with a win in the season opener.
2017 Schedule
9/2 @ Monmouth 3 PM
9/9 Sacred Heart 6 PM
9/16 @ Villanova 6 PM
9/23 Princeton 6 PM
9/30 @ Holy Cross 1 PM
10/7 Fordham 3:30 PM
10/14 @ Harvard 1 PM
10/21 Bucknell 3:30 PM
11/4 @ Georgetown 2:00 PM
11/11 Colgate 12:30 PM
11/18 @ Lehigh #153 12:30 PM
2017 Projection: 4-7 Overall, 2-4 in Patriot League