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Really made Towson look fun

Nobody really knows who two years off will affect us. We did practice in the spring, but since I couldn't get out there, I'm not 100% sure what this team is going to look like. Everything starts with Juwon Pass. If he's a 6-4, 230-pound Flacco, we should be ok. Still might need one more playmaker on offense. You look at that last game against Elon in 2019 and we had Shane Leatherbury. He was the only real burner and the Phoenix knew that. Not having Caleb Smith in that game was also devastating, because he was coming on. Both Shanes are gone, but Jabari Allen is back. At 6-3, 215 with speed and hands, he has a chance to be special. But he has to stay healthy. He wasn't in 2019. The entire offensive line is back along with Darian Bryant. Who is Darrian Bryant? He's a 6-6, 330-pound Temple transfer, who missed the entire 2019 season due to an ACL. Because he was out, we had to move DeMarcus Gilmore to right tackle. Gilmore at 6-3, 360 is more of a guard. He did a serviceable job there, but having Gilmore and Bryant on the right side should be fun for us and not for our opponents. The entire offensive line is back with Bryant and guys like Brenand Cassells and Jon Desire. Kobe Young and Adrian Platt are the only experienced running backs. With Kobe's injury history and freshman Sabias Folley being talented but raw, I'd assume that they add another RB over the summer. Tight end is a bit iffy only because there are a few new guys including Marcus Joyner, a transfer from ODU. I don't expect another Chris Clark, but hopefully Joyner can provide some red-zone help. At receiver, we have some young guys that could really blossom if Pass or Jeff Miller are slinging it around. Charles Murphy should be a veritcal threat along with Smith. Ty'Shaun Granger has a lot of size and we have another big freshman coming in Isaiah Perkins (6-2, 200). But we also have veterans in Ryan Rutkowski, Darian Street, Allen, D'Ago Hunter ajd Daniel Thompson returning. Defensively, with Bryce Carter transferring, Ron Johnson not returning along with Quahon Alexander and Tibo Debaille coming off back issues, we desperately need to add help. Help is coming from what I hear in the form of at least two players. We still have Jesus Gibbs, Bryce Lauer, Marcus Bowman, Sam Gyeni and Vinny Shaffer returning, so we have some talent back, but need more depth and for guys to stay healthy. Kenjuan Manuel (6-1, 300+) arrives from St. John's as a three-star nose guard, but will have to beat out veterans in summer camp. At linebacker, the loss of Ricky DeBerry was softened by the addition of senior Darien Reynolds from Garnder-Webb. Thought that was a great pickup for a proven guy. I think Nygil Johnson finally gets his chance this season at OLB. Christian Dixon started in 2019 for DeBerry, so expect him to be better. We also added Michael Robinson Jr. from Ball State. He should have a role somewhere. Ryan Kearney should be involved as well. Obviously considering the tough circumstances with Chizz, that opens up another spot in terms of depth and on special teams. Watch out for Keyvone Bruton. He's a hard-hitting safety from Temple, who could also play in a Rover-type of a role. The secondary is usually the biggest question mark, but it should be a strength. Brandon Shuman is back. He missed the second half of the season in 2019 and you could tell we really struggled in the back end. We added Mark Collins Jr. (South Dakota), 6-3 D.J. Pratt (UVa) Charles Peoples (Juco/Ga St) and Makai Self (Penn State transfer). Shuman and Peoples could be the starters, but Collins, Self and freshman Shaeek Smith, the No. 2 corner in PA, who could also return kicks. At safety, Jamal Gay returns after an ACL injury that cost him 2019. He's back along with S.J. Brown, who had a pretty good 2019. We lose Coby Tippett, but also should get some help from Robert Topps, the Kansas transfer, who came off the bench in 2019. Bruton could also be moved back there if needed. I wonder if they move a big corner back there but they do have some young guys like Ubayd Steed, who sat out last season, who could be in the mix. It's a long way of saying, we could be pretty good or very good if Pass is the real deal. A little worried about the D-line. In other words, a lot rests on Pass to be the guy.

I was there when we played them in 2000. Kennedy's 1st season.