2022 Towson Football Preview

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Towson added over 50 newcomers for the upcoming 2022 football season and while some of the additions were due to graduation and players with additional eligibility due to the Covid year of 2020 not counting towards players' eligibility. The fact that they were adding so many players was understandable coming off a 4-7 season were head coach Rob Ambrose is near the end of the line in terms of a contract.

For Towson to have success in 2022, it starts at the quarterback position. Last season, they averaged just 19.55 points per game, 126.3 yards rushing and 190 yards passing with 14 TDs. In terms of the CAA, they ranked 10th in total offense, ninth in touchdowns scored, ninth in yards per game (312.5), last in average yards per play (4.63 ypg). But again, everything comes back to the passing attack where they finished last in the CAA in pass efficiency (110.5).

All three quarterbacks who saw some action last season, aside from Nathan Kent, are gone. Enter sixth-year senior Tyrrell Pigrome. Affectionately known as "Piggy", the well-travelled 5-10, 205 pounder from Alabama has had a long career which began at Maryland. Last season, he enrolled at Ole Miss but did not play behind Matt Corral. He last played in 2020 at Western Kentucky, where he completed 57.6% of his passes for 1,603 yards with nine TDs and two picks (111.6 rating). He also ran for 337 yards with four TDs and a long of 29. Assuming he starts, he'll give the Tigers an RPO look, which they haven't had since Tom Flacco ran the team from 2018-19. 

If Ambrose decides not to use Pigrome, who has had a good camp, he could go with 6-4 redshirt freshman Scott Smith. The talented gunslinger from nearby St. Paul's has had an excellent camp and a strong spring. Smith can really sling it and if the offensive line is good to go, Smith can be effective. He does have an ability to run, though not like the other dual-threats on the roster.

Speaking of dual-threats, Nathan Kent (6-2, 200) and Zack Jackson (6-0, 195) should battle it out for the third spot assuming UAB transfer Tyler Johnston III (6-2, 215) is injured. Johnston was injured in the last scrimmage on Saturday night and was having a bit of an inconsistent camp going back to the spring. He has the most experience of any quarterback on the roster, but unfortunately was hurt during a scramble and a slide where he went untouched.

Johnston and Pigrome's eligibility will run out after this season leaving Smith as the likely replacement next season. However, Jackson is an intriguing player who is very athletic and is 6-foot tall just like Tom Flacco. He threw for 5,550 yards and 51 TDs in his HS career and also played receiver. A position change might in the cards for true freshman Rishon Holmes (6-1, 210), who has a ways to go as a quarterback, but was a 3* cornerback coming out of Milford Mill HS, though he has safety size.

The skill position players are talented as they were in 2018 and 19, but a lot depends on the offensive line. Towson lost their left tackle, left guard and right tackle from last season due to graduation. Enter Josh Roberts (Lafayette), Julian Singh (LIU), Ralph Paige (Merrimack) along with two freshmen in LT Dan Volpe (6-6, 305) and G Joden Nelson (6-4, 285). Injury issues started to rear their ugly head when Paige went down with a minor knee issue two weeks ago and then RT Roman Warheit (6-6, 330) suffered what appeared to be a sprained ankle in Saturday night's scrimmage. Both could be ready by conference play, but the Tigers could be thin for the opener. That's why senior Mason Cholewa (6-6, 310) has moved to offensive line at least part-time. So LT Roberts (6-7, 325) at least started at Lafayette last season and redshirt senior LG Alex Desire (6-4, 310) has played all over the line. Cole Cheripko (6-4, 305) is the glue that holds the line together at center. Singh (6-3, 310) can right guard or right tackle. He was playing left tackle in Saturday's scrimmage. If Warheit is out in the opener, Singh could start at right tackle and they could move r-freshman Mathias Adjibaruk (6-3, 325) to right guard. They can't afford injuries here or they will playing Nelson and Volpe, both very good young players, but still true freshmen. Fortunately, Paige and junior guard/tackle Jean Germain (6-6, 355) should available by the West Virginia game.

It's easy to be excited when you see the wide receiving corps, not just due to the talent, but due to the fact they have at least two quarterbacks who can get them the ball. Despite that, last season's group was missing some pizazz. Senior Jabari Allen (6-4, 210) was coming back from a knee injury and didn't seem to be the same player. He still caught 29 passes for 263 yards and two TDs. In 2018, he caught 53 passes for 751 yards. However, Allen suffered what appeared to be an ankle injury in Saturday's scrimmage and it's likely that he will miss the opener, if not more.

Fortunately, the Tigers have a true freshman in Isaiah Perkins (6-2, 205), a three-star recruit from Palotti in Laurel. He's as good a true freshman as these eyes have seen since Jabari Allen or going back to Tom Ryan. He has that same kind of size and strength as Ryan, and more explosion with good hands. Towson didn't grab a lot of receivers from the portal because they didn't really need to. They did need a vertical threat and found one in Da'Kendall James (6-1, 90) from Norfolk State, who caught 37 passes for 557 yards and four TDs as a freshman in 2019. In 2021, he caught 21 passes for 195 yards and a TD. He was recruited by Coastal Carolina and played in three games there in 2018 before getting injured. So he played two seasons and had two years left.

Darian Street (6-2, 190) and Daniel Thompson (6-3, 215) add size and experience. Street caught 24 passes for 336 yards and two TDs last season. He has 57 receptions for 791 yards with six TDs in two seasons at Towson. Matthew Akuchie (6-2, 200) also brings another vertical threat and depth. At the slot, there are three options led by sophomore Brady McElhaney (6-0, 170), who played mainly on special teams last season. Sam Reyonlds (5-8, 185) is an absolute burner and a transfer from South Carolina with limited experience. Lukkas London (5-10, 190) is another speedster who may return kicks this season and a former quarterback in high school.

Jerry Howard (932 yds, 4.9ypc, 3TDs) had a strong season considering most teams stacked the box because the Tigers were not big threats to throw the ball. He has graduated but sophomore Devin Matthews (5-9, 210) is back after rushing for 271 yards and eight touchdowns as the short-yardage back. Matthews lost some weight this season and appears to be quicker and faster. His long last season was for just 14 yards. However, he has competition in Joachim Bangda (5-10, 230) an explosive big back from Kent State who played his high school ball at famed St. Frances Academy. 

D'Ago Hunter (5-6, 160) is the small, quick back though he appeared to suffer an ankle injury. His ability to catch passes out of the backfield (14 catches for 108 yds) could be missed though Bangda appears to have that ability. Curtis Murray (5-10, 200) appears to have that ability along with Chris Watkins (5-10, 185). Watkins is a Marist transfer, while Murray saw some time at Maine and played sparingly at Towson last season. Sabias Folley (5-11, 230) also returns as a big sophomore with plenty of talent, who has struggled to stay healthy is is the mix.

In all honesty, it appears to be a two-man backfield of Bangda and Matthews at the moment. The good news is that both are eligible to return next season.

At fullback, Towson is in good shape with senior Luke Hamilton (6-0, 245) back along with Dion Crews-Harris (6-0, 240) and Brockman Wallace (6-2, 255). Wallace is considered in the tight end group, which will probably be led by a transfer from Maryland, either Malik Jackson (6-3, 240) or Robert Schwob (6-7, 240). Both are mainly here to block because that's what most Towson tight ends do. Jackson has the most potential to catch passes downfield.

More later on the defensive side.

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While the offense was an unmitigated disaster in just about every aspect save for running the football, the defense wasn't much better. They allowed 373.8 yards per game to rank ninth in the CAA and 28.6 points per game to rank 11th. They were also bad on opponent third-down conversions at 41.7% to rank 11th.  But the most important number, which you can also blame the offense on was that they ranked tied for last with Richmond in turnover margin (-0.5). 

You would think the defense would get a complete makeover and in some ways it did - on the back end. But up front, Towson will mainly depend on home grown talent and players who came over as transfers over the last couple of seasons. 

On the defensive line, the Tigers could end up starting the same line as they did last season with Cholewa (6-7, 310) and Jesus Gibbs (6-4, 290) at defensive end with Vinnie Shaffer (5-11, 310) at nose guard. Shaffer is the definition of an overachiever as he came in as a D2 transfer and then lead the team in sacks last season with 4.5 and added 38 tackles. That was impressive considering he was rotating at the nose with Sam Gyeni (20 tackles, 3.5 sacks), who graduated. Gibbs played in just four games due to a ruptured Achilles' tendon injury. That was a huge loss for the defense as Gibbs (15 tackles, 3 TFLs) has pro potential. Fortunately, he looks like he's going to have a big season, but will need to stay healthy.

Cholewa (10 tackles, 1 sack) played in nine games but also played in the spring of 2021 with JMU and it showed. He could play the nose though Ernie Smith (6-2, 285) is very capable and has had a great off-season. Depth is a bit limited here with Oly Okombi (6-1, 265) not on the roster currently, though he's expected to be available closer to conference play. Junior Damir Faison is another Kent State transfer along with Okombi and Bangda. Faison also started his career at East Carolina and does have some playing experience. He's had a strong camp and should be able to provide some pass rush along with Gibbs. Bryce Lauer (6-3, 275) is a senior who adds depth. He played all 11 games last season and had 19 tackles and 1.5 sacks, playing on the D-line rotation.

One key player to remember in the DL rotation is grad student Shaheem Haltiwanger (6-3, 274). He's big enough to play inside, but athletic enough to play the Edge. For whatever reason, Haltiwanger played sparingly at South Carolina State but should be a good fit in the 3-4 scheme. With Okombi in the fold and even Cholewa moves to the offensive line, this should be a strong group. There's no excuse to not get some pass rush.

At the edge, Tramar Reece (6-4, 260) moved to outside linebacker from defensive end and wound up with nine tackles in 10 games, but had zero sacks mainly playing off the bench for Elorm Lumor. Enter Stony Brook transfer Makye Smith (6-1, 240), who led the Seawolves in sacks with five last season and had two forced fumbles with a fumble recovery. 

At strongside linebacker or bandit, Towson has a couple of options in senior Jamal Gay (6-1, 215) and redshirt sophomore Daniel Raymond (6-0, 218). Gay played safety last season and recorded 25 tackles in 11 games rotating with Robert Topps. Raymond (14 tackles, 2 TFLs) played sparingly as a freshman but showed flashes of potential. He needed to add size to his frame, because the speed is there. Gay was held out of Saturday's scrimmage.

At inside linebacker, senior Ryan Kearney (6-1, 230) showed he could play the Mike last season with 27 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries in six starts.  But with redshirt freshman Mason Woods (6-0, 235) now in the fold, the speedy two-star linebacker from Virginia is going to need to get some PT. Then you add a late transfer in M.J.Cunningham (6-2, 240) from Oregon, who is going to play at some point and that's a nice problem to have.

Whether the front seven is better than last season, there's no doubt that they are faster. DC Greg Daniels is going to need to let loose with some of that speed towards rushing the quarterback. Because no matter how good you are on the back end, no pass rush means no pass defense. The back end should be pretty good, especially at safety.

Robert Topps (6-3, 210) is now the starter at free safety (most likely) and it's his time to shine. The former Kansas transfer had 20 tackles and two pass breakups last season though he was pushed by Ubayd Steed (5-11, 180), now a junior, who had 28 tackles last season. Juwan Burgess (6-1, 200), a grad student from Indiana recorded 14 tackles last season and played more as a freshman and sophomore. The former USC commit will likely start at strong safety, but he has the speed to return kicks. Considering his talent and importance to the secondary, that might not be the wiset move.

Steed, Evan Rutkowski (6-2, 200) and Xaiver Terry (5-10, 175) represent the depth. Rutkowski looks like a future star with his size and range.

At corner, Charles Peoples (6-0, 180) is the lone returning starter. He had 30 tackles, three pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. But he struggled at times in coverage. Makai Self (5-9, 170), a transfer from Penn State who saw very limited action along with senior Robert Javier (6-1, 195) are also in the mix. The future is freshman R.J. Chapman (6-0, 180) and redshirt freshman Shafeek Smith (5-10, 175). Peoples was held out of the scrimmage on Saturday and might not be available for the opener.

However, Peoples might not be the starter anyhow. Redshirt sophomore Dorian Davis (6-0, 190) comes from Southern Illinois, while redshirt freshman Sean Tucker (6-0, 175) is an ECU transfer. Tucker was a three-star cornerback coming out of H.D. Woodson in Washington D.C. He played eight games in 2020, but mainly as a backup. He had offers from Indiana, Cincinnati, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin to name a few. Davis began his career at Western Carolina and started in five games during the 2020 COVID year. He had 42 tackles and 3 pass breakups and was named to the All-Freshman team in the Southern Conference. He moved on to Southern Illinois where he played in 10 games and made 14 takes. Was a two-star recruit and had originally signed with JMU out of HS.

More on the special teams.

 

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In terms of special teams, Towson had to replace punter Shane McDonough (41ypg, 13 inside the 20), who transferred to NC State. Enter Riley Williams, an Australian, who had a slow start to campus, but has a big leg and is accurate in the corner. Keegan Vaughan (4-8 FG, long 41) is back as the placekicker. He could be pushed by UConn transfer Clayton Harris, who converted 11 of 17 field gals from 2018-19 at UConn but was beaten out by Vaughan last season. Josh Cupitt is also in the mix and is probably back as the kickoff guy.

As for returns, D'Ago Hunter (7 yards per punt returns, 22 yards per kickoff return) is back though injury might cost him the early part of the season. Darren Williams (5-9, 160), a transfer from Virginia Union, appears to have the speed and ability to return kicks. Same with Londono, who also returned punts in the preseason as did Burgess.