Page 19 - Toledo Football Media Guide - 2012

2012 OUTLOOK 19

Col lege footba l l experts will be hard-pressed to categorize the 2012 Toledo Rock-ets.

Ononehand, Toledo went 9-4 in 2011, won a bowl game and came within a single play of winning sole poesses-sionof theMid-American Conference West Divi-sion title.

On the other hand, the Rockets lost 13 starters from last year, including one of the most dominant players

in the league, wide receiver Eric Page.

Some of the key questions surrounding the Rock-ets going into the 2012 season are:

•Which player(s) will fll the gap left by Page, who not only caught 125 passes in 2011 but also returned kickofs and punts?

• Who’s ready to step into the shifty shoes of two-time All-MAC running back Adonis Thomas?

• Andwho’s going to protect these guys? UT loses a pair of four-year starters at the tackle positions. • The defense looks solid, but is there enough depth to cover the departure of eight of the team’s top 11 tacklers from 2011?

• Will frst-year head coach Matt Campbell stay committed to the two-quarterback systemthat served UT so well over the past two seasons?

That’s a lot for the prognosticators to mull over, but none of it changes the Rockets’ goals for 2012. Despite the success of last year, Campbell and the Rockets have some unfnished business.

“At Toledo, our goals and expectations are always going to be the same—playing for a MAC Champi-onship, winning a bowl game and getting the team GPA as close to a 3.0 as possible,” said Campbell, who enters his frst full season as the Rockets’ head

coach.“Those goals have been set in stone for the last three years, and it’s somethingwe still aspire to. We have not reached all those goals yet, and I think it’s something that really motivates us.” Motivation is one thing and talent is an-other; the Rockets have plentyofboth.UT returns not one, but two accom-plished quarterbacks, senior Austin Dantin and junior TerranceOw-ens ; junior wide receiver

Bernard Reedy , who was the Most Valuable Player in the 2011Military Bowl; and a pair of All-MAC defensive players T.J. Fatinikun and Dan Molls . Of course, Campbell will need players on both sides of the ball to step up and replace the departed starters. However, he pointed out that a team cannot strictly be evaluated by the number of returning start-ers on the roster.

“One thing we have been able to do here is play a lot of kids, whether as starters or in critical game situations,” Campbell said. “We have a wealth of experience, guyswho have played a lot of football and have been extremely productive, whether as starters or in important reserve roles.”

For the most part, Toledo’s experience is evenly distributed throughout the squad. One exception is quarterback, where the Rockets are blessed with two signal-callerswho each ranked in the top 25 nationally in passing efciency in 2011.

Other standouts on ofense include Reedy, who caught 40 passes last year; junior DavidFluellen , who has rushed for more than 700 yards in two seasons; junior Zac Kerin , a second-teamAll-MAC center who is a nominee for both the Rimington Trophy and the Rotary Lombardi Award; and sophomore GregMancz ,

2 Season Outlook

Rockets Re-Loaded

Intriguing UT Squad Gunning For MAC Championship

Senior AustinDantin (left) and junior TerranceOwens each fnished in the top 25 in quarterback efciency in 2011, the frst time inNCAAhistory twoQBs fromthe same teamhave achieved that feat.