CAN THE DEFENSE-MINDED WOLVERINES IMPROVE ENOUGH TO KEEP UP WITH THE INCREASINGLY COMPETITIVE AAA FIELD? 

 

Team Preview by: Jared Neumeier

 

RMFL – Ever since the Utah Wolverines came into existence in 2004, they have been a team others have feared to play… and loved to play.

 

Week after week, the Utah Wolverines bring it, and bring it with class.

 

The book on the Wolverines has, for the past two years been, “solid defense, questionable offense.”  And the stats bear it out.

 

In 2005, the Utah Wolverine offense was 16th (out of 21 teams)!  In 2004, they were 8th out of 16 teams. Last season they finished lower than winless Snake River, the Vipers, Colorado, the Blitz, the Muddogs… I’m sure you get the picture.

 

Defensively, however, you would just expect them to be near the top.  In 2004, they were second only to the Rhino-Raiders in team defense; however, last season they dropped to 12th overall in team defense; certainly not a good trend in either respect.

 

So the Wolverines had their work cut out for them in the off-season. How did they do?

 

The certainly look to have improved, however, I’m not going to be ready to crown them champions or even project them into the playoffs in 2006.

 

One big hole that looks to be filled this season will be the return of tailback, Billy Davis.  Davis was a late scratch in 2005 and fullback, Tigger Edwards ended up leading team in rushing.  Edwards is a great fullback, but not the game-breaking rushing threat that Davis is. Davis in the backfield every game will make this offense much better.  The Wolverines offensive line was a bit sub-par (11th), however, yielding 26 sacks on the 8-game season was a bit much for a primary rushing team.

 

The Wolverines have also brought in ex-Nemesis quarterback, Steve Waelty whom they hope can put a charge in the passing attack which also ranked near the bottom in 2005.

 

Defensively, behind the direction of defensive coordinator and assistant head coach, Jimmie Pryor, the Wolverines seem to be favoring a 4-2-5 base set.  This formation, known in the NFL as a “nickel package” is great for defending the pass, which the Wolverines weren’t any worse at the defending the rush last season, but leaves the team more vulnerable against some of the bigger rushing teams they will see in the AAA division.  The more alarming observation than the base defense change is that one of their best defensive players, Roger Shulze is not listed on the defense.

 

Regardless of their statistical rankings in the lower half of the league, the Wolverines did finish in the upper half of the league in the stat that really counts… WINS; as they won 5 games against 3 losses before being vanquished in the first round of the playoffs by the Salt Lake Nemesis 16-12.

 

Davis and Waelty will upgrade the offense a bit, but the defense has some big question marks that only league play will answer. The Wolverines, however, are a team founded by defensive players and likely will have the defense playing tough making any wins against the Wolverines hard to come by, no matter the opponent.

 

KEY ADDITIONS:

 

Steve Waelty – Quarterback

Samiu Tuitocou – Defensive Tackle

Jay Olsen – Offensive Line

Andrew Gillespie – Running Back/Tight End

Dee McCormick – Defensive Back

Sam Steele – Defensive Line

Andy Hadfield – Tight End

 

OFFENSE:

 

As much as the Snake River Sabercats are tired of hearing about how bad their defense is, I’m sure the Utah Wolverines are fairly tired of hearing about how bad their offense is.  Going from last season, if you simply converted the Utah Blitz to the Utah Heat, the Wolverines have the second worst offense coming into the AAA division this year, second only to the Idaho Matadors… by less than 1 yard a game.  They know it’s an area of needed improvement and they feel they have met that need; bringing in Steve Waelty and getting Billy Davis back.  Davis is a proven commodity. In 2004, his last season of play, he rushed for 737 yards and a 7.3 rushing average to finish 3rd in the RMFL…hence the Wolverines finished a respectable 8th in team offense. Last season, without Davis, a dismal 16th in team offense.  Getting Davis will be an upgrade.  Waelty, however, is not as sure a thing.  In three games with the Neemsis last season, Waelty passed for only 396 yards, 2 TD’s, and 4 interceptions on his way to a 55.08 quarterback efficiency rating.  The Wolverines starter last season (for most of the games), Joey Collins threw for 8 TD’s against 6 interceptions and an extremely modest 62.87 quarterback efficiency rating himself.  Many will also recall that last season the Nemesis offense actually improved greatly after Waelty left and defensive back convert, Nate Cone took over in the backfield.  As a minimum, Wealty will be on a short hook with last season’s starter, Joey Collins available as a back up.  Tigger Edwards, a proven to be excellent fullback and ball-carrier would work out of the backfield . Edwards, as you recall, lead the team in rushing last season. Who was number 2 in rushing for the Wolverines?  Quarterback, Joey Collins… which tells you how bad the Wolverines had it at tailback last season.  They do have more depth in the backfield this season. IF there is no Davis, they have Tavita Makalo, who has star potential and Andrew Gillepspie, and ex-Madison Lion (is it me, or are ex-Lionz players showing up everywhere?) at fullback. The Wolverines also list, Marcus Whalen, ex-BYU star who played for the Wasatch Wildcats last season and finished 6th in rushing and had a 7.6 yard per carry average.  Whalen, however, is not listed on the teams submitted depth chart and his availability for some games may be in question.  The Wolverines list Andy Hadfield as a big pick up at tight end, Hadfield who played at BYU doesn’t even make the Wolverines depth chart either. This is where all-star linebacker, Roger Shulze shows up.  I’m sure Shulze is a helluva tight end, however, if they have Hadfield, and Ryan Seely, he might end up better served back on the defense against top offenses like the Rhinos and Bears.  At wide receiver, they have James Neslen coming back, a true game-breaking threat and Kyle Ashby who is capable of stepping up and becoming a star.  The offensive line got a lift with the addition of ex-Pocatello Predator, Jay Olsen (6’4, 300).  Olsen joins returning starters, Dan Griffith (6’0, 230) and Ben Bencomo (5’9, 260).  They will also have Casey Cotton (6’0, 240) and big Graham Coppard (6’5, 330). There is significant depth here as well as former starters, Josh Redfern (6’4, 315) and Adam Stinson (5’10, 220) and former Blitz star lineman, John White (6’0, 250) along with Adam Muma, James Schwartz and Nick Glessner will be available to support the offensive line.  The big question here is what can head coach, Anthony Jefferies and newly picked up “passing coordinator”, Eric Drage, former head coach of the Wasatch Wildcats, get out of their offense… and his quarterbacks.  Can they keep Davis healthy and on the field… and can this offensive line stand up against the heavy competition they will see game after game this season?  There will be only one way for the Wolverine offense to answer that question, and it will start with the Utah Heat on Saturday.  Projected Offensive Ranking: 6th.

 

DEFENSE:

 

Regardless of rankings, the Wolverines have always had a great defense.  One must always remember that a defense IS affected by the play of its offense.  Too many “3 and outs”, too many times taking the field in the shadow of your own goal posts can take its toll on a defense  It could be easily argued that the lack of offense in 2005 contributed to the struggles on defense.. This season will be no different.  If the Wolverines offense, does not live up to par, the defense will fall in the rankings again; but more importantly, the team will struggle to win.  3 returning studs on the defensive front will be joined by a new to the team stud.  The returning studs are Andrew Butler, who was second in the league with 9 quarterback sacks in 2005, big George Liti  (6’4, 315) and Dave Barrett (6’4, 250). Barrett and Liti don’t always show up with a lot of tackles because they are busy forcing double teams allowing their linebackers to make plays.  They will be joined by ex-University of Utah defensive tackle, Samiu Tuitocuou (6’3, 340); blessed with both size and speed will be a load for opposing offensive linemen.  The Wolverines also welcome ex-Wildcat defensive end, Sam Steele (5’10, 225) as well as Daniel Whalen (6’0, 260) who should also see plenty of field action in 2006.  Team tackle leader and primary stud, Matt Shoda returns to anchor the linebackers, which in the base set will be joined by new Wolverine, Bron Cruz… who must be pretty dang good to allow the Wolverines the luxury of playing Shulze on offense.  Josh Smith , John Beck… and, likely Shulze will be in the linebacking mix as the team switches to run-stopping sets.  With the team’s base set that utilizes 5 defensive backs, one can only guess that this a solid group of tacklers.  Newcomer from Dixie State College and former Utah Warrior (professional) will start at corner along with returning starter, Dustin McCammon   The Wolverines will field two strong safeties in stars Jeremy Smith (2-1/2 sacks last season from the defensive backfield) and Dave Smith.  Dave Smith is new to the Wolverines as is free safety, Chris Miller.  Ed Cerise, all-around athlete, Dean Fountaine (has also played quarterback), Steve Andrews, Shawn Kelly and Jason Klann will be available for support and depth for the roster-loaded Wolverines.  I’m really not sure what to read into the defensive shift.  One could argue that the front 6 are SO good, they can do it with 6 players… while another could argue that the secondary must be so poor, they will need 5 to stop the pass.  There is no question that when healthy, they will have a great front 4 and some good linebackers… heck, they will have a good defense; but will it be good enough… and will they be put in difficult game situations time and time again by the offense?  Good questions all, but enough questions to temper my ability to rank the Wolverine defense too high. Lets not forget, all things being equal, they were third to last of the AAA teams last season…   Projected Defensive Ranking: 6th.

 

INTANGIBLES AND COACHING:

 

It is going to be a tough schedule for the Wolverines who have been cast into a AAA division which will feature not just one Rhino-Raider caliber team, but two.  On top of that, they will have to face each of those teams twice.  This unit will need to have all of their barrels loaded to have a shot to win those games and will need to gel as a unit with a number of new starters to get it done this season.  Along with those 4 tough games, the Wolverines were one of the teams that got a bad schedule draw with the 9 game schedule.  They must play 5 road games to 4 home games and the one road game is to Idaho to play a solid Idaho Falls Mustangs.  They lost their home game against  what would have been a weaker Idaho opponent.  This franchise, however, is one of the finer tuned machines with quality coaching, a great facility and the ability to rise to the level of their competition.  If the few question marks they have turn around great seasons, this team could be in the hunt to the end.  If not, this could also be a long season for the proud Wolverine franchise.

 

OVERALL RANKING:  tie 6th