2008 Woodie Awards
New faces highlight Gorilla offense
Curtis Thom
Issue date: 8/23/07 Section: Sports
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How do you replace a guy who scored more than 100 career touchdowns?
This question lingers in the minds of Pitt State football fans and coaches everywhere, but there is no stopping time.
"We've been the top rushing team in the conference since '97-'98, and Germaine has been a large part of that for the last couple years," offensive coordinator Tim Beck said. "He was definitely one of the best players we've ever had here at Pitt State, and he's not a guy you can just replace overnight."
The sting of losing Race will be somewhat lessened by the fact that the entire offensive line returns for action this fall.
"The big thing for us is we have all our offensive line back, and they've got a lot of experience," Beck said. "We've got great tight ends, and hopefully with them being a year older, they'll be able to create bigger holes and be a better group as a whole."
Anchoring the line is a tandem of preseason All-MIAA All-Americans. Senior linemen Drew Brown (6-foot-2, 310 pounds) and Zac Robinson (6-foot-5, 290 pounds) return from a line that guided the nation's best rushing attack last year.
Junior quarterback Mark Smith (5-foot-11, 183 pounds) returns from a broken arm that sidelined him for half of the 2006 season. At the time of his injury, Smith was leading the MIAA in passing rating (206.6) and ranked 13th nationally in total offense (261 ypg).
Sophomore Geno Waters (5-foot-11, 207 pounds) will serve in a reserve role after filling in for the injured Smith as a freshman. Waters finished the year with 1,379 passing yards and 14 touchdowns, leaving a lot of options at the quarterback position.
"When you look back a year ago, we had Mark Smith, who was inexperienced, and two inexperienced backups," Beck said. "Now, we've got Mark coming back as a junior, with Geno Waters and Chadd Snyder returning as sophomores. And they all are very capable of doing some great things."
Although the future is bright at quarterback, the loss of Bryan Pray at wide receiver leaves a gaping hole in the Gorillas' receiving core.
This question lingers in the minds of Pitt State football fans and coaches everywhere, but there is no stopping time.
"We've been the top rushing team in the conference since '97-'98, and Germaine has been a large part of that for the last couple years," offensive coordinator Tim Beck said. "He was definitely one of the best players we've ever had here at Pitt State, and he's not a guy you can just replace overnight."
The sting of losing Race will be somewhat lessened by the fact that the entire offensive line returns for action this fall.
"The big thing for us is we have all our offensive line back, and they've got a lot of experience," Beck said. "We've got great tight ends, and hopefully with them being a year older, they'll be able to create bigger holes and be a better group as a whole."
Anchoring the line is a tandem of preseason All-MIAA All-Americans. Senior linemen Drew Brown (6-foot-2, 310 pounds) and Zac Robinson (6-foot-5, 290 pounds) return from a line that guided the nation's best rushing attack last year.
Junior quarterback Mark Smith (5-foot-11, 183 pounds) returns from a broken arm that sidelined him for half of the 2006 season. At the time of his injury, Smith was leading the MIAA in passing rating (206.6) and ranked 13th nationally in total offense (261 ypg).
Sophomore Geno Waters (5-foot-11, 207 pounds) will serve in a reserve role after filling in for the injured Smith as a freshman. Waters finished the year with 1,379 passing yards and 14 touchdowns, leaving a lot of options at the quarterback position.
"When you look back a year ago, we had Mark Smith, who was inexperienced, and two inexperienced backups," Beck said. "Now, we've got Mark coming back as a junior, with Geno Waters and Chadd Snyder returning as sophomores. And they all are very capable of doing some great things."
Although the future is bright at quarterback, the loss of Bryan Pray at wide receiver leaves a gaping hole in the Gorillas' receiving core.
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