DURHAM – Early in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 22-21 loss at Dartmouth, University of New Hampshire starting quarterback Trevor Knight was pulled in favor of backup Adam Riese. The Wildcats had an 11-point lead at the time, but Knight was, “missing some things,” according to UNH Coach Sean McDonnell.
When New Hampshire (1-2) travels to Rhode Island for Saturday’s 1 p.m. game against the Rams (0-3), Knight will be back under center for the ‘Cats.
“Trevor did some really good things Saturday night. Did some things he needs to improve upon,” McDonnell said. “He made a couple of reads that were really, really good and a couple of reads that weren’t.”
Riese, a senior and one of the team’s captains, played for three-plus series against Dartmouth and finished 5-for-9 for 45 yards and an interception. The pick came after Riese led UNH to the Big Green 27 and was returned to the New Hampshire 44, setting up Dartmouth for its second touchdown of the night.
“The pick was a good pick, but at the same time we threw it into a crowd,” McDonnell said, and then later added, “I think Adam went in and did okay, obviously you don’t want to evaluate everything by one throw, but that was a disappointment.”
Knight, a sophomore out of Nashua South, was 24-for-36 for 170 yards and two touchdowns against Dartmouth. McDonnell did say Knight was, “a little banged up,” when they took him out of the game Saturday, but the coach also emphasized that Knight did return on the final drive, so he was obviously healthy enough to play.
Whatever the reasoning was behind the quarterback switch, and no matter who starts, it’s clear the Wildcats need to figure out which player is the one who can finish.
“For three quarters (at Dartmouth) I thought we played good enough to win the football game,” McDonnell said. “Then getting into the fourth quarter, we did not play well enough to win the football game. You look at it and go on from it, just got to find ways to be better in those critical situations than we were on Saturday.”
Playing an 0-3 Rhode Island team that is giving up 47.0 points and 482.7 yards per game may seem like the perfect salve to cure the quarterback woes. But URI’s strength is its defense, which is led by all-conference performers in linebacker Adam Parker and defensive tackle Mike Ezirike.
“They’ve got some kids on the defensive side of the ball that can go get it,” McDonnell said.
Offensively, the Rams are averaging just 11.3 points and 269.0 yards per game, but they’re hoping to shake things up on that side of the ball with a quarterback change. Sophomore Wesley McKoy, who has started the first three games and gone 15-for-48 for 139 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions, will give way to senior Paul Mroz, who has gone 14-for-31 for 187 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions this year.
“We have to prepare for everything now because we’ve seen film on multiple quarterbacks and their playing styles are different,” said UNH senior linebacker DeVaughn Chollette, who is second on the team with 20 tackles.
But what the UNH defense really has to prepare for is URI’s running game, which features a pair of running backs.
“I think their run game is a strong point,” Chollette said. “T.J. Anderson and Harold Cooper are both good running backs, so we have to stop the run first before anything.”
Cooper scored a pair of first-half touchdowns last year in Durham as the Rams took a 17-0 halftime against UNH before the Wildcats rallied for a 20-17 win. McDonnell said he’ll only spend a little time talking about last year’s escape. The coach doesn’t like to dwell on the past and he knows his team better be focused on the present.
“I don’t think I have to get their attention,” McDonnell said. “We’re 1-2 … This week is really huge about how we approach this game and more importantly how we prepare for the game and most importantly how we play the game. Don’t worry about any other outstanding factors here. Don’t worry about where you are, or that this is the beginning of the league (schedule). This is Saturday and we’ve got an opportunity to be 1-0 on Saturday night.”
When the Wildcats faced Rhode Island last year, they did so without center Tad McNeely, who missed 10 games with a knee injury. McNeely, a Second Team All-CAA pick in 2014, is once again healthy and back in the middle of the offensive line for UNH this season, which is good news for both the coach and the player.
“It’s huge because you’ve got a guy up front who’s been through a ton of battles, experienced, and can just about adapt and adjust everything we’re doing to something that he’s seen,” McDonnell said. “And I think its important with him that you have (guard Nick) Velte next to him who’s a redshirt freshman, (McNeely is) a calming influence on him. He’s a kid that has been the leader. He’s very quiet, I’d like him to be more vocal, but he’s been very solid how he’s played.”
“I only had minor injuries the two years before, but last year obviously was a major injury, and this year I definitely feel more excited to be out there because you never know when your last play is going to be,” McNeely said. “I had a tough time dealing with that last year. So just got to play every game, every snap, like it’s your last.”
Turns out Velte will be leaning on McNeely’s leadership throughout the season. McDonnell announced on Wednesday that Alexander Morrill, the senior out of Lebanon who Velte was starting for, will miss the rest of the season with a hip injury.
Injuries have also struck the Wildcats receiving corps. McDonnell confirmed on Wednesday that senior Kyon Taylor (knee) will also miss the rest of the season and that sophomore Rory Donovan (hamstring) will most likely not play at URI.
Throw in the six-game suspension for senior tight end Jordan Powell, a First Team All-CAA pick last year, and it’s obvious UNH needs some of its young pass catchers to step up and fill the void. Redshirt freshman Malik Love did just that at Dartmouth with 13 catches for 108 yards.
“He’s a very athletic kid, he’s a very good-size small kid, he’s thick,” McDonnell said of the 5-foot-10, 178-pound Love. “He can run, he can catch, he has a toughness about him … we needed someone to step up and Malik Love did.”