Will Big Line and New O Translate to Wolverines Wins?

I wasn’t sure what to expect as I walked towards the Willamette weight room. Last season got off to a horrible start when two way first team all leaguer Danny Granillo, a real beast, tore his ACL early in the first league game. What followed was a disappointing Wolverine season record and then their quarterback transferred to Marist. So when I walked through the door, I was surprised when I immediately felt positive excitement in the air. I was also surprised that Willamette had picked up North Eugene’s head coach as offensive coordinator and a Marist assistant coach. On top of that, Jordan Holmes, a two year starter at center for Oregon ran the Willamette weight program over the summer and talked to the players a lot about what it takes to win.  I immediately knew something positive was brewing at Willamette. 

Here are some questions I threw at Head Coach Dan Fritz and the offensive coordinator, Eric Johannsen.

How many players have turned out?
About 48 in the sophomore through senior level, but we have 36 freshmen.

Who are your returning starters and other key returning players?
Junior Tyler Johnson returns and was a two way all league tackle and linebacker. He was voted team season captain.
What’s a team season captain and isn’t it unusual for a junior to be selected?
We have a captain for the team and we have captains for each position, and yes, it’s unusual for a junior to be selected. Zach Hatefi and Mitch Crownover return as wide receivers. Austin Black will join them and brings some speed to our receiving group. Another junior, Jordan Edres, will also get time at receiver. Sophomore Cam Ferguson, is very elusive and will be returning kicks. Jordan Visarraga will be our tailback with Dante Giles getting playing time.

Everyone in the league lost their quarterback. All of the coaches are concerned about that position. Have you decided on your QB?
Dustin Leber is our quarterback. He was back up quarterback last year and got some playing time in during our playoff game against South Albany. He came in for a series when our starter got hurt.

Willamette got off to a nice start last year offensively, scoring 34 points in the first two games. Then the production fell off until the playoff game. Any changes in store in the scheme or areas of emphasis to address the issue?
Ball security killed us last year. We couldn’t get into any tempo on offense. We’re putting in a new offense, similar to what coach Johannsen ran at North Eugene last year. A spread offense with the inside zone and zone read option. Leber is a good fit at quarterback for this offense. It’s a lot like what the Ducks use. So far, the kids have been really good with the installation of the new offense.
    Also, we have good size on the line. Tyler Johnson at left tackle, Drew Clements and Mitch Wilkens at left guard. Lance Henderson is center. Trent Waggoner [baseball player] at right guard and Sam Duncan at right tackle. Bryce York is at tight end and can run out of a fullback position.

Defense has to be a concern this year. You lost Grannillo right off the bat last year, and it seemed like the defense never came together. Plus, the D was on the field a lot because of the turnovers on offense.
Yes, it was a little bit of both. We have a new defensive back coach. Nick McCarthy moved over from Marist to work with our DB’s. I’m [head coach Fritz] stepping back in as defensive coordinator.

Any players close to D-1 or small college ball?
Bryce York, Mitch Crownover and Jordan Visarraga have shots. They’re probably a little undersized or not quite big enough for D-1, but could do well at a smaller college. Watch junior Tyler Johnson. He’s not far away from Granillo (Granillo was a 2 way 1st team all league as a junior) Tyler’s an animal in the weight room. Time will tell.

It seems like Willamette has developed more than your fair share of great receivers, like Michael Calef, Taylor Woodke and Cam Koehler and you’ve got a couple of potentially really good ones this year. Have you just been fortunate that these kids have shown up or does Willamette work a lot at developing wide receivers?
Our wide open offensive tradition goes back many years, long before even Calef. We adjust to our personnel, and the new offensive scheme this year is better suited for Leber, our qb. Also, we do work the receivers a lot after weight workouts.

That was the end of the formal interview. The energy and spirit in the weight room and on the field was really good. The big linemen that coach Fritz talked about were definitely big and looked like they had been hitting the weights. The Willamette visit was a good way to end the week. The Wolverines certainly have the potential to do well in league. Like every other team, they better get their new qb up to speed fast and that will depend an awful lot on the O line. With all the up beat attitudes and the usual football camaraderie on a beautiful day I couldn’t help but think that for a lot of players, they were near the end of their football careers. Coach Fritz hit it on the head when he said, “We’re trying to build good memories. For 45 of these 48 players, they are probably in their last years of football. We want these years to be a good experience.”

I’m going to hit Springfield’s practice Wednesday and that is probably it for practice visits for the year unless I get another invite. Friday, I’ll be off to Corvallis for the Marist game.  League games start the next week when I'll be watching my alma matre, Marshfeild, plat at North Eugene.
 
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