April 22, 2005
Duquesne, which entered the month of March looking to replace two key losses in four-year starting quarterback Niel Loebig and 12-year head coach Greg Gattuso, filled the coaching void with the hiring of Jerry Schmitt. Saturday's Red/Blue game will be another step in finding the successor to Loebig.
The game, set to start at 6:40 p.m. on Saturday at Rooney Field, marks the conclusion of spring practice.
Schmitt, who spent the last five seasons as head coach at Westminster College, returned to DU to take the head coaching position on March 21 after Gattuso left to become recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach under Dave Wannstedt at Pitt. Schmitt is no stranger to Duquesne football, having served as an assistant for 11 seasons (1985-87 and 1992-99) prior to taking the Westminster job. The Pittsburgh native was the Dukes' offensive coordinator for his last seven years and was part of DU's first three MAAC Championship teams.
Finding a replacement for Loebig, who finished his career as just the fifth player in I-AA history with over 10,000 yards passing (10,254) and 100 touchdown passes (103), won't be as easy. Early candidates for the job entering spring practice include junior redshirt Ben Palumbo (6-2, 210) and a trio of redshirt freshmen including Scott Knapp (6-3, 230), Brad Wagner (6-2, 210) and Mark Rupert (6-3, 220).
The quarterback transition should be helped by the fact that Duquesne returns a number of talented skill position players including three-time 2004 MAAC Rookie of the Week Bruce Hocker (So., 6-3, 190, 35 catches, 577 yards, 7 TDs), junior Dan Spriggs (5-9, 170, 41 catches, 428 yards, 3 TDs) and sophomore Alex Roberson (6-2, 180, 21 catches, 208 yards, 3 TDs).
DU's top two running backs also return in juniors James Jacobs (5-8, 180, 133 att., 687 yds., 9 TDs) and Jeremy McCullough (5-9, 190, 166 att., 683 yds., 3 TDs). The new QB will also be protected by three senior first team All-MAAC offensive linemen in center Matt Bovich (6-1, 270) and tackles Josh Martin (6-4, 270) and Brad Salvatore (6-5, 280).
Duquesne returns 16 starters, including 10 first team All-MAAC performers from last year's 7-3 (4-0 MAAC Champion) team. The defense will be led by a pair of two-time consensus All-Americans in senior defensive tackle Josh Antinopoulos (6-2, 265) and senior middle linebacker Harry Carter (6-1, 235). In all, Duquesne should be strong on the defensive side of the ball with nine starters back from a unit that finished last season ranked No. 14 in total defense.
Duquesne, which has won eight of the last 10 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League titles, including the last six in a row, will bring a 33-game conference winning streak into the 2005 season. The streak is the longest in the nation and second on the all-time list only to Oklahoma's 44-game streak (Big Eight) from 1952-59 and Nebraska's 39-game streak (Big Eight/Big 12) from 1992-98 among all NCAA Division I or I-AA schools.
NOTE: The Duquesne Football Booster Club will meet on the patio underneath the press box at 5:30 p.m.
