'Cat Tale: QB keeper
Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com
Before the season began, quarterback R.J. Toman may have been the biggest question mark on the University of New Hampshire football team. Toman was stepping into a position vacated by Ricky Santos, the most prolific QB in the program's history.
Now the season is seven games old, and UNH coach Sean McDonnell is mentioning Toman as one of the team strengths.
"Very pleased with the quarterback play," McDonnell said Monday. "R.J. Toman has stepped in here and become a very good football player by doing the things he needs to do to make this offense go."
Toman is directing an offense that leads the league in scoring (37.4 points per game). He'll enter Saturday's home game against Hofstra (noon) ranked second in the CAA, behind Towson's Sean Schaefer, in passing yards per game (254.9).
"He's not pressing, he's not forcing anything," McDonnell said. "He's playing well within himself. If he continues to do that he's gonna give us an opportunity to win."
Hinds-sight
McDonnell on UNH defensive back Ryan Hinds, who was selected as The Sports Network's Defensive Player of the Week and the Colonial Athletic Association's Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in UNH's 42-14 victory over Towson on Saturday:
"He came from Canada. Played very little defensive back, if any, in high school. Becoming a safety was a learning experience for him. He's split time with Dino Vasso, Johnny Clements, Ryan McGuinness and Terrance Klein. This week Dino was a little dinged up and (Hinds) got his opportunity to play and he played the whole game. He made some big plays."
Hinds intercepted two passes and recorded six tackles (four solo) in the victory. He returned his first interception 74 yards for a touchdown.
"The kid has stuck with it," McDonnell said. "He's a very good athlete. Very talented. Got good speed. He played better. It was great to see a kid play that kind of game after how hard he's worked."
Playing with Pride
Hofstra will enter Saturday's game 3-5 overall and 1-3 in the CAA.
Hofstra is coming off last weekend's 17-0 loss to Delaware. Freshman quarterback Steve Probst made his first start in the Delaware loss. He completed 11 of 28 passes for 71 yards during a game played in strong winds. Probst began the season third on the depth chart.
"I thought Delaware's defensive front controlled the football game," Hofstra coach Dave Cohen said. "They really played well. It was one of those days when we didn't make plays when we needed to in any of our three phases -- offense, defense or kicking."
Cohen said he expects to start seven freshmen and nine sophomores against ninth-ranked UNH (6-1, 3-1), which has won the last five games against Hofstra.
"I'm looking forward to going up to New Hampshire," Cohen said. "Obviously they pose another whole set of issues. They're as explosive as ever on offense. They really play physical against the run on defense."
Team focus
UNH will wrap up its regular season with games against Villanova, UMass and Maine, but McDonnell said he's not worried about his Wildcats overlooking Hofstra this weekend.
"We're not good enough to look by anybody," he said. "We're not good enough to do that. We're good enough to beat some people if we play hard and do the things we're supposed to do. Hopefully that's gonna happen Saturday."
