UNH Notebook: Toman will start
Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com
When University of New Hampshire football coach Sean McDonnell was asked to name his team's starting quarterback for Saturday's game against Villanova, it didn't take him long to respond.
"R.J. Toman will start," McDonnell said Wednesday. "I wouldn't say he's 100 percent, but he's getting there. Unless something happens between now and Saturday, he's gonna go out there and play."
Toman dressed for UNH's 57-7 victory over Towson on Saturday, but did not play in the game. He injured his right toe during a 44-14 triumph over Dartmouth on Sept. 26 and was removed from that game early in the third quarter.
Kevin Decker replaced Toman in the second half against Dartmouth, and steered the Wildcats to victory last weekend. Decker has completed 20 of 34 pass attempts for 216 yards and three touchdowns this season. He's been intercepted once.
Toman has completed 41 of 71 passes for 461 yards. He's thrown three touchdown passes and has been intercepted three times.
"I feel really good," Toman said. "I think that's the best way to describe it is I feel really good. All the swelling is gone. All the bruising is gone, which is very good. Those were the two toughest part to overcome.
"(Decker is) a good quarterback and he got the job done."
Saturday game, which will be played in Durham, is scheduled to start at noon. Second-ranked Villanova is 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Fifth-ranked UNH is 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the CAA.
"R.J. is someone everyone thinks of as one of the great quarterbacks in the league," Villanova coach Andy Talley said. "They have a swagger now. They play hard. It's gonna be a very difficult game for us."
McDonnell said Saturday's contest will reveal a lot about what kind of football team he's coaching.
"(Villanova is) about a complete a football team as we've seen in a long time," he said. "I think the're a better football team than they were last year. This will be a great test for us. I'll know after the game on Saturday where we're at."
Double trouble
Junior Chris Whitney and senior Antwon Young are both expected to see time behind center for Villanova on Saturday. Whitney leads the team in both rushing (63 carries, 307 yards) and passing (55 of 82 for 652 yards). He's thrown six touchdown passes, and also rushed for two TDs.
McDonnell said the Villanova offense stays the same regardless of which quarterback is in the game, but called Whitney a more physical runner than Young.
"Whitney is as big a threat both ways as we've seen in a while," McDonnell said. "He's throwing the ball better right now. He runs their ride-and-decide stuff, their option stuff. He scrambles. He has a purpose everytime with the ball. He's just got that knack, and I really like that kid as a football player.
"And the backup is as athletic as a lot of the guys we've had in this conference. The unfortunate thing for Mr. Young is that he plays on the same team as Mr. Whitney. They're quarterback position is very, very good, and very, very efficient.
"The running backs, (Aaron) Ball and (Angelo) Babbaro, are really good. It seems like they got two at every position. It's like Noah's Ark. He's got two of everything."
Villanova's CAA victories came against Northeastern (56-7) and William & Mary (28-17).
"Offensively, they're probably the best team we've faced thus far," UNH linebacker Sean Ware said. "They run a lot of different things out of a lot of different formations. They're line is probably the biggest team across the board that we've seen -- even bigger than Ball State. It's gonna be a battle, but I think we match up well defensively with them.
"I think this game is gonna show everybody where we're at. It's gonna show us what kind of defense we've got."
Noteworthy
UNH leads the CAA in both scoring offense (37 points per game) and scoring defense (12.8). The Wildcats are also ranked first among FCS teams in total defense (210 yards per game). ... Junior linebacker Devon Jackson recorded 10 tackles against Towson and has made a team-high 26 tackles this season. He's one of three UNH players with at least 20 tackles. The others are Ware (23) and junior safety Hugo Souza (21). ... Villanova has a 10-8 edge in the series against UNH. ... UNH has scored 71 of its 148 points in the first quarter. The Wildcats have scored 100 points in the first half.
