By wpengine September 20, 2002
In the 2002 football media guide, under the outlook for the quarterback position, no starter is named. Instead, the guide says, “the decision as to who gets the go-ahead nod may come down just days before the first game of the season.” Unfortunately for the folks at Cornell Sports Information, the media guide must be published at least a month before the season starts. Back then, the starting quarterback could have been any one of three contestants hoping to replace the graduated Ricky Rahne ’02. Contestant one was senior Mick Razzano, who ultimately won the battle and was officially named starter last week. Razzano is the only one of the three passers to have actually played as a quarterback for the Red. For the last three years, Razzano backed up Rahne, seeing limited action in five games over that time. “It’s just a little advantage of being out there, playing in game experiences, obviously a lot different from the practice field, getting out there on Saturday,” said Razzano. “I haven’t played in many games, so I have limited experience. It’s helped me out a little bit.” In those games, Razzano’s numbers aren’t bad: 10-for-16 for 137 yards. “I think the biggest strength right now as opposed to [junior transfer] D.J. [Busch] is that he has knowledge of the offense,” said quarterbacks coach Brandon Stott. “They both have tremendous arms, they’re both really quick, they’re good athletes. [Razzano] just understands the offense better right now.” The second contestant for the job was junior Marschall Berkes. Berkes is an outstanding athlete who missed last season after having surgery on his right shoulder — his throwing arm. Berkes was in the running for the starter’s slot until about three weeks ago, when he broke the index finger on his right hand. The injury prevented him from being able to get a strong release on his passes, and so he had to drop out of the race. The fans at Schoellkopf haven’t seen the last of Marschall Berkes, though. Berkes is such a gifted athlete that the coaches wanted to play him somewhere, and so he’ll be playing wide receiver and special teams this season, as well as doubling as emergency quarterback should misfortune befall Razzano and his backup. Who is that backup? It’s the third candidate, Busch, who will be very interesting to watch as this season progresses. Busch, who began last season as the starter for then-No. 24 Division I-A Colorado State, went through a roller coaster of success and disappointment and ultimately fell out of the coaches’ favor, seeing transfer Bradlee Van Pelt take his job. Busch got off to a rocky start in his first game, tossing three picks in a loss against rival Colorado. In the next game, Busch didn’t throw an interception while throwing and running for scores in a win over Nevada. The wheels of Busch’s Rams career came off in the third game, though, a loss to San Diego State in which he threw another interception and lost his job for good. The former prized recruit saw little action the rest of the season, and finished 2001 28-for-63 with 337 yards and two TDs. In addition to the benching, another reason he left Colorado State was the departure of offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild to an NFL coaching position. Fairchild was a primary reason Busch chose to play for the Rams. Now Busch will get another chance to show what he’s made of. Although Razzano was named the starter, head coach Tim Pendergast and Stott left no doubt that Busch will see action — probably as soon as tomorrow — and might get a chance at a starting position again. “He will get some experience in a game, and early. Hopefully at Bucknell, if the situation presents itself, we’re going to take advantage of that,” said Stott. It would be poetic justice if the man who lost his job to a transfer last year transferred himself and earned a starting position. Whether Busch is starting by the end of the season or Razzano shows that he can lead the Red to the top of the Ivy League remains to be seen, but one thing is clear — both quarterbacks will play a role in anything this team accomplishes this fall. “We need them both to win this year. I know that. The whole coaching staff knows that,” said Stott. Meanwhile, Busch’s fresh perspective on the team summarized the expectations of whoever is calling the signals. ” I think we just need somebody who can kind of go out there and not make mistakes and let other players make big plays and we’ll be fine,” he said. “I don’t think anybody’s looking to fill Ricky Rahne’s shoes; I think it’s more so we don’t want to go 2-7 again. We want to improve as a team.”Archived article by Alex Fineman
By wpengine September 20, 2002
Experience is the name of the game when it comes to the secondary this season. On a young team that has only 15 seniors, the secondary can boast four of those upperclassmen. Seven returning members of the defensive backfield have already lettered, more than any other group on the team, and the secondary didn’t lose any starters to graduation. That experience is going to have to translate into success on the football field to elevate the secondary’s status from an offensive coordinator’s afterthought to one of his biggest concerns. Last season, the defensive backfield gave up 232.6 passing yards per game, which was slightly more than the league average of 230.1. The disturbing part of that number, though, is that teams passed fewer times against the Red than against any other team — meaning that Cornell gave up more yards per pass than any other Ancient Eight school. The Red also allowed 17 touchdowns in the air while intercepting only nine passes. It’s no secret or surprise that the coaching staff and the players would love to see those numbers reversed. “As a group, we’re really focused on being the best secondary in the league, being the best defense in the league,” said senior cornerback Jordan Hase. “We need to work more on turnovers this year, getting the ball back, and getting it to our offense instead of making plays and not finishing them.” The keys to a turnaround begin with the starters. This year, senior free safety Jamie Moriarty will be the centerpiece of the secondary. Last season, Moriarty pulled down four interceptions and ranked second on the team with 64 tackles in his first season as a starting safety. Moriarty was confident that the experience of the defensive backs will pay dividends this season. “I think having people back there that are experienced in big-time games is going to help us deal with pressure,” he assessed. On the corners, senior Rosco Newsom and sophomore Kyle Thomas will be the opening day starters. Newsom played in seven games last season, racking up 18 tackles. His biggest season came two years ago, when he made 53 stops and also intercepted three passes. “Rosco’s showing much greater effort,” remarked head coach Tim Pendergast on Newsom’s progress. “He has All-Ivy potential.” Thomas, on the other hand, saw limited time last year but made impressive strides in the offseason to beat out some veterans for the other starting spot. That still leaves five returning lettermen, and the quality of the depth in the secondary will be very important in allowing the defense to use nickel and dime packages this year. Those lettermen are seniors Hase and Vincent Bates, junior Neil Morrissey, and sophomores David Blanks and Deron Smith. Bates was a starter last season and finished fifth on the team in tackles with 41. Hase missed over half of last season with an injury but started at corner and made 42 tackles that year as a sophomore. Blanks, the twin brother of tailback Marcus, lettered last season on special teams and should contribute defensively this season. Smith, on the other hand, played in all nine games as a freshman last year in the role of a nickel back, ranking sixth on the team with 37 tackles and intercepting a pass. The cornerback should be an exciting element of the defense this year, as the coaching staff plans to bring the weakside corner on blitzes. “We love our corner blitz. It’s something that will come on long-yardage plays where it comes off the blind side, so it’s pretty much a free shot on the quarterback. We’re basically looking to blitz a lot to take away a lot of their hot routes,” said Morrissey. Morrissey will back up Moriarty at the safety position and should receive significant playing time in pass defense formations. He, too, played in all nine games last season and recorded an interception. The fact that each member of the secondary — starter or reserve — has already seen action in a Cornell jersey before the 2002 season’s first snap should be a good sign for the last line of the Red defense. “Playing secondary, everything happens so quick for us, so you have to know where the guys behind you are — if you play corner, that your safety will be behind you,” said Bates. “We trust them, there’s a lot of trust that goes on. Having guys that you trust and have played with you for a while helps the whole defense.”Archived article by Alex Fineman