Last year, the Engineer football team advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2003, and finished as co-champion of the Liberty League. RPI, ranked 21st in the nation in preseason, will look to build on that success this year. The team opens the 2008 season, the last that it will play on the ’86 field, this Saturday at Endicott College.
Head Coach Joe King will be back to lead the Engineers for his 20th season. King has amassed an astounding career record of 133-49-2 while at RPI.
This season, the team will be without 10 of last year’s starters, including four on the offensive line. King noted that “you can’t replace that senior experience.” However, RPI will still return many of its key players from the 2007 team that finished the season with an 8-2 record.
On the offensive side of the ball, senior Jimmy Robertson will return at quarterback to lead the unit for his fourth season. Last year, he threw for 17 touchdowns and 2,574 yards while posting completion percentages and passer efficiency ratings of 61.6 and 143.65, respectively.
The Engineers’ two leading touchdown-scorers will also be back: sophomore runningback Nick Costa and senior wideout Eren Savasli. Costa accumulated 403 yards on the ground as a freshman, good for 4.6 yards per carry, while Savasli reeled in 42 passes for 734 receiving yards. Each of them found the endzone seven times on the year. Junior receiver Mike Fil, who made 16 receptions last year, including two for touchdowns, also returns. The Engineers will be without wide receiver Brendan McGowan ’08, whose 73 receptions and 1,007 yards led the team in 2007.
On the offensive line, the lone returning starter will be junior Brian Hall. A sometimes overlooked unit, a solid offensive line is of great importance to any offense, and this will be a definite area to watch throughout the season.
“Offensively, we lost four starting offensive linemen, and that’s a lot. It’s a group that [needs] to play together because there’s so much communication,” said King.
When the offense is on the field, the Engineers will look to avoid turnovers and control possession. King noted the importance of winning the turnover battle: “We take a lot of pride in taking care of the football, and then, defensively, turning the ball over to the offense. I think one of the key things that’s enabled us to be pretty successful over the years is that turnover ratio.”
King also explained how the offense can help the defense through controlling posession. “I think that one of the things defensively that you would like from the offense is to control the ball, take the time off the clock,” stated the head coach. He said of the defense, “We play our best defense when we’re not out on the field.”
Additionally, the team will look to find a balance between the run and the pass. “We certainly want to be balanced,” stated King. “You have to be able to run the football, and when we’ve been good, we’ve been able to run.”
Defensively, the team will be without last season’s leaders in tackles, linebackers Anthony Casale and Tom Rayhill. Junior Stefan Schulz, who finished with 65 tackles, including 5.5 for a loss, will be the only returning starter from the linebacker corps.
On the defensive line, only one starter was lost. Graduate student Nick Casale, senior James McLaughlin, and senior Khaly Merot will all return. The three combined for 28 tackles for a loss last year. McLaughlin led the team with 5.5 sacks, while N. Casale and Merot recorded three and two, respectively.
In the secondary, both of last season’s starting safeties, juniors Joe Albano and Tim Acker, selected as pre-season National All-Americans, will return. Acker, the team-leader with six interceptions in 2007, finished with 62 tackles, while Albano had 58 tackles and an interception. Junior Bobby Stutz, who made 46 stops and had one interception, will return at cornerback for the Engineers.
The defense will look to accomplish three goals that were displayed in King’s office: stop the big play, stop the run, and take the ball away. The coach said that “those have been our defensive goals for a number of years now.”
He further explained the importance of avoiding giving up the big play. “If you don’t give up big plays, you usually don’t give up a lot of points. It’s hard for a team to just grind it out, march down the field.”
On special teams, sophomore Nick Lalumia, who averaged 37.9 yards per punt, will return for the Engineers. Sophomore Peter Nilson converted on 35 of 38 extra points in 2007, and also will be back. Acker and Fil handled the bulk of kick and punt return duties last season, and each will be returning.
Having these players returning on special teams should prove advantageous for the Engineers. “It’s an area that can get you beat as quick as anything, or it can help you win some games. Hopefully, it will do the latter for us,” explained King.
N. Casale, Robertson, Savasli, and McLaughlin will serve as the captains for the team, which will look to get the season started with a win this weekend at Endicott. King explained that to get a win, the team will “have to play a solid game [in] all areas.”
He explained that the team will be inexperienced at some positions, since playing a game is different from practice and scrimmages. “We just have to have some poise and go out there and play, and hopefully we come away with a win.”
Even though the Engineers defeated Endicott by a 24-point margin at home last season, the team will not look past them. When asked what the team’s goals for the season are, King’s answer could not have been more simple and straightforward: “Win the first game.”
After facing Endicott, RPI will travel to Utica for its second contest. The Engineers’ first home contest will be the Transit Trophy Game against WPI, scheduled to be held on the ’86 field at 1 pm on Saturday, September 27.
Editors Note: Page 20 photos by Zach Baum; design and layout by Lyle Newman.
