Know Your Enemy: Q&A With VUHoops.Com
We had the privilege of doing a Q&A over on the excellent Villanova blog, VUhoops.com. In return, Brian Ewart was kind enough to answer some our questions about the Wildcats before Saturday’s big game.
1.) Zach Bednarczyk was solid, but not spectacular last season, after taking over at QB after one of Villanova’s all time great players, John Robertson, went down. Much like Bryan Schor though, he seems to have elevated his play this season. What are his strengths and weaknesses as a QB?
Zach Bednarczyk’s biggest issue last season was his decision-making — there were too many turnovers that were devastating that resulted mostly from him trying to make a play that was just too risky. He does have a strong and pretty accurate arm though, and while he’s not as elusive as John Robertson, he has enough speed to keep things interesting with his legs as well (which is really key for the Wildcats’ offense). He still occasionally makes mistakes in the passing game, but has picked his spots a lot better this season.
He’s not as efficient a passer as Robertson was, but he doesn’t have the same ability to tuck the ball and run for a gain at will as his predecessor, so that isn’t a viable option in every scenario.
2.) Many fans overlooked Villanova after the team opened with an FBS loss and then squeeked by Lehigh by only 7 points in week 2. That Lehigh win looks a whole lot better now in hindsight, but Nova still seems to be flying a little bit under the radar for a 7-2 team who’s only FCS loss came on the road in a game when the starting QB got hurt. Are folks sleeping on Nova and if so, what do you think the ceiling is for this team?
Perhaps. Villanova has had a couple of tough tests this season and the defense has always played very well. JMU is going to be another big test for the Wildcats this weekend, and we’ll have a better idea of what their ceiling really is afterward.
With that said, this team has risen into the top-10 on the back of a bunch of good wins. They can hang with a the best teams out there, especially if Bednarczyk is healthy. This is a very likely playoff team, and they look likely to send Andy Talley out on a high note.
3.) Who are some players JMU fans should keep their eyes on when Nova has the ball? What about when the Wildcats are defending?
On offense, Villanova has been getting some great performances from running back Aaron Forbes, who has put up some good performances on the ground. In the passing game, keep an eye on slot receiver Taurus Phillips, who has made some big plays, and tight end Ryan Bell, who has become an important target.
On defense, the Wildcats’ star is defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon, who has been making an impact week-after-week, and catching the eye of a lot of NFL scouts. Safety Rob Rolle has also been doing the lords work this season, with five interceptions and a couple of touchdowns as well. Linebacker Austin Calitro has been leading the team in tackles as well.
4.) Obviously, Bednarczyk’s injury played a roll in Nova’s 23-0 loss to Richmond. The D did a good job keeping the Spiders in check though, with a late TD making the game look a little more one-sided that it probably was. What were your big takeaways from that loss?
The obvious was the importance of a healthy Bednarczyk; Adayemi Da Silva is a talented athlete in his own right, but the offense was too simplified when he was in the game, and that made it more difficult for the ‘Cats. The defense worked hard and held things close with a very good offensive team though, which was probably the biggest indication we got that the unit is for real.
5.) We usually like to make a joke or poke fun at the other team in our final question, but we’re going switch things up in honor of Head Coach Andy Talley’s pending retirement. We’ve long admired the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation, can you explain to our readers what it’s all about and how Villanova football has been involved over the years?
Coach Talley adopted the cause of Bone Marrow donations a bit earlier in his career. According to his recounting of the story, he heard a story about how there was a lack of marrow donors on the registry one morning while shaving, and it occurred to him that he could probably add at close to 100 names to that registry in a hurry just with his team, and more by reaching out to campus. Adding college-age folks is great for the registry because those names stay on the registry for a long time (you’re eligible until you’re in your mid-60s). It is also vital to add african american, latino, and other divers groups who are under-represented in the registry; finding a marrow match is a complicated procedure that involves DNA-matching.
Talley’s program grew from just Villanova to other campuses through his personal network of friends in the coaching profession, and now a lot of campuses run an annual marrow drive. They’ve registered over 50,000 new potential donors since 2008.
You can read more about it at www.talleybonemarrow.org
For folks who have various cancers and disorders that require a marrow transplant, a healthy number of donors on the registry is their only hope. While most people who register as donors never get a call, the registry would never be able to function to save lives without a large enough base of people willing to donate.
I really want to hate Villanova, but ultimately they are a quality program run by a class act. Hard to get too upset with them. Unless they beat us, then they can burn in heck. 🙂
Thanks guys again for having this blog; good stuff here today.
@M@ Agree completely. Nova is always a tough out, but I respect the team, and admire the heck out of all Talley and the program have done with the bone marrow foundation.