As University of Delaware head football coach Tubby Raymond closes in on his 300th career victory, the Fightin' Blue Hens prepare for the 2001 season as a team either rebuilding or reloading, depending on your point of view.

This will be a rebuilding year in that 19 seniors, including 11 starters, have graduated from a 2000 team that went 12-2, won its first Atlantic 10 Conference title since 1995 and reached the NCAA Division 1-AA semifinals before falling to eventual national champion Georgia Southern.

That team featured four All-America selections--UD all-time passing leader Matt Nagy, consensus All-America center Jeff Fiss, team co-captain and 2000 Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year Brian McKenna at linebacker and defensive end Mike Cecere, the only four-time all-conference selection in UD history.

Also gone are versatile ironman halfback Craig Cummings and all-conference performers Chris Phipps at offensive guard and Mike Furline at safety.

Lest you fear this will ruffle the Blue Hens' feathers, note that UD will return 20 starters, including 11 who have earned All-Atlantic 10 honors in the past two seasons.

"This is a team of hope, a team of promise," says Raymond, who could achieve one of the most impressive milestones in college football history this fall as he enters his 36th season just four wins shy of becoming the eighth college coach to reach 300 career victories.

"The range of this year's team is certainly greater than last year. We could be comparable," he says, "but if we don't make plays...."

Fortunately, the Blue Hens have playmakers.

Senior Sam Postlethwait, who threw just seven passes and ran the ball 13 times a year ago, is the heir apparent to Nagy as the Blue Hen signal caller, and he will be handing the ball to a stellar corps of running backs.

Senior Butter Pressey, a second team All-Atlantic 10 pick in 1999, had an off-year in 2000 but still managed to rank second on the team when he rushed for 640 yards and nine touchdowns and averaged 5.3 yards per carry. A potential game-breaker on any play, Pressey also caught 23 passes for 399 yards and six touchdowns and also will return kickoffs.

Senior Butch Patrick, who ran in the same backfield at nearby Newark (Del.) High School with Pressey, should take over the other halfback spot after coming on late last season. He rushed for 250 yards and four touchdowns and averaged a team-best 6.0 yards per carry a year ago.

At fullback, sophomore Antawn Jenkins returns as one of the most promising, and punishing, runners in the Atlantic 10. Used sparingly early in the season, the 6-foot-2-inch, 225-pound Jenkins came on late in the season to become one of the Hens' most dominating runners. He finished the year with 376 yards and six touchdowns.

Raymond says he is excited with the stable of backups on hand in speedy sophomores Corey Howard and Germaine Bennett and hard-nosed redshirt freshmen Ben Cross and Sean Bleiler.

And, don't count out a contribution from senior Academic All-America candidate Brett Veach, a former halfback who moved to spread end two years ago and caught 58 passes for 815 yards and eight touchdowns. Veach could play an important role at halfback this season.

"We have more running backs than we've ever had," Raymond says of his potent backfield. "We can put together a power backfield (Jenkins, Bleiler and Cross) that can drive the ball on the ground. That is something we haven't been able to do in a while. And, Postlethwait gives us a running threat at quarterback that we haven't had in several years."

Although Postlethwait does not possess the arm strength of Nagy, Raymond says he is confident that the passing game will be effective. That confidence is based on the return this fall of senior Jamin Elliott, a first team All-Atlantic 10 receiver and a Walter Payton Award candidate as the I-AA Player of the Year.

The tandem of Elliott and Veach at spread end gave opposing defenses headaches in 2000 because both are threats to go the distance every time they touch the ball. Elliott caught 58 passes for 1,337 yards and eight touchdowns a year ago, averaging an astounding 23.1 yards per catch.

While Elliott was the big-play receiver, Veach was just as effective in a possession role. He tied Elliott's team lead with 58 catches and picked up 815 yards for a 14.1 yard average. He also carried 13 times for 59 yards.

At tight end, senior Greg Penecale, a third team All-Atlantic 10 selection, returns as a second-year starter and will once again be backed up by sophomore letter winner Rick Lavelle.

At quarterback, Postlethwait will be backed up by junior Rob Violante, a former starter at Iona who was the No. 3 quarterback a year ago, junior Dan Kowalski, who has appeared in two games over the last two seasons, and freshman Mike Connor, a Pennsylvania All-State selection who threw for 2,021 yards and 17 touchdowns in leading Strath Haven High School to the state AAA title last fall.

Much of the success of the offense will start with the offensive line, a unit that returns plenty of experience. Two All-Atlantic 10 third team selections return in guard John Ahern and tackle Jeff Dodge. Also back is starting tackle Trent Chandler.

Dodge and Chandler will handle the tackle spots with backup help from mammoth 6-foot-7-inch, 310-pound junior Brian Williams and redshirt freshmen Trip DelCampo and Paul Thomson.

Inside, Ahern, a CoSIDA Academic All-America candidate, will man one guard spot, while two-year letter winner Ken McNair should fill in at the other spot. Sophomore Jason Nerys, a letter winner as a backup last season and one of the team's most improved players in spring drills, will give solid support. The staff is high on redshirt freshmen Jared Wray and Chris Edwards, both of whom could push for significant playing time.

At center, the staff took a long look at Ahern as a possible replacement for Fiss during spring drills, but sophomore Matt Graviet, a Georgia Tech transfer who backed up Fiss a year ago, emerged and appears ready to fill that vital role.

Some key gaps need to be filled on defense, but a solid group of young, returning players appears ready to take over the leadership role of a unit that posted three shutouts a year ago and ranked 12th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 15.9 points per game.

"We need to create some depth on defense, and I'm anxious to see how things will turn out," Raymond says. "We are strong up front and are excited about the addition of Ron Cook from Virginia Tech. We have four outstanding linebackers in Dan Mulhern, Darrell Edmonds, Mondoe Davis and Dominic Santoli. It's just a matter of finding out who will play where."

The team's most experienced defensive unit is the front, where four starters return, led by second team All-Atlantic 10 end Femi Ayi and tackles Mike Pinckney, Mondeario Pinckney and Joe Minucci, who all took turns as starters in 2000.

Joining the group is the athletic Cook, a 6-foot-2-inch, 240-pound transfer from Virginia Tech who played a key backup role for the Hokies during their national runner-up finish in 1999. He will take over the starting right end spot.

Other key backups on the defensive front will be senior end Bob Lynch, a part-time starter in 1999 before moving over to offensive tackle last season; sophomore Jesse O'Neill; and promising redshirt freshmen Stephen Seal and Chris Mooney. Inside, two-year letter-winner Jason Reid (two tackles, one sack) and redshirt freshman Brian Jennings should play key roles, as well.

An interesting situation arises at linebacker, where the Hens return two of the finest outside linebackers in the Atlantic 10 in Mulhern and team captain Edmonds but have no true middle linebacker. Mulhern, a two-time All-Atlantic 10 selection, led the team in tackles a year ago with 142 stops (11 for loss) from his outside spot, but he will be the top candidate to take over in the middle.

Edmonds, who came of age in 2000 to earn third team All-Atlantic 10 honors, will stay on one outside spot after recording 84 tackles, including a team-high 14 for loss, last season.

The other side will feature a pair of talented redshirt freshmen in Mondoe Davis and Dominic Santoli, both of whom were deemed ready to play a year ago but ended up being redshirted. The animated Santoli could end up manning the middle for the Blue Hens in his first varsity season.

Junior Nick Fazzie, a former walk-on who posted nine tackles, mostly in special teams duty, a year ago, returns and will be expected to see much more action on the defensive side. Promising redshirt freshman Craig Browne should also push for an increased role. Also in the mix will be a pair of newcomers in redshirt freshman Mark Moore and true freshman John Mulhern, the younger brother of Dan and third member of family to play linebacker at Delaware.

The Delaware secondary is virtually brand new, with all four starters having graduated. Experience does return in junior Ricardo Walker, a part-time starter at cornerback who posted 37 tackles and intercepted three passes, returning one 100 yards for a touchdown against Villanova.

Also back with experience is versatile junior two-year letter-winner Mike Adams, who is slated to take over the strong safety spot after posting 57 tackles and intercepting three passes a year ago. Sophomore Leon Clarke, who had 13 tackles in 14 games in a backup role last year, should take over the other starting cornerback spot with backup support coming from redshirt freshmen Sidney Haugabrook and Bruce McClure. Promising true freshmen Ian Sample and Lawrence Jones could also see playing time.

Junior Vincent Wilson, a two-year letter-winner at the University of Iowa, transferred this winter and is expected to take over the Hens' strong safety spot. He took part in spring drills for the Blue Hens and established himself as a key member of the secondary.

Junior special teams standout Mike Cassidy (eight tackles) and redshirt freshman Rocky Myers will backup Adams at free safety while another true freshman, Brian Ingram, could also figure in the mix at the strong safety position behind Wilson.

Perhaps the league's top special teams unit will belong to the University of Delaware this fall. Junior placekicker Scott Collins and junior punter Chris Steiner each earned second team All-Atlantic 10 notice a year ago while Veach was a second team All-Atlantic 10 choice as a kick returner.

"We are certainly pleased to have Collins and Steiner coming back," Raymond says. "They form probably the best kicking tandem in the league, and both did a tremendous job for us a year ago. We're looking for that to continue. The kicking game has become such an important part of college football, and we are fortunate to have two players who handle their responsibilities so well."

One of the league's most dangerous kick returners, Veach averaged 24.1 yards per kickoff return in 2000, including a long of 69 yards, and averaged 6.7 yards on seven punt returns. He also averaged 20.3 yards per kickoff return in 1999.

Pressey will also see some action on kick returns, while Elliott could also fill in as a punt returner.

--Neil Thomas, AS '76