Bloomsburg Football Begins Spring Practice

BLOOMSBURG - The Bloomsburg University football team will begin the quest to defend their 2005 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East title with spring workouts starting on Tuesday, March 28th.

The Huskies went 11-1 overall last fall, including a 10-0 undefeated regular season, but lost in the second round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II playoffs to conference rival East Stroudsburg.

The 2006 Huskies will feature a potent ground attack with 2005 Harlon Hill Award Finalist Jamar Brittingham (Levittown/Neshaminy) returning after a record-breaking season. Last year's PSAC East Offensive Player of the Year, the sophomore set both school and conference records rushing for 2,260 yards and scoring 32 rushing touchdowns.

Also returning for an offense that ranked 10th in the country with 473.4 yards per game, is tight end Luke Kuklick (North Wales/North Penn) who was named to the 2005 Daktronics Division II All-Northeast Region Team. Red-shirt senior Greg Masters (Sayre/Athens) and freshman Ryan Schuck (Selinsgrove/Selinsgrove), the Huskies second and third leading receivers last season, will return at wideout.

First Team All-PSAC Selection, Wynton Shelton (Media/Penncrest) will anchor the offensive line for Bloomsburg in 2006 while second team selection Bryan Scruggs (Media/Sun Valley) returns as the Huskies center for the third consecutive year.

Defensively, Bloomsburg's line will be led by first team All-PSAC players Rob Biernat (Bristol/Conwell Egan) and Scott Keating (Lansdale/Lansdale Catholic). Biernat is a returning All-Region selection that lead the Maroon and Gold in tackles last season. Keating will serve as co-captain of the 2006 Huskies along with All-PSAC East selection Tyler Trettin (Hummelstown/Hershey) and returning starter Zac Barton (Berryville, VA/Loudan Valley).

Biernat, Keating, Trettin and Barton, along with returning All-PSAC East defensive back, Keith Davis (Woodlyn/Strath Haven), led a defense that ranked second in the PSAC allowing just over 100 rushing yards per game and ranking fourth in the PSAC in total defense. The Huskies also ranked first in the country in turnover margin (+22, +2.0/game) and 11th in the country in scoring defense allowing just over 14 points per game.

Head Coach Danny Hale, the 2005 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Regional Coach of the Year, recognizes the significance of the spring practice session. "This spring will be very important because we need to identify a quarterback order. Fortunately we have five quality young men vying for the starting job. Defensively we're young at the corner position making spring practice very important in getting quality reps for the players competing for the position."

NCAA regulations allow teams 15 practices over a 29 day period in the spring. Three practices are helmet only while four practices are helmet and shoulder pads (with no tackling). Team are permitted five practices with full gear but can't have greater than 50% live tackling during those dates. The NCAA also allows teams to hold three practices of scrimmage type during the spring.

The Huskies will use their fifteen practice dates from March 28th to April 29th and will wrap up spring practice on the 29th with their annual Maroon and Gold game scheduled for 11:00 a.m. at Redman Stadium.