Summer time Grind

The summer is not vacation for football players the summer is the longest period of time you have to get stronger, faster, and just become a better football player.It is a time when we stay on campus in non- air conditioned dorms and only $250 to our name and try to survive while the rest of the student-body sits at home or goes on vacation. Now im not saying the summer time is not fun for us because it definitely is its just that we have to keep a close eye on how in shape we are. The reason for this is because when we report for camp we all have to past a running test. This running test consist of us running 16x110 yarders in under 14 seconds if you are a skilled position, 16sec if you are any other position. If we do not make this test then suffer serious consequences. This is why the summer is so important to us.

Getting Personal: Ty Bynum

Ty Bynum is a Sophmore wide reciever here at the University of Rhode Island. He has had a good spring and we are expecting big things from him this Fall .

Q:How long have you been playing football and how did you get started?

I been playing since I was able to play. I dont know its just something I always wanted to do.

Q:Why did you choose the position of WR?

I was always was a big fan of Dieon Sanders and he inspired me to play his positions. And i have been doing it ever since.

Q: So, How do you like Rhode Island?

Its Okay it took a while to get use to but it is definitely different from home. Back home its like more things to do and weather isn't as random. But I like the atmosphere here on campus, I like the people and just the networking that goes on here.

Q: Where his home?

Lancaster, PA a city right outside of Philadelphia.

Whats your Pre-game music?

Various artist of hip-hop especially lil wayne, Gucci Man, Drake, and Jeezy.
Drake- Congratulations and Jezzy's - Black Dreams these two songs really get me hyped.

Q: What is the mark you want to leave here at URI?

I want people to say that I was smart, atheletic, and a gentleman what more could you ask for.

Q: What do you like to do for fun?

Party with friends, watch sporting events on ESPN, watch movies, and listen to music.

We Play Harder

With all the practices and work that we do as a student athlete do we ever have time to do anything fun? Well my answer to that is of why of course we do lol. We work hard but we play harder.
WE definitely like to party just like any other URI kid however during the season we like to stay away from the alcohol and such. But when we are out of season some of our favorite spots to party at are down the line in Bonnet, of course Bobby G's, and Bonvue....and Prov on the weekends haha. With all the work that I chronicled I just thought I ll throw that in there just to let yall know that there are two sides to being a student athlete.

Blue and White Game

The annual spring game took place this past Saturday.My teammates and I had been looking forward to this game all spring. we said we were going all out I put on my wrist bands leg bands tape upped my ankles and finally I turned my swagg on and was ready to go. But i wasn't the only it seem like the whole team had a little something extra on that warm Saturday afternoon.
The stadium was not packed however it was definitely a good turn out at our spring game. The blue team pulled the victory in an epic overtime battle between the two teams. The game also included highlighted performances by Shawn Leonard and Chris Paul-Etienne of the blue team and also on the white team there was outstanding performances by Ryan Lawrence, me (pictured to the left) and the defense as a whole did great jobs.
At the end of the game the most improve award was given out to one offensive and defensive player. On defense Jarrod Williams earned it and on the offensive side Mike Gross received the award.
Spring ball has come to an end however our journey to become a championship team is still in progress. I feel like there are more hungry players on this Rhode Island team then there has been in a long time. This is big because when comes to football you have to put your heart into it if not you will not have the will to keep playing when your down 6. But I hope this mentality carries over into the summer. While most of us stay here on campus

Bone Marrow Drive

The URI football team held a bone marrow drive in Keaney gym where we all became registered donors. We also got 260 plus people to also come join registry which is a great turnout. Next year we hope to do it again if you didn't come this year please try to attend next year and if you did, spread the word. You could save a life.

Last Spring Practice

Well yesterday was the last and final spring practice of the 09' season. A lot of people were amped to go out just because that was the last major obligation we had as a team for the week other than the Spring Game Saturday April 25, 2009.On the flip side I'm sure most of the seniors had mixed emotions about their very last spring practice I could hear some seniors jokingly talking about their last practice saying "damn this the last spring for me, the freshmen got three more" although they made it seem like a joke most of them are realizing how close they are getting to the very last go around as a college football player. Most of the players at the college level has been playing for ten plus years so football almost becomes a way of life and to have that go away would be hard to adjust to.
On another note practice went extremely well and we all are ready for that spring game Saturday. I know i have my family coming up and a lot of friends that are going to be at the game so I'm going to try and put on a show. I hope all of you can come. If not you will definitely be missing out on a great thing. SEE YOU THERE.

Practice # 13

It was the Monday after our scrimmage and we were in full equipment. At the beginning of practice Coach Trainer exclaimed how usually after a major scrimmage like the one that took place this past Saturday the practice is always 'shitty' or not up to par. With having that said it was funny that he said that that is how most of us were feeling we did not want to practice. However when practice started it was all downhill from there practice from my perspective went well there was a lot of live work we competed in the oklahoma drill as a team, man coverage with the DBs and WRs, the linemen and RBs went to a one-on-one drill. Then we had a couple of team periods which was very productive. Afterwards we all ran 110 yarders which was definitely a surprise to us because usually just the seniors are the only ones to run all spring. After we were done with that we also were informed that next Wednesday we have the 110 test to gauge where we are at for the 110 test in the summer in which if we don't pass there are consequences. For those of you who don't know what the 110 test is ,let me explain, it is when a guys are placed in position groups and they have to run 110 yards x 18 in under their designated times which is 14 seconds for my group. And yes it is as hard as it sounds.

Good Scrimmage

On Saturday we had our last scrimmage before the spring game. Overall I think it went well we should great progression in our passing game where the new QB Chris Paul-Etinne showed his rocket arm and accuracy. DJ Stepkovich also had a good day did well managing the field and moving the ball. Wide receiver Ty Bynum and I also had an impressive scrimmage at Meade stadium on saturday. The defense also looked good on Saturday. Matt Hansen had a fumble recovery that he took back for a touchdown, Terrance Glenn played good coverage on the wide outs, and Devin Dace had an interception. 

After the scrimmage we only had two more spring practices left so Coach Trainer was really expressing how important these next two days would be for our program and that we need to finish off strong, contrary to what we did last fall in majority of games. 

  

Spring Practice

Practice started in March and now we are down to only four more practices left. This spring has been very eventful and I feel like people are becoming more comfortable with the system that we are playing in. Since you are aware of my previous post you know we got a new head coach however the old staff stayed on board so not much has change since the season. Now with a year of playing under the system now we can begin to perfect our playing and that will be a big step for our team.
The Rutgers transfers are new to the system but they are picking up our system well and the transfer Quarterback is actually the starter right now and seems to be picking up the offense pretty well.
Joe Casey, a red shirt senior, who suffered a season ending injury in the first game of the season when he was hit and the defender caused a broken leg. The pre-season All-American is doing well and is having a speedy recovery. He even won a race between him and another Ram running back which shows he hasn't lost a step. This is a good sign.

Tomorrow April 18th there will be a scrimmage at Meade Stadium at 1 p.m all are welcomed!

Trainer Hired to lead Rams;Two new coaches on Board

Coach Trainer was part of a number of people who applied for the Rhode Island head coach position. He was selected in a short process that took only two weeks but he was the best candidate and this is why he received the job. From a players perspective I think this was a good move by the Athletic Director because Trainer was apart of the staff last season and had left for a position at Bowling Green as a defensive coordinator. However when a program gets a new head coach they usually get rid off the whole previous staff and bring in a whole new system and culture which can sometimes be hard to adjust to for players and especially seniors. By bringing in coach Trainer who was here last season the staff was able to stay and the team is allowed to take steps forward rather than steps back by starting all over. Coach Trainer arrived during the middle of winter workouts where he change some things like instead of going three days a week we went two and instead of having practice at 5 am he pushed it to 5:45am. Any little bit of extra sleep did help. But anyway Trainer increase the intensity of the workouts since we only went two days and made it more competitive by splitting us up in to different groups with a point system.
We also received a new WR coach named coach Roder. He previously coached a Temple for three years and he also worked with offensive coordinator Chris Pincince at Holy Cross. As a player Roder was a Quarterback at the University of Albany where he led his team to a NEC championship. Also joining us is coach Ari Confesor who was an All-American wide out for Holy Cross and a Professional player in the arena league. He brings a lot of playing experience to the table. He will be helping out with the secondary.

RIZZI leaves URI

Yesterday around 2p.m. I go a text from Coach Silva saying "meeting in keaney gym tonight at 7." When I first saw the text I thought "damn somebody probably got in trouble" which only meant the already hard winter workouts would only become harder. Then I called some of my homies on my team and asked them what they thought this meeting could possibly be about and i got a number of answers some people thought it was going to be about the Wide Receiver(WR) Coach because earlier in the week the old WR coach left to take a job at his Alma mater U. Penn. so a lot of people had that theory and the other theory was that we were going to get tested by the NCAA on Monday but this meeting was just a heads up. Quite frankly the whole team was bewildered as to why this team had been called to meet at 7p.m. in Keaney Gym.

Upon arrival at the gym everyone seemed to be in their normal moods. Certain people making scenes others cracking jokes, and some just sitting there like they always do. However when the Coaches walked in something was different . None were smiling they all had a serious face and that's when I said to my boy Steve "whatever they are about to say is not good" and sure enough it wasn't. The Head coach of only 14 months told us that he would no longer be our head coach. The room instantly grew cold. Peoples jaws drop. He begin to explain that he would always support us regardless of where he goes. Coach Rizzi accepted a spot as a special teams coordinator for the Miami Dolphins. He explained the professionally that move is definitely a no brainer but the only reason why the decision was hard for him is because he had to think about us, the team. Coach Rizzi stated "this is one of the hardest decision of my life." I wish Coach Darren Rizzi the best in his new endeavors. This goes to show you that on this level and the next football is more than just a game its a business.
The interim Head Coach will be Coach Pincince he was originally the offensive coordinator.

What is the world comming to?

The NCAA is a governing body over all athletics that take place in the colleges and Universities all over our great nation. With that being said every year the NCAA comes up with a list of banned substances in which college athletes are not allowed to ingest most of the substances are things one knows they should not do like steroids, marijuana, alcohol and,cocaine. Then there's other stuff like caffeine in large amounts, and nikethamide something you may have never even heard of. Anyway in a recent update of the list a substance that one would never think was impermissible was banned. The name of this substance is called Vitamin Water. Yes Vitamin Water. Certain flavors of this Coca-Cola brand name drink has been banned because of certain ingredients in them that the NCAA labels as banned.

A Day in the life of a URI player…Can u handle it?

Let us begin on Sunday first; we go to study hall from 5-7pm. Next, we wake up Monday morning at 5:00 am to be at winter workouts at 5:30 am. We finish workouts around 7:15 am and we have to go eat breakfeast and then make it to class for 8 am if you have it (I do) then you follow the rest of to your class schedule and then at either 1, 4, or 2:30 pm you go lift and then on top of that you have to find time to eat. Finally, at the end of the day we have study hall for two and a half hours 7-9:30 pm. We repeat this process for the rest of the week. Can you handle it?

Recruiting

Alright, the biggest part of the season just passed on Febuary 7, 2009, it’s called recruiting. If you are not familiar with this term in football, it is when teams are allowed to go and look at high school players who seem like a good fit for a teams program and give their program the best chance at winning games. URI takes recruiting very seriously and we just wrapped up recruiting last week. We added four linebackers, four defensive lineman, two offensive linemen, two running backs, and two wide recievers and four Rutgers transfers who all joined the URI family as we make our way into a championship season. The new transfers seem to be taking well to the team well and when asked if the dicipline and workouts are tougher than at Rutgers most of them said there is not much difference. This means our team is operating like Division 1 programs just like the Penn States and USCs of the college world. When one is recruited into URI, they should definetely get ready to play bigtime football.

Lift off!

As the URI football ball team begins the second semester and begin preparing for the 09’ season we are about to face one of our worst fears WINTER WORK OUTS! Some of you reading this blog are probobaly wondering what exactly winter workouts are anyway. Well first let me put it like this its something you would not want to experience. Now let me begin my rundown. Based on last years experience this is what one week of winter workouts look like. First on Sundays at 9 o’clock at night, we would meet in keaney gym and wait for futher intructions from the coach. Usually we would go through a series of drills and finish off with mat drills. Mat drills are focus drills. It is all about following directions and if you mess up, I feel sorry for you because you have to run up the stairs and around the horsehoe in keaney gym, which surely will tire you out. The more you run the harder it is to focus. When fatigue sets in all you are worried about is catching your breath. Then we would come back Monday night at 10:00pm and have to repeat Sunday’s workout. Finally Tuesday would come and your body would be on E (empty no fuel whatsoever) kids would be missing class but you didn’t want to do that or else, you getting into trouble would cut in on your resting time. We absolutely cherished our resting time. However before you knew it Wednesday morning would be here and we would be getting ready for another winter workout with drills and then on top of that a 2mile run it was devastating physically but well worth it in the long run. On Thursday, we would go again at 10 o’clock at night and do all physically draining drills. Kids would be dropping out left and right. Only the strong survived. And the weak parished---it was as if we were in a war movie or something the coches would be yelling and screaming and talking to us like the opening scene in Full Metal Jacket check it out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8Nf1MK7lts). Anyway, the day wasn’t all-bad at least on Thursday we knew the battle was over and we could go off into our weekend feeling tired….but good. We repeated the process for about 4 more weeks by the end we begin to get use to the workout so things slowly but surely became easier and the war was over we became a better team for it. I expect this year to be similar to last year but maybe a lil easier because we know what to expect and kids are in much better shape this year. However, the ultimate outcome will be the same; We are going to only get better as a team.