University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: December 6, 2007

By PAUL VECCHIO
Reporter Contributor

The UB Bulls football team, with head coach Turner Gill and President John B. Simpson, gathers at half-court in Alumni Arena during halftime of last Thursday’s Bulls vs. Tulane basketball game. The football team was recognized for its accomplishments during the season.
PHOTO: PAUL HOKANSON

It’s been a record-breaking year for the UB Bulls football program.

The Bulls won five games in 2007—the most in its Division I-A history. UB finished with a 5-3 record in the Mid-American Conference, including a 4-2 mark in the MAC East Division to claim a share of the regular season title. Prior to the 2007 campaign, UB had won eight MAC games total in the previous eight years.

In recognition of UB’s stellar season, the Reporter presents a recap of the Bulls’ accomplishments, from “A” to “Z.”

A.J. Freshman kicker A.J. Principe set a school record for a kicker with 77 points. Principe kicked 15 of 20 field goals for the season, including nine straight, and connected on 32 of 34 PATs in the finest freshman season by a kicker in UB history.

Blocked Kicks. UB finished the year with five blocked kicks—and two other kicks never were attempted because of pressure on the punter. Senior Labinot Hakanjin led the team with two blocks, including the biggest one of the season to prevent a potential game-winning field goal by Kent State. Hakanjin’s block sent the game into overtime, where the Bulls prevailed to claim a share of the MAC East title.

Capacity Crowd. UB played in front of the largest crowd in school history on Sept. 15 at Penn State. The Bulls scored 24 points in a loss to the Nittany Lions in front of a crowd of more than 107,000. It was the most points that the Nittany Lions had given up at home in over three seasons. Quarterback Drew Willy threw for a career-best 330 yards in the game.

Davonte. True freshman safety Davonte Shannon set a UB Division I-A record by recording 123 tackles—the seventh-best in school history—and becoming UB’s first Mid-American Conference first-team selection with 73 solo stops, three interceptions and 10 tackles for loss for the year.

E.J. Junior wide receiver Ernest Jackson led the Bulls with six touchdown receptions on the season, the tenth-best figure in a single season in school history. Jackson, who came into the season with 18 career receptions, nearly tripled that figure with 53 catches for 645 yards and six scores.

Freshmen. The Bulls had 10 true freshmen who saw action in their first year. Of that group, Shannon, cornerback Domonic Cook and cornerback Josh Thomas each started more than half of UB’s regular-season games. Other true freshmen—including linebackers Josh Copeland and Fred Branch—also were major contributors on special teams. Among redshirt freshmen, offensive guard Peter Bittner started all 12 games.

Gill. Head coach Turner Gill led the Bulls to a breakthrough campaign in their ninth season in the Mid-American Conference. For his efforts, Gill was named the conference’s Coach of the Year.

Hutch. After seeing spot duty as a junior-college transfer last year, senior linebacker Larry Hutchinson earned All-MAC third-team honors. Hutchinson led the Bulls with 19 tackles for loss, the third-highest total in a single season. He also finished second on the team with 88 tackles, including 5.5 sacks, which ranked second on the team. Hutchinson also finished second on the team with 58 solo stops.

Inside the 20. The goal of punters is to kick the ball inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, and that’s something that senior Ben Woods did 21 times en route to making it to the semifinal round of voting for the Ray Guy Award, given to the nation’s top punter. Woods set the school record by averaging 41.7 yards per kick and became the school record holder in punts and punting yards for a career. For his career, Woods had 55 punts downed inside the 20 and ranks third in MAC history in punting yards with 11,053.

Jupiter, Fla. Sophomore flanker Brett Hamlin, a native of Jupiter, returned from a broken foot in 2006 to become a key contributor to the UB offense. Hamlin finished fourth on the team with 38 receptions for 415 yards and consistently came up with catches on third and fourth down to keep drives alive. Hamlin found his way into the end zone for the first time on his 81st career catch in the season finale at Kent State.

Kareem. Senior linebacker and two-time captain Kareem Byrom was the spiritual leader of the defense, switching from safety to outside linebacker at the start of the season, and later playing middle linebacker. Byrom finished third on the team with 86 tackles, including five for losses. His 140 solo stops in his career ranks ninth all-time in school history.

Lone Star State. Texas is the home state of Gill and a trio of freshmen—Thomas, Terrell Jackson and Brandon Thermilus—who played roles for the Bulls in 2007. Thomas finished eighth on the team with 45 tackles, six pass breakups and an interception, while starting seven games. Jackson saw action as a kick returner and receiver, while Thermilus rushed for three touchdowns.

All-MAC. In its first eight years in the Mid-American Conference, UB had seven players named All-MAC. After this season, eight Bulls earned All-MAC honors, including inaugural first-team selection Davonte Shannon. Earning second-team honors were senior Jamey Richard, sophomore James Starks and senior Trevor Scott. Third-team selections were sophomore Naaman Roosevelt, junior Jeff Niedermier and seniors Larry Hutchinson and Kareem Byrom.

Naaman. Sophomore wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt overcame a slow start to put up one of the finest seasons by a receiver in school history. Roosevelt, who was second on the team in all-purpose yardage with 1,380 yards, did it all for the Bulls. He led UB with 63 receptions for 766 yards, ran for 67 yards, had 471 yards in kickoff returns and returned every punt on the season for 76 yards.

Overtime. The Bulls improved to 3-1 all-time in overtime—and 2-0 against Kent State—with a 30-23 win at Kent State in the season finale. UB has beaten Kent State twice and Temple once in OT, while losing to Bowling Green last year.

Pick Six. UB took an interception and returned it for a touchdown once this season when sophomore free safety Mike Newton, who led Buffalo with four interceptions, intercepted a Temple pass and returned it 50 yards for a score.

Quick Strike Ability. UB regularly scored from long distance this season. The Bulls scored four touchdowns of more than 70 yards on the season—three by James Starks (72, 74 and 92) and one on a 75-yard connection from quarterback Drew Willy to Ernest Jackson.

Richard. Senior center and two-time captain Jamey Richard spearheaded an offensive line that paved the way for UB to score 291 points on the season and rush for 18 touchdowns. A second-team All-MAC selection, Richard has been invited to play in a pair of senior all-star games—the Hula Bowl in Hawaii and the Texas vs. the Nation game in El Paso. Off the field, Richard was a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation’s Draddy Award, nicknamed the academic Heisman.

Starks. Sophomore tailback James Starks became UB’s first Division I-A 1,000-yard rusher in a season that was capped with a second straight selection to the All-MAC second team. Starks set a school record with 251 carries and rushed for 1,103 yards, the third-highest total in school history. He led the Bulls with a I-A record 14 touchdowns, including 12 rushing touchdowns. Starks earned national attention when he rushed for a career-best 231 yards on 34 carries in a 43-33 win over Toledo. After his three-touchdown performance, Starks earned an ESPN “helmet sticker” as one of the nation’s best performers of the day.

Trevor. Senior defensive end Trevor Scott finished a tremendous two-year run after switching from tight end to defensive end, with 10 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and seven quarterback hurries. In 24 career games at defensive end, Scott, a second-team All-MAC selection who finished second in voting for MAC Defensive Player of the Year, had 19.5 career sacks. He has been invited to play in the Texas vs. the Nation game in El Paso.

UB Stadium. The Bulls posted a winning record at home for the first time since joining the MAC, finishing 3-2 at home and 3-1 in MAC play. UB won its Homecoming game for the first time since 1998.

Variety of Receivers. Quarterback Drew Willy was able to spread the ball around to a variety of receivers this season. Willy completed passes to 14 different players and had six players record 15 receptions or more.

Willy. Junior quarterback Drew Willy had arguably the best season of any quarterback in UB history. Willy set a new mark for completions in a season (258), had the highest pass efficiency rating in school history (135.7), the highest completion percentage (68.4%) in a single season and had 15 touchdowns with only six interceptions. He also set the school record for completions in a game (34) at Kent State, while passing for a career-high 334 yards.

X Factor. UB outscored its opponents 95-88 in the first quarter and took halftime leads on four occasions, winning all four of those games.

Yellow. The Bulls finished in the top half of the league in penalties in 2007, averaging just over 57 yards in penalties per game.

Zero. Willy threw no interceptions in the final seven games and the last 31 quarters he played. During that span, he threw 235 straight passes without an interception, the longest stretch of his career.