The Towerlight, August 31, 2000

Published twice weekly by students of Towson University 8/31/00 Parking rules change again Untested Blake takes the reins Napster access turned back on VIP’s upgrading talent level Riley takes over deep team Departments News» . 3 Police Blotter . 7 Nation . 7 A&E. - II In a Theater Near You. 1 6 Wrasslin ’ Weekly . 21 Sports . 25 Fast Break . 25 Op/EA . 34 dm Henry Tht Tawtrhghl Sophomore Kris Blake, the junior varsity starter in ‘99, won the starting quarterback job in the preseason, beating out junior Val Troiani and sophomore Brian Fleury. Blake hasn’t played at the college varsity level. New QB has yet to play at varsity level , but has plenty of returning talent around him Derek Turner The Towerliglu it's no easy task to succeed a quarterback who led the nation with 4,168 passing yards, but that's precisely what Kris Blake will attempt to do this fall after winning the starting job in train¬ ing camp. A sophomore who started for the junior varsity squad last sea¬ son, Blake won the job during training camp, beating out jun¬ ior Val Troiani and sophomore Brian Fleury for the spot. He has never played in a varsity game, but that doesn't worry Head Coach Gordy Combs. "The thing that I was impressed about was his deci¬ sion-making process and his ability to throw the ball on time, which is so important in our offense," Combs said. "I think that Joe Lee illustrated those two points to me as a coach, that you can have success at the quarter¬ back position even if you don't have the strongest arm or the greatest feet in the world." Though Blake is inexperi¬ enced, the team is loaded with veterans that will help him. Junior wide receiver Jamal White and senior defensive end Andrew Hollingsworth, the pre¬ season offensive and defensive players of the year in the Patriot League, should be the keys to a team looking to improve on last year's third place finish. And after a breakthrough sea¬ son a year ago, there is more pressure on the Tigers. But Combs isn't ready to compare this year's team to last year's. "Every team has it's own per¬ sonality and characteristics," he said. "Until we actually play in the game and have some adverse things happen to us, and that means offensively and defensively, then we won't know how our senior leaders are going to handle certain sce¬ narios. So, we'll have to wait and I'll have to adjust." White said though Blake is young, as a quarterback, his teammates do expect him to take a leadership role. "He's got his head on straight. He just can't let the pressure get to him and he'll be fine," White said. "And he's going to have to step up [and be a leader). That's the quarterback's role, not just to be a quarterback, but a quarter¬ back who is the offensive leader. When you're in the huddle and during plays, you have to run things." Though Lee consistently threw more than 60 passes in a game last year, the same is not expected from Blake. He will, however, have an ample num¬ ber of qualified receivers to throw to. Senior Adam Overbey returns from a broken femur, and adds depth to an already solid receiv¬ ing corps. But with White carrying the All-American label, Overbey and junior Justin Mattera, who started in '99 when Overbey was injured, will have to get open as defenses will likely try to take White out of the offense. "Obviously, it’s nice to have an All-American on your team," Blake said. "But we’re deep at the receiver position and if one guy goes down with an injury, another guy can always step in." White recognizes the atten¬ tion that his preseason honors will draw more attention to him than he has seen in the past but still that he'll have plenty of See BLAKE, page 27 Today High 83 Low 69 Friday High 83 Low 68 Saturday High 82 Low 66 Sunday High 81 Low 66