The change of culture that Rob Ambrose is trying to impart with the Towson football team nearly took another step forward recently with the visit of potential transfer quarterback Justin Roper, from the University of Oregon.
Roper, a 6-foot-6-inch pro style quarterback who threw four touchdown passes in Oregon’s 56-21 victory over the University of South Florida in the 2007 Sun Bowl, decided against the Tigers and instead picked the Montana Grizzlies, but Towson head coach Rob Ambrose said the visit accentuated the direction Towson is headed, making note of the fact that there will be some players, most likely transfers, who will be on the roster that weren’t there in the spring.
“That any really good prospect is paying attention to the momentum and the excitement that will be our future speaks well of the program and the institution,” he said. “Personally, I just like good players and good people. Montana’s been to the playoffs and they have won. They’re proven and we’re not. In the end, that’s it. We got who we got, they’re going to work their faces off, we’re going to play hard as hell, and we’ll let the chips fall where they may.”
The summer workouts that will begin in of August will help the team prepare for only its second NCAA Division I opponent in the school’s history, a September 5 visit to Northwestern University.
“Anytime you are playing a top 20 team [like Northwestern], it doesn’t matter if you are Division III or the NFL, it’s a hard game,” Ambrose said.
And though workouts have been going as planned for the team, Ambrose still maintains that no depth charts have been set, where a trio of players will be battling it out to replace the graduated quarterback Sean Schaefer. Blair Peterson appears to be the frontrunner at this time.
“Today, he’s our quarterback,” Ambrose said of Peterson. “Now, who’s the quarterback come the first game? No idea. We have a lot of practice between now and then. The depth chart is fluid. It makes everybody keep guessing.”
Peterson can’t wait to get started.
“I talked to coach and especially now, I feel more confident than ever,” Peterson said. “There is a confidence here that we didn’t have last year. We’re not too far off. We’ve just got to keep working and things are going to go our way. It’s more of an attitude like why can’t we compete in the CAA? We believe we can.”
Perhaps the biggest improvement so far has been the defense, in which Ambrose and defensive coordinator Matt Hachmann will be switching to a 4-3 scheme. The head man was adamant that the changes have gotten the team fired up.
“The kids have bought into it so I’m excited for them,” Ambrose said. “We’re never going to give up the type of yardage like last year again.”
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