Aug. 6, 2008
VILLANOVA, Pa. - Excitement was in the air at Villanova Stadium on Tuesday, August 5 as the Villanova Wildcats opened up football camp in preparation for the upcoming season. There are 87 players on the Wildcat roster taking part in the camp that will run through Friday, August 22.
"We are excited to be back on the football field," said head coach Andy Talley who is entering his 24th season on the Main Line in 2008. "This team has a chance to be good. I think we have a nice mix of veterans and younger guys. The players did a terrific job during the offseason programs and now it is time to see how much we improved from last year."
The biggest question surrounding the Wildcats this pre-season is the health of junior starting quarterback Antwon Young. Young suffered a knee injury in week six last year that caused him to miss the final five games of the season. He has been cleared to take part in all drills and looks to be back at full strength. In six games in 2007, he completed 99-of-153 (64.7%) for 1,192 yards to go with 14 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Villanova returns 17 starters and 33 letterwinners from last year's team that finished 7-4 overall and 5-3 in the CAA. The Wildcats will kickoff the 2008 season on Saturday, August 30 at Big East member West Virginia. The CAA opener is set for Sept. 27 when Villanova plays host to Richmond. In other CAA news, junior defensive lineman Tim Kukucka was named to the pre-season All-Conference team. As a sophomore last year, Kukucka played in all 11 games and tallied 40 tackles, a team-best 12 tackles for loss, a team-high seven sacks, and a team-best tying three forced fumbles.
The Wildcats have earned numerous Top 25 rankings in various pre-season polls. In the CAA pre-season poll, Villanova was picked to finish fourth in the South Division. Richmond was chosen as the pre-season favorite in the South Division, followed by James Madison and Delaware. Massachusetts was the choice to win the conference, as well as being picked to win the North Division.
PRACTICE SCHEDULE FOR WEEK ONE:
Wednesday, August 6: 1-4 p.m.
Thursday, August 7: 1-4 p.m.
Friday, August 8: 1-4 p.m.
Saturday, August 9: 1-4 p.m.
Sunday, August 10: 7-9:15 a.m.; 2-4:30 p.m.
