WORCESTER – The Dan Curran era at Holy Cross officially began right around 5:30 on Thursday evening.
The Crusaders officially kicked off spring ball with a very light, yet productive hour-and-a-half of practice before heading to the women’s basketball playoff game.
While there wasn’t a whole lot of ‘real’ football, there were still a few things that stood out while watching practice. Here are five key observations…
1. Not much is different
While the overall structure was in fact different, the overall juice in the building looked and felt the same as it has under Bob Chesney. Director of Sports Performance Chris Grautski has a lot to do with that. Grautski is one of the key pieces that stayed in Worcester and whether it was the pregame stretch or just drills during indy periods, it’s very apparent who sets the tone for the program still.
2. Joe Pesansky ready to take over, other QB’s have strong arms
Last season, Pesansky was thrown into some legitimate season-on-the-line situations and flourished while Matt Sluka was injured. In his first spring as the presumed starter, he looked good during indy and team periods. While he may not be as run-oriented as Sluka was, he showed off his wheels several times during some live non-contact team periods. Tempo was big and he can still make all the throws. One particular throw really stood out as he ran to his right and threw back across his body, hitting Charly Mullaly over the middle. Josh Jenkins is an interesting lefty who throws bullets (especially on intermediate routes) and Austen Frattura also just looks like a D1 QB.
3. Skill positions have new leaders, but same look
Speed, size and skill. Holy Cross may be losing Jalen Coker, Matt Sluka and Tyler Purdy, but a quick glance at each group and it’s hard not to say ‘wow’ at the athletes that are still in the building. At receiver, Byron Shipman really stands out athletically and should finally get a chance to show he can be a WR1 while Justin Shorter is also a key piece to the puzzle too. Mullaly was very quick in and out of breaks during drills and Matt Brunelle has some good size, looks like a tight end despite being listed as a receiver. Jordan Fuller is back to lead the RB’s while senior Nyeoti Punni is pretty damn big for a running back (6’1,” 208 lbs.) and is going to be hard to bring down. Deegan Laube – brother of UNH star Dylan – Jayden Clerveaux and Sam Slade all looked good too.
4. O-line (as usual) looks big and mean
Seemingly every year Holy Cross has a massive O-line – which was also a staple for Curran while he was at Merrimack – and 2024 appears no different. Bunch of houses up front, with senior Cam McNair really standing out size wise, as did fifth-year Dalton Daddona.
5. Defense biggest question, but looks good
Last year, Chesney talked every week about having a ton of young guys on that side of the ball learning on the fly. Now one more year experienced, Curran should have a lot to work with. Up front, Jovan George and classmate Brice Stevenson are intimidating as hell. Stevenson had a ‘sack’ during a brief team period. As far as linebackers, replacing Jacob Dobbs is impossible, but junior Drew Spingoatti just looks the part and could be that next guy in line.
Bonus: The tight ends are stacked and alums still showing support.
You want to talk about a group of big boys. Luke Petitta and Jacob Petersen stand out immediately, both can catch and run too. Nathan Schillinger looks the part as well. Sluka, CJ Hanson, Terrence Spence, Malik Scott and Eric Schon were all on hand to watch practice. Good to see those guys supporting the new wave and obviously, CJ has a big day ahead next week with Pro Day.
Expectations are still very high around the program and in the time I was able to watch them on Thursday, it’s easy to see why. The right staff is in place, there’s elite talent in important positions, the leaders on the team are fully committed to Curran’s messaging and there’s a chip on everyone’s shoulder. They hear the noise that the program will be down without Chesney.
Is another Patriot League title in store? Who knows, it’s March, but there’s plenty of reason to believe the Crusaders could be in the hunt again.