UB football sets goal of consistency, maturity in 2023

The University at Buffalo football team toiled through a 4-8 transition year in 2021. The Bulls went 7-6 to earn bowl eligibility and won the Camellia Bowl in 2022.
Now, as Maurice Linguist begins his third season as head coach, he wants his team to maintain consistency.
The Bulls lost their first three games last season, won their next five and then lost their next three before beating Akron in the finale to become bowl eligible.
For Linguist, consistency means emphasizing discipline on a daily basis, continuing to grow as a team and as individuals as well as leaders – Marcus Fuqua, Cole Snyder, Shaun Dolac and Gabe Wallace, who help make up the core of UB’s experience — continuing to lead.
The MAC released its preseason head coaches football poll Thursday at its annual media day at the Fox Theatre in Detroit.
“You can’t be your own worst enemy, so when you have a locker room and a team that can do what’s asked of them, and do it consistently over a long period of time, that’s No. 1, the biggest area of growth I’ve seen stick out with this team,” Linguist said. “There’s a maturity.”
Players report to camp Wednesday, then begin workouts the next day, in preparation for the season opener at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 2 at Wisconsin.
Here’s a look at the Bulls, what questions they face and names to know as preseason is set to begin.
What we know
1. Snyder is the starting quarterback – the competition is for his backup. Linguist said after the spring game that Snyder, a Southwestern graduate, will be the starter. He averaged 233.3 yards passing per game with 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The players to watch will be the quarterbacks who are auditioning to become Snyder’s understudy: CJ Ogbonna, a transfer from Southeast Missouri State; junior-college transfers Gunnar Gray and Richie Watts, and redshirt freshman Mike DePillo.
One of the nation’s most productive safeties will tend to unfinished business this season with the Bulls. He made that clear at the MAC Football Kickoff on Thursday at the Fox Theatre.
2. The Bulls return Fuqua, but lost a lot in the defensive backfield. Fuqua, a safety, tied for the national lead with seven interceptions in 2022 and was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press, but returns to a defense that lost safeties Jahmin Muse and Keyshawn Cobb, and cornerbacks Elijah Blades and Isaiah King. Cornerbacks Caleb Offord (eight pass breakups), Clevester Hines and Jayden Oliver return.
3. UB has plenty of transfers. Fifteen transfers from Division I programs join the Bulls. It might appear hard for some players to plug in and prepare to play only one season as graduate transfers, but Linguist and the Bulls can rely on the fact that these players come in with college experience. Lancaster’s Joe Andreessen was one of the top linebackers in the Football Championship Subdivision in 2022 at Bryant, and tight end Zion Carter helped Dartmouth to a share of the 2021 Ivy League championship.
What we don’t know
1. How do you replace linebacker James Patterson? The cut-and-dried answer on the field is to plug in Andreessen next to Dolac in UB’s 4-2-5 defensive scheme (four defensive linemen, two linebackers and five defensive backs, including a nickelback). Replacing Patterson and his impact on the team dynamic is more complicated. He exhausted his eligibility after five seasons with the Bulls, and the four-year captain was considered one of the team’s emotional leaders.
2. Will the running game boast one bell cow back? Last season was the first since 2017 that UB did not have a 1,000-yard running back. UB used a running back-by-committee, but it also was a byproduct of injuries, as Ron Cook Jr. missed the final three games and sat out the spring game. UB lost Mike Washington to an ankle injury in the Camellia Bowl and the Bulls turned to Tajay Ahmed. Depth defined UB’s running backs in 2022, but UB needs a breakout back to take some of the load off Snyder.
The MAC released its preseason head coaches football poll Thursday at its annual media day at the Fox Theatre in Detroit.
3. Who will lead the wide receivers? This is likely UB’s youngest and most unproven group after losing its top two receivers, Justin Marshall and Quian Williams, who combined for 1,580 yards and 14 touchdowns. Additionally, UB has only one returning player with more than 200 receiving yards in 2022, and he’s a running back: Cook (207).
Three names to know Nik McMillan, wide receiver: McMilllan, who played at Canisius High, is one of the young receivers the Bulls will look to help fill the void. McMillan caught four passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns in UB’s spring game in April, but he’ll have to prove himself against MAC defensive backs. Joe Andreessen, linebacker: Andreessen joins the Bulls as a graduate transfer. He was second in FCS in solo tackles (77) and seventh in total tackles (116) in 11 games in 2022 at Bryant, and was seventh in voting for the Buck Buchanan Award as the top defensive player at the FCS level. He had 255 tackles, seven sacks, five interceptions and 10 pass breakups in 39 games. Daymond Williams, defensive tackle: Williams has led the Bulls in sacks in each of the last two seasons: 6.5 in 2021 (he was an All-MAC selection that year) and 4.5 in 2022, and has seven pass breakups in two seasons.