ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- It's been seven years since a football team in the Coastal Athletic Association repeated as conference champions. UAlbany is on a mission to change that, and the Great Danes' quest for a return to the FCS playoffs is underway.
UAlbany held its first practice of training camp Wednesday morning. The players were not in pads; contact won't start ramping up until later this week into next week.
One big thing with this team to keep an eye on over the next month: the quarterback battle. Graduate student Trey Lindsey and University of Wisconsin-Madison transfer Myles Burkett seem to be the two likeliest options to take over for former starting signal caller Reese Poffenbarger.
UAlbany head coach Greg Gattuso didn't reveal much Wednesday when asked about how the battle was progressing.
"I don't put a whole lot of stock in non-padded practices," said Gattuso. "For me, it's [about] teaching, trying to just get 'em acclimated to carrying their helmet and shoulder pads next week a little bit. There's a five-day period that I think is good, and once we get out of that, we'll get a little more physical, and then it'll (the competition) start sorting out. But I thought they threw the ball really well. There were a couple deep shots and some things that we didn't see in the spring much, which I was glad to see."
Whoever's taking snaps under center, they'll be protected by a stout offensive line - the most talented position group on the team, which includes two preseason All-Conference selections (Ozzie Hutchinson, Will Marotta), and veteran Scott Houseman, who's returning from a season-ending injury.
But for now, these first couple days of training camp are all about getting an overhauled roster to start gelling, and settled into a new season.
"We're just trying to get 'em into practice speed," said Gattuso. "So, today was a little bit lower tempo. We actually did more kicking and some teaching and things like that. We'll ramp up a little more tomorrow, a little more Friday, and then we'll start getting after it early next week. They're feeling their way a little bit. We'll see as it gets hot and…they get tired...how they practice. That's really a big tell for us if they push through some of that. And we're not there, obviously; this is just one day, and in our little pajamas. So, we're looking forward to some real football starting on Friday."
And the Great Danes are officially one month out from their season opener when they host Long Island University August 31.
