In Dave Arslanian's four years as head football coach at Weber State, the Wildcats have been known for prolific offensive teams.
The Weber defense, on the other hand, has been known to allow a few points, hence final scores like 63-59, 55-49 and 45-35.Going into last night's scrimmage, however, it's was the Wildcat offense that had most of the question marks, while the defense appeared in good shape.
The offense seemed to answer some of those questions Saturday, scoring three touchdowns and adding two field goals in the 75-minute scrimmage.
Freshman Brad Otton made a favorable impression, hitting his first six passes, despite suffering a dislocated joint on the little finger of his throwing hand (right hand).
Sophomore Bryan Martin connected on two touchdown passes for 50 and four yards, both to junior Dell Stilson. Martin was 10-14 for 130 yards.
Junior Rob Westervelt, the backup to Jamie Martin the past three seasons, was 5-11 for 95 yards.
Arslanian is expected to choose a starting quarterback early next week.
Defensively, veterans Jantz Afuvai and Deric Gurley, both linebackers, got the defense untracked. The defense held the offense on six straight possession before allowing the four-yard pass to Stilson.
Weber's defensive turnaround began midway through last season, as it gave up an average of just 17.5 points the final six games. The '92 Wildcat defense gave up 114 fewer yards per game than their '91 counterparts.
With the nucleus of last year's defense returning, including leading tackler Afuvai and fellow linebacker and last season's third-leading tackler Gurley, Weber's defense may be even better this year. In all, seven defensive starters are back.
The secondary should be especially tough. Mark Hood, a second-team All-Big Sky player, and '91 first-team All-Big Sky selection Fredrick X lead the way. X, who missed much of last season with an injury, is fourth on Weber's all-time interception list with 10.
"Our defensive secondary will be one of the strengths of our team," Arslanian said. "In the pass-happy Big Sky you need to be strong in your pass defense." Senior Steve Filiaga heads the defensive line.