The News Journal from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 41

TUESDAY, AUG. 31, 1999 THE NEWS JOURNAL CF3 UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE PREVIEW i Nagy encore may a more oaiance -tr-r i iY.1 The News JoumalFRED COMEGYS Matt Nagy was ranked second nationally in passing efficiency in Division l-AA last season. ii ii.ii, i.i mil. imp' .4.. r.

1 a if "h-p v. Is 6.. 'V' i i 4 4 1 r. 'j. it ft1 News Journal fileFRED COMEGYS UD quarterback Matt Nagy (11) sets up to pass against Northeastern in last year's 27-20 Blue Hens win at Delaware Stadium.

The Hens hope to depend less on Nagy's arm this season. UD could get more wins, fewer records from QB in '99 i Vi. ti I 23-21 semifinal defeat against McNeese State. He continued where he left off last year, coming off the bench to throw for 233 yards in a 34-31 overtime loss to Villanova. A week later, Ginn's injury thrust Nagy into the starter's role.

From then on, even though opponents knew the pass was often coming, they were still hard pressed to stop it. Nagy's 11 school records included his 2,916 yards passing for the season and the 556 he piled up in one game, a 59-17 wipeout of Connecticut. He was 182-for-298 on the season with 20 TDs and 12 interceptions. "He has a very strong arm and exceptional feel for throwing the right ball at the right time," Raymond said. "Some are drilled, some are lofted, some are soft.

He's got a remarkable touch. He reads receivers well and he reads defenses well. "All we did last year was let him throw more. It was already in the playbook. We just focused more attention on throwing with Conti." Of course, last year Conti gobbled up 1,712 of those air yards, an NCAA Division I-AA single-season record.

He is gone now, trying to make it in the NFL, and sophomore Jamin Elliott moves into his spot. "We were pretty much one-dimensional last year," Nagy confessed. "We can't expect to go in this year and throw all over teams. We have to be more balanced." That doesn't mean the passing game will be forgotten. Nagy isn't about to let that happen, even without Conti around.

"People don't know much about Jamin," Nagy said, "but he's almost as fast as Eddie and he's bigger 6-foot, 180. He's got a lot of confidence and I have a lot of confidence in him." he knew that and we knew that and the coaches knew that. We all knew he was good enough to play and start at most of the schools in our conference." "He got thrown into a tough situation last year and really responded," said junior halfback Derrick Downs. Now the reliever is the starter, strengthened though not surprised by his 1998 feats. "I always felt I was capable of doing what I did last year," Nagy said, echoing teammate Ricco.

"It wasn't all me. It was everybody. "I just knew from being on a successful high school team Manheim Central in Lancaster County, Pa. that you can't go in there with fear. You have to go in and do your thing and not worry about what Nagy received only two scholarship offers, from Delaware and its Atlantic 10 adversary, New Hampshire.

The choice was easy for Nagy, as was the Delaware coaches' decision to recruit him, even though Nagy was hardly the prototypical Wing-T quarterback. Today, it looks like a recruiting steal. "You take the best that's out there and you adapt him," Delaware coach Tubby Raymond said. "He's not a great runner but he's adequate. What impressed us about him is, we saw the tapes of the two state Class AAA semifinal games.

He lost them to Berwick, but he had exceptional poise. He stood in there and he threw the ball well and he controlled the situation." Nagy did that as a red-shirt freshman in the 1997 playoffs, too, sparking Delaware to a quarterfinal upset of Georgia Southern and then throwing a pair of late touchdown passes in a By KEVIN TRESOLINI Staff reporter NEWARK After revising the University of Delaware record book last fall, Matt Nagy doesn't feel compelled to pass that way again in 1999. If he has to, he will. Certainly, few if any others in Delaware's long line of successful quarterbacks have possessed Nagy's ability to fling a football as far or as accurately. But with the Blue Hens expected to rely less on Nagy's right arm and more on the legs of their backs this fall, that could actually make him and the Hens all the more dangerous.

His 61.9 career completion percentage is much better than Oakland Raider Rich Gannon's UD standard of 54.7. He was second nationally in passing efficiency with a 157.36 rating last year. And now he's poised for an encore, while knowing the surrounding cast has changed and the plot has been altered. Ail-American wideout Eddie Conti, who was at the receiving end of Nagy's 1998 exploits, is gone. But fellow quarterback Brian Ginn, whose injury forced Nagy to go solo in a position they had been sharing, has returned to give the Hens luxurious depth at the position.

What hasn't changed from the end of 1998 is that Nagy, a 6-foot-l, 205-pound junior from Manheim, is the starter. That's what he became late in the 1997 season, leading Delaware to the I-AA playoff semifinals after Ginn injured his shoulder. That's what he became again in last year's third game against West Chester, when Ginn I'll Lr The News JoumalFRED COMEGYS Senior captain Brian Ginn is expected to share playing time with Matt Nagy. suffered a season-ending broken leg. Nagy, despite a case of tonsillitis, came off the bench to continue a string of nine straight games in which he threw for over 200 yards.

"I think he knew he was good enough to step in there before he ever got the opportunity," senior fullback Steve Ricco said. "I think 1999 BLUE HENS OPPONENTS More opponents, page CF4 GAME 7: MASSACHUSETTS GAME 5: RICHMOND GAME 4: at JAMES MADISON Location: Richmond, Va. 1998 Record: 9-3 (7-1 A-10) Head coach: Jim Reid Letterman returningLost: 3214 Location: Amherst, Mass. 1998 Record: 12-3 (6-2 A-10) Head coach: Mark Whipple Letterman returningLost: 4216 Against Delaware: 2-19 Location: Harrisonburg, Va. 1998 Record: 3-8 (2-6 A-10) Head coach: Mickey Matthews Letterman returningLost: 4414 Against Delaware: 3-6 GAME 6: LEHIGH Location: Bethlehem, Pa.

1 998 Record: 1 2-1 (6-0 Patriot) LEHIGjri Head coach: Kevin Higgins Letterman returningLost: 3917 UiUVrc Against Delaware: 16-26 Key returning players: FL Kody Fedorcha, TB Ronald Jean, OG Brian McDonald, FB Brett Snyder, LB Ian Eason, CB Kevin Joseph, LB Brendan Moore Comments: Patriot League Player of the Year Phil Stambaugh completed 66 percent of his passes and may be "the best we see all year," Tubby Raymond said. Against Delaware: 3-12 Key returning players: OL Eric Beatty, TE Matt Davis, OL Bert Horsley, WR Dwaune Jones, QB Jimmie Miles, DB Chris Anderson, DB David Giles, LB Mac Janney Comments: Returning QB Miles accounted for 2,386 yards total offense last year Biggest question mark is the offensive line, where three starters are gone. Key returning players: TB Marcel Shipp, QB Todd Bankhead, WR Adrian Zullo, DE Dan Schneider, DT Paul Bolden, DT Aaron Parker, DE Chris Price Comments: Complementing their potent offense, the Min-' utefyen expect to be better defensively th nine starters back, including safety Brian Smith from Concord High. Key returning players: WR Marc Ba-cote, Cory Clark, OT Ryan Ferguson Comments: The Dukes are boosted by the addition of 11 transfers four from Division l-A and seven from junior colleges N.C. State transfer Charles Berry is a candidate for the QB job, though he was not present during spring drills..