Frye said there were clear signs of improvement in the offense in the second half of the season, which he said was a sign that the Colonels were getting comfortable with White's spread offense.
"You could tell in the kids were figuring out what we were trying to get accomplished on offense ... and you could see that play itself out when we played good football teams later in the year because we were able to move the ball and able to make big plays," Frye said.
He expects that to continue in White's second season.
"Now it's not new. It's our offense; it's not a new offense," Frye said.
Frye said also said White should be more at ease.
"Hopefully this will be our breakout year," Frye said.
Frye said he expects a sound front line, where the Colonels' experience goes well beyond the returning starters.
"We've got probably nine linemen that played a lot of football last year, and you can't coach that," he said. "They were young, but they were playing."
Center Dane Spoelker returns after earning all-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference honors as a junior, and he'll play alongside senior guards Dan Fox and Alex Becker.
Competition and familiar faces
There is competition at the tackle positions that includes two local players: Boyle County graduate Ryan Marshall, who is returning from an injury for his senior year, and Danville alumnus Nathan Frye, a junior and the coach's son.
Familiar faces are plentiful at the skill positions, where all of last year's leading rushers, 10 of the top 12 receivers and a pair of quarterbacks return.
Several of those players are sophomores who were pressed into service as freshmen, but Frye said that won't be a necessity this season.
"The best thing about the offense this year is we're not looking at a freshman that we need to have make plays," he said. "We're not coming into the season thinking we need to a freshmen fill a couple of gaps."
Tyler Osterman returns after throwing for 1,205 yards and 10 touchdowns as a freshman and being named the SCAC newcomer of the year. Senior Grant Conliffe threw for 842 yards and seven touchdowns despite playing only five games due to injury.
"Right now, Tyler's in the driver's seat. It's his position to lose," Frye said. "Certainly I thought we played well when he played. He's an athletic young quarterback that I thought picked up the offense quickly and made plays."
Another sophomore, Jonathan Pinque, returns as the lead running back off an all-SCAC season in which he rushed for 620 yards and 11 touchdowns.
"I think his best football is ahead of him," Frye said.
Pinque is also the top returning receiver, as he tied 2008 senior Tyler Hinkel with 27 catches. Sophomores John Cooomer and Magwan Smith, junior Rob Pope and senior Chase Porter also had at least 15 catches each last year.
Kicker John Starks and punter Jeff Collett return, and Frye said they must continue to improve.
"If our kicking game can really develop along with our experience offensively and defensively, we can be a good football team this year. We'll be competitive with everybody we play," Frye said.
With so many people back who were part of the action last year, there will be fierce competition in practice as well.
"There's competition at every position, and competition heightens play," Frye said. "When you have that kind of competition, especially with a new offense, I think that's kind of helped create a better team."
