"I saw some good signs in the preseason with our offense," he said. "I think that it helped, too, that we had a spring practice with it and it gave us a little better depth and understanding of what we're trying to get accomplished. It also allowed us to look at some other kids in the spread."
It also helps that the Colonels return all-SCAC running back Jonathan Pinque, who ran for 620 yards and 11 touchdowns as a freshman to go with 27 catches for 289 yards and a score.
One of the major concerns Frye had was picking a starting quarterback. Senior Grant Conliffe started last season, but suffered a season-ending knee injury midway through the year after throwing for 842 yards and seven touchdowns. Tyler Osterman stepped in and threw for 1,206 yards and 10 scores, and was second on the team in rushing with 222 yards and three touchdowns.
Osterman won the job in the preseason, but Frye said Conliffe is right with him.
"We wanted to make sure it developed into who's going to be best. I think they both can be the best," Frye said. "Tyler came out as the starter, but Grant is a lot better quarterback than last ear. Grant's not too far away from him."
Competition improves play
The Colonels' defense has more to replace after losing five starters.
"But I think the defense can be good again," Frye said. "I'm impressed with the front line, I think it can be better than last year. We've got a real good secondary, our defensive backs are talented.
"We've got some good competition with our two inside linebackers. I always said competition heightens play, and we return (senior linebacker) Brian Sneed as a rover."
Sneed was second on the team in tackles (98) and tackles for loss (10.5) and earned second team all-SCAC honors last year.
Centre beat Hanover 46-22 last season, when the Panthers finished 2-7. Hanover is picked seventh in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference this season, but Frye said it has weapons.
"What I see on film, they're a much-improved football team. By the end of the season, they had gotten better," Frye said. "The are faster, quicker and have faster football players on the field."
Running backs Josh Juett (248 yards, 5 TDs) and Jeremy Cook (235 yards) led the team in rushing last season. Quarterback C.J. Croft started part of the last season, and returns after throwing for 402 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions.
Frye said Croft can hurt Centre running.
"It gives him another dimension with his running ability," he said. "Their wide receivers are much better than last year, too."
Frye is interested to see how much better his team is, too.
"I'm hoping we can see us come out with a greater amount of confidence overall," he said. "As an offense, I want to see us get our timing and tempo down and get our confidence up to where it was at the end of last year."
