The schedule listed Saturday’s event as Toledo’s spring football game, but it looked — and felt — like winter.
Five months after the Rockets last played in the Glass Bowl, not much had changed, especially the weather. Snow flurries and blustery conditions greeted the players, as did Chuck Ealey, Storm Norton, Cody Thompson, Reggie Gilliam, Bryant Koback, and other program greats who are eager to see the next chapter.
UT coach Jason Candle is the king of tamping down expectations, but not even he could hide the excitement about what transpired this spring and what the future could hold.
“I think we’ve had five really good weeks,” Candle said. “It’s been a long haul, and I think guys have done a good job of handling some detail things we worked on in February and then carried them into spring practice.”
The gold team (first-team defense and second-team offense) topped the blue team (first-team offense and second-team defense). The score was 31-17 when starting quarterback Dequan Finn and backup Tucker Gleason gave way to AJ Gucciardo, John Alan Richter, and Avery Smith. Finn and Gleason returned briefly.
Finn was 12 of 19 for 139 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He completed his final eight passes.
“It was a good overall feeling having the crowd back and having that game-like energy back,” Finn said.
His interception was a 90-yard return for a touchdown by R.J. Delancy, a sophomore cornerback whose name comes up frequently in conversations with Toledo coaches. Delancy capped the return with a flip into the end zone.
“I had to bait [Finn] a little bit, and I made the play and celebrated,” said Delancy, who transferred from Nebraska before last season. “I just want to let everyone know that I can play. I’ll keep showing the world what I got.”
Gleason completed 5 of 13 passes for 79 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception (Jaylin Mines). The Georgia Tech transfer wasn’t seen much last season, stuck behind Finn and Carter Bradley on the depth chart. With an entire year in Candle’s system, Gleason showed bits of promise.
“There was a lot of growing this spring,” he said. “I got to take all the reps with the 2s. It was really good for me to get in there and see defenses, see the offensive plays, and really grow from that. We came out and played really good football on the offensive side.”
Matt Landers had four receptions for 50 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown pass from Finn, who stayed patient in the pocket and opted not to run as pressure increased, finding Landers open in the back of the end zone.
Demeer Blankumsee caught three passes for 67 yards, including a 46-yard touchdown strike from Finn. Former St. John’s Jesuit standout Thomas Zsiros had touchdown receptions of 25 and 23 yards from Gleason.
“In the winter, it was important for me to get in the indoors and get timing down with the quarterbacks and learn the playbook,” Zsiros said. “I came in and started the spring a little rough, up and down trying to find my role. As the spring went on, I got a little bit more confidence. Today, I had somewhat of a good day, which will give me confidence going into the summer.”
Micah Kelly led the running backs with four carries for 24 yards. Jacquez Stuart rushed for seven yards on six carries, with a long rush of 10 yards, Willie Shaw had 11 yards on five carries, and Peny Boone had nine yards on nine carries. A minus-seven-yard run hurt his overall numbers.
Placekicker Thomas Cluckey was 8 of 9, missing from 30 yards. He converted from 20, 20, 26, 26, 32, 32, 33, and 37 yards.
The defense, a strength of the Rockets since the arrival of coach Vince Kehres, didn’t appear to have any letup. The defensive line supplied pressure all afternoon, the linebackers were a constant nuisance for the offense, and the secondary, despite losing Tycen Anderson, Samuel Womack, and Justin Turner, had the look of an imposing unit.
“We’re not just looking to be the best defense in the conference, we’re looking to be the best defense in the nation,” linebacker Dan Bolden said. “I genuinely think we can do that with the players that we have, the scheme that we ran. I think there’s no ceiling for us.”
First Published April 9, 2022, 9:08 p.m.
