Gordy Combs is the dean among area football coaches as he begins his 11th year as head coach of the Tigers. Combs' affiliation with Towson goes back more than 30 years to his playing days at Towson and as an assistant coach.
BaltimoreSun.com: There is a possibility Towson might yet again change conferences. How would a move from the Patriot League to the Atlantic 10 Football Conference change things as far as recruiting?
Gordy Combs: That is something we've gone through a few times in my tenure as head coach. We've been a Division I-AA independent, a member of the Northeast Conference, the Patriot League, and in another week, we may get invited to the A-10. It would be a transition for us, but not a huge one. At least we'll have 30 scholarships heading into the A-10, at least that's the plan. Down the road, we'll be pretty close to the maximum. You can only have 64 scholarships in Division I-AA, but you can break them up, which you can?t do in Division I-A.
BaltimoreSun.com: Talk about some of the notable changes to the stadium.
Gordy Combs: I think everything is on schedule for our opening game Nov. 5 against Morgan State. We knew a couple months ago that we weren't going to be able to move into the field house until after the season, so we'll have no use of the new locker rooms, football offices and training room until late December or early January.
It's been a three-phase situation. We completed the north side last year and the year before, we put in the artificial surface. We're in the final phase now, finishing the press box and the south side. I think it will be one of the best, if not the best, from a football standpoint in the East Coast. It will be great for men's and women's lacrosse programs and field hockey programs as well. We'll have four sports in [the] field house. We can claim to be the only ones in the Patriot League that have our daily operations inside our stadium, which is a big plus in recuiting.
We recently had a Juniors Day and had 100 student-athletes and their parents. Facilities are a big thing. Maryland is redoing their field house. I'm excited about it. I've been at "T" for a total of 33 years, including when I was a student. This facility is going to put us a step above. I?ll be able to sit in my office with a recruit and look out at our field.
BaltimoreSun.com: You lost one of your top rushers, senior Noah Read. Who will take his place at tailback?
Gordy Combs: Matt Romeo did a really good job last year, getting 70 yards in the second half against Fordham and rushing for 150 yards and two touchdowns in our last game. We also have a transfer, Mikal Lundy [Kent University]. Senior Ray Harris returns from a knee injury and we also have Arthur Lewis and Josh Corle. We're as deep as we [have] ever been in that position.
BaltimoreSun.com: How much of a difference will wide receiver Jamal White make in your lineup?
Gordy Combs: He's fully recovered from a broken ring finger. If push came to shove, he could have played [the] last couple games, but we thought it would be better to redshirt him. He needs 24 catches to be [the] all-time leading receiver at Towson and 50 to be [the] leader in the Patriot League. He?s going to be a guy we center our offense around. His injury last year gave Jason Galloway, James Byroads and Brandon White an opportunity to play. I'm excited about our receiving corps. We'll put four receivers on the field quite a bit.
BaltimoreSun.com: Could you assess your quarterback situation? You have senior Brian Fleury and junior Jay Amer. Will you pick one starter or rotate the two?
Gordy Combs: Jay won the job in the spring and he had the opportunity to start four games as a sophomore. He?ll get [the] majority of reps in camp.
BaltimoreSun.com: Size up your schedule.
Gordy Combs: We have a huge stretch in the middle of the season where we play two or three of the best teams in the league -- Lehigh, Bucknell and Colgate. We did that stretch away last year, but now we have them all in a row at home. The Morgan game is always a tough game for us -- there's lots of bragging rights for that game.
BaltimoreSun.com: How hard is it to generate campus interest with a large commuter population?
Gordy Combs: It's always difficult. The administration has tried to get more and more students involved. We have many more dormitories than we did in the 1970s and we see more and more students coming to games. I feel you need to cultivate students if you expect to cultiviate them as alumni when they graduate. I think the thing that hurts us sometimes is that our football team is young in comparison to those in the Patriot League. We're in our 34th year and everybody in the league has over 100 years of football. We're fighting that tradition.
BaltimoreSun.com: There is a possibility Towson might yet again change conferences. How would a move from the Patriot League to the Atlantic 10 Football Conference change things as far as recruiting?
Gordy Combs: That is something we've gone through a few times in my tenure as head coach. We've been a Division I-AA independent, a member of the Northeast Conference, the Patriot League, and in another week, we may get invited to the A-10. It would be a transition for us, but not a huge one. At least we'll have 30 scholarships heading into the A-10, at least that's the plan. Down the road, we'll be pretty close to the maximum. You can only have 64 scholarships in Division I-AA, but you can break them up, which you can?t do in Division I-A.
BaltimoreSun.com: Talk about some of the notable changes to the stadium.
Gordy Combs: I think everything is on schedule for our opening game Nov. 5 against Morgan State. We knew a couple months ago that we weren't going to be able to move into the field house until after the season, so we'll have no use of the new locker rooms, football offices and training room until late December or early January.
It's been a three-phase situation. We completed the north side last year and the year before, we put in the artificial surface. We're in the final phase now, finishing the press box and the south side. I think it will be one of the best, if not the best, from a football standpoint in the East Coast. It will be great for men's and women's lacrosse programs and field hockey programs as well. We'll have four sports in [the] field house. We can claim to be the only ones in the Patriot League that have our daily operations inside our stadium, which is a big plus in recuiting.
We recently had a Juniors Day and had 100 student-athletes and their parents. Facilities are a big thing. Maryland is redoing their field house. I'm excited about it. I've been at "T" for a total of 33 years, including when I was a student. This facility is going to put us a step above. I?ll be able to sit in my office with a recruit and look out at our field.
BaltimoreSun.com: You lost one of your top rushers, senior Noah Read. Who will take his place at tailback?
Gordy Combs: Matt Romeo did a really good job last year, getting 70 yards in the second half against Fordham and rushing for 150 yards and two touchdowns in our last game. We also have a transfer, Mikal Lundy [Kent University]. Senior Ray Harris returns from a knee injury and we also have Arthur Lewis and Josh Corle. We're as deep as we [have] ever been in that position.
BaltimoreSun.com: How much of a difference will wide receiver Jamal White make in your lineup?
Gordy Combs: He's fully recovered from a broken ring finger. If push came to shove, he could have played [the] last couple games, but we thought it would be better to redshirt him. He needs 24 catches to be [the] all-time leading receiver at Towson and 50 to be [the] leader in the Patriot League. He?s going to be a guy we center our offense around. His injury last year gave Jason Galloway, James Byroads and Brandon White an opportunity to play. I'm excited about our receiving corps. We'll put four receivers on the field quite a bit.
BaltimoreSun.com: Could you assess your quarterback situation? You have senior Brian Fleury and junior Jay Amer. Will you pick one starter or rotate the two?
Gordy Combs: Jay won the job in the spring and he had the opportunity to start four games as a sophomore. He?ll get [the] majority of reps in camp.
BaltimoreSun.com: Size up your schedule.
Gordy Combs: We have a huge stretch in the middle of the season where we play two or three of the best teams in the league -- Lehigh, Bucknell and Colgate. We did that stretch away last year, but now we have them all in a row at home. The Morgan game is always a tough game for us -- there's lots of bragging rights for that game.
BaltimoreSun.com: How hard is it to generate campus interest with a large commuter population?
Gordy Combs: It's always difficult. The administration has tried to get more and more students involved. We have many more dormitories than we did in the 1970s and we see more and more students coming to games. I feel you need to cultivate students if you expect to cultiviate them as alumni when they graduate. I think the thing that hurts us sometimes is that our football team is young in comparison to those in the Patriot League. We're in our 34th year and everybody in the league has over 100 years of football. We're fighting that tradition.