Youth, Depth Pose Problems

What can Roy Kidd do for an encore? People who have followed Kidd 's football teams are expectin g another OVC championship. c Kidd, perhaps , is a bit more realistic . He feels he has the talent, but it's young talent yet to be tested in many cases . And he also knows that the entire league will be stronger this season. So Kidd is embracing one of those wait-and-see attitudes .

One thing is for certain: Every team in the league will be gunning for the Colonels. Eastern hasn ' t lost to an OVC team since No vember, 1966. And the Colonels haven't been out of the top twenty in both national college division wire service polls during the same span. So that means a victory over Eastern would be ever -so-sweet . And that's another reason Kidd is ever-so-cautious.

A peek at the past gives a hint of the future . Gone are 22 lettermen. Included in the exodus were: quarterback Jim Guice , a three-time honorable m ent ion All-American and the most productive passer (5,0 41 yards) in lea gue history , who signed with the NFL 's Cleveland Browns; John Tazel , who caught 41 passes for 686 yards last year before signing with the San Diego Chargers; Fred Troike , second team Associated Press college division All-American; All-OVC offensive tackle Bill Brewer; fullback Bob Beck; defensive stars Jimmy Moberly , Tom Shetler, Miller Arritt, Rick Dryden , Jim Demler, Don Moore, Ron Reed and Phil Knauer , who accounted for 611 tackles and assists last season.

That , in capsule form, leaves a lot to be desired this year.

So what does Kidd have in mind? Let's ask him:

Q: What plans are being made to absorb this heavy loss in personnel?

Kidd : " Well , that 's a g ood question to start off with, because it 's a tall order . We've made some position changes, moving offensive players to defense and vice versa, but we still lack the depth we had last season. When injuries hit us hard last year, we were able to make the necessary changes without too much trouble . That's not the case this year. A great deal will depend on our offensive line and our quarterbacks. But that still won't erase the problem in the le ague. The OVC has always been one of the strongest college divi- starting job against Western last year, and Jon Ankney, a offense first , what can we expec t ?

Q: What about a breakdown on Eastern? Taking the ever. There will be four or five really solid teams contending for the title.

Kidd: "The re 's that offensive line to contend with . We're pretty solid on the ends, but the interior wall is very young and inexperienced. We've moved Paul Hampton from linebac'rnr to center and he seems to like it there . At guard, it's a toss up. Fred Sandusky showed us a lot after gaining a starting job against Western last year, and Jon Ankney a converted end, and Pat Sheridan also have looked good. Tackle Donnie Evans, one of our co-captains, is the only returning starter, but Harry Irwin has really impressed us at the other tackle spot. At tight end, we 've got James Wilson, a big boy who came along fast before he was sidelined with an injury last year . And Don Buehler is back at split end . He 's one of the best receivers in the league . At flanker, there 's Chuck Walroth , another good target, and, of course, we've got James Kelley as a real outstanding backup man . At quarterb ac k we h ave Bill March an d Bob Frick er . Bill will probably replace Guice , and that 's asking a l ot in itself. A lot will depend on Bill this season . I feel we have one of the best running games in the l eag u e - providing our line meet s the challenge - with Jimmy Brooks and Butch E va ns .

Q: What about defense?

Kidd : "There's T e dd y Ta y lor for starters. I can't s ay enough about Teddy . W e 've tried everything we could - just lik e our oppon ents the past three years - but we can't stop him in practice . H e's a true All-American. His quickness and pursuit at middle g uard are fantastic. Of course , we'll b e dependin g on him mor e than ever this year. We're not as deep along the lin e, and there are new faces there , too. In fact, Teddy and Sid Yeldell are our only returning starters in the int e rior lin e . Yeldell will be at tackle, his third position in thr ee years, and he looked real good in the spring. Our defensiv e ends will be Mike Nicholson and Brian Seimon, althou g h D av id Maupin is comin g around . At linebacker, we have thre e boys competing for jobs right now . Rich Cook was extra sharp in the spring, and Rich Thomas and Harry Gibbs are pretty solid. Our defensive backfield is a veteran outfit . We have Ted Green, who was all-conference, Mike Armstron g , Pete Compassi, Harold Joyce and Bob Webb all returnin g ."

Q: In the final analysis, what can be expe c ted?

Kidd: " I wish I knew. We're young, inexperienced and we a k in depth. Of course, I'm also comparing with past Eastern t eams so it 's difficult to evaluate. The team attitude is exce llent . Th e kids h ave a lot of pride. This is Ea stern, and we have a tradition to carry on, but the overall strength of the league is better than any time in its history. So we 've got our work cut out for us ."

Offense - Pro-set

Defense - 5-4

Strength- D efens ive line and secondary; Running game and receivers .

Weaknesses - Lack of depth ; offensive line ; experience.

Lettermen Lost - 22 .

Lettermen Returning

Ends - Brian Siemon, Don Buehler, Mike Nicholson, James Wilson

T ack les - Sidney Yeldell, Don Evans

Guards - Ted Taylor, Jon Ankney , Pat Sheridan, Fred Sandusky

Centers - Paul Hampton

Quarterbacks - Bill March

Tailbacks - Jimmy Brooks, Donnie Young

Fullbacks - Butch Evans

Flankers - Chuck Walroth

Defensive Backs - Pete Compassi, Bob Webb, Mike Armstrong, Ted Green, Harold Joyce