Countdown to Camp 2012-- 10 Questions with Coach Cat

Q:"Coach Cat, you graduated 11 seniors last year, including All-American Kevin Davis, three time all-conference pick Luke Butts, and All-American Bowl participant Kenny Clady-Mason, who will be the hardest to replace?"

A:"That's a great question. KD provided us with great big play capabilities last season, and his contribution on special teams was second to none. Luke was the verbal captain of our defense for three years, and was like having a coach on the field. With both of those two guys, we will miss alot, but I feel that we already have players on campus who have been learning from them, or playing next to them, that will be solid replacements. The biggest replacement question, isn't necessarily one individual player, but we graduated four of our starters on the offensive line.

In my opinion, that is going to be the biggest challenge coming into the season. The nice part is, we have several players returning who have game experience, or who have worked extremely hard in this off-season to set themselves apart from the competition. Junior Tommy Mitchell will be returning as the lone starter on the line. Fortunately for us, Tommy is the center, which in our offense is the most important position as they make all the calls. Regardless of who is around Tommy, if they listen to him, and do as his calls indicate, we should be in great shape.

Senior Will Savor (Cardinal Gibbons HS, Davie, FL) will be a candidate at one of the tackle spots. Will has played all three positions on the offensive line during his career and filled in last year versus Beloit (a 27-17 victory) when Ari was unavailable. Phillip Rindom (Charlottenlund, Denmark), has made great strides since arriving. I think that the fall was a bit overwhelming to him, as he made the transition from the European Level of football he had been playing in Denmark to the NCAA Division III level. Phil has worked tremendously hard in the off-season, and I am looking forward to seeing those efforts pay off.

Sophomores Bryan Feltman (Marist High School, Chicago, IL) and Bob Pennell (Spring Lake HS, Spring Lake, MI) are two candidates at the guard spot. Both players have show exciting promise and flashes of ability, but it will be necessary for them to be consistent throughout a whole practice and game so that we know what we will get from them play to play.

Junior Paul Daizovi (South Broward HS, Dania, FL) has improved greatly, and he should also compete with Pennell and Feltman at guard. If Daizovi secures a spot, either Pennell or Feltman have the ability to slide out to the tackle spot if needed.

Both Adam Bernstein (Miami-Sunset HS, Miami, FL) and Kyle Clark (De La Salle HS, Chicago, IL) had their 2011 seasons cut short by injury and should be able to help the Foresters in 2012 with their return.


A fresh crop of five talented first-year players will be joining the Foresters on the offensive line. There are a number of incoming players who have made all-conference in high school. I am excited about the depth, competition, and potential on field performance that these young men bring. They have increased our size upfront significantly. It is my hope that they will develop into a tremendously dependable and dominant offensive front.


-- This is part one of a ten part series. If you have a question for Coach Catanzaro, please send it to catanzaro@lakeforest.edu; or tweet it to LFC_Football