SB Nation - Graham Whinery

Who's Bullish?

Tim Riordan — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 18:00:20 -0000

Trying something new this week, going to publish an option for each UB starter. These are long term prospects as I see them for each player based on the season to date and the upcoming game.

Buy: I'm pretty sure there is a big Game coming up
Hold: I'm not certain that a player is doing to shine in the upcoming game
Sell: There is reason to think this player may not be a huge add this week.

Offense	Player	Option	Reason
WR	Alex Neutz	Buy	Looked effective against Georgia, now this is FCS ball
LT	Andre Davis	Hold	When UB had issues it was the Will linebacker
LG	Jansen Carlson	Hold	When UB had issues it was the Will linebacker
C	Trevor Sales	Buy	Looked effective against Georgia, now this is FCS ball
RG	Graham Whinery	Buy	Looked effective against Georgia, now this is FCS ball
RT	Gokhan Ozkan	Buy	Looked effective against Georgia, now this is FCS ball
TE	Gordon - Dennison	Buy	Coach Quinn seemes eager to make use of tight ends
QB	Alex Zordich	Buy	Confident, Collected, and accurate
RB	Branden Oliver	Buy	Did what only one back managed in 2011, ran for 100 on UGA
FB	Boomer Brock	Sell	The full backs had almost no purpose last week
WR	Cordero Dixon	Hold	Between him or Lee someone needs to step up
WR	Fred Lee	Hold	Between him or Dixon someone needs to step up
Defense	Player	Option	Reason
DE	Steven Means	Buy	He is going to have help from Mack and face more manageable line
NG	Cahill - Sokoli	Hold	Coach Quinn set up an "or" so we hold
DE	Colby Way	Buy	Could be the next Trevor Scott
OLB	Khalil Mack	Buy	From sitting to playing, and it's Mack
ILB	Stockman - Pettigrew	Buy	It's an or but Pettigrew was a beast last week
ILB	Lee Skinner	Hold	Skinner may not benefit from being moved to this side
OLB	Isaac Baugh	Hold	Jury is still out on this side of the defense
CB	Najja Johnson	Hold	The DB's all have a lot to prove now that there is no SEC speed
SS	Okoye Houston	Hold	The DB's all have a lot to prove now that there is no SEC speed
FS	Witney Sherry	Hold	The DB's all have a lot to prove now that there is no SEC speed
CB	Cortney Lester	Hold	The DB's all have a lot to prove now that there is no SEC speed

Depth Chartin': Buffalo Bulls Depth Chart Week 2

Tim Riordan — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:00:18 -0000

Offense	1	2
WR	Alex Neutz	Devon Hughes
LT	Andre Davis	Pat Wilson
LG	Jansen Carlson	Bob Blogdett
C	Trevor Sales	Gabriel Barbe
RG	Graham Whinery	Dillon Guy
RT	Gokhan Ozkan	Jake Silas
TE	Gordon - Dennison	Reeder
QB	Alex Zordich	Joe Licata
RB	Branden Oliver	Murie - Potts
FB	Boomer Brock	Rashad Jean
WR	Cordeo Dixon	Ron Willoughby
WR	Fred Lee	John Dunmore
Defense	1	2
DE	Steven Means	Beau Bachtelle
NG	Cahill - Sokoli
DE	Colby Way	Dale Barksdale
OLB	Khalil Mack	Willie Mosely
ILB	Stockman - Pettigrew
ILB	Lee Skinner	Khari Brown
OLB	Isaac Baugh	Chatman - Wallace
CB	Najja Johnson	Carlos Lammons
SS	Okoye Houston	Adam Redden
FS	Witney Sherry	Minniefield / Brim
CB	Cortney Lester	Maqus Baker

And in the second Week Director White ended the suspension of Khalil Mack, and lo it was good for order was restored among the many linebacker.

Khalil Mack came back and things on the two deep now come much closer to what was expected before the august drama played out.

This will be the first game where Buffalo defensive coordinator Lou Tepper has his entire set of linebackers. Tepper who came up as a linebacker coach will no doubt make good use use of Mack.

Mack will be on the left side and Lee Skinner moved to the right inside linebacker slot.

The other inside linebacker is going to be manned by Jake Stockman or Scott Pettigrew.

Elsewhere in the defense Johnson and Lester switched sides at the corner.

Other than that the defense is pretty much set as is.

Offensively the changes are even fewer.

James Gordon and Alex Dennison are still splitting duty at tight end but this week Jake Reeder is "officially" the second line tight end.

Ron Willoughby is no loger splitting time with Dixon at wideout. Willoughby is now the second line receiver.

If this game plays out like it should, and like the FCS contests have played out under Jeff Quinn then you sill see a lot of the second line guys like Potts, Willoughby, and Redden.

Depth Chartin' : Buffalo Bulls Depth Chart Week 1

Tim Riordan — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 17:17:54 -0000

	1	2
Offense
WR	Alex Neutz	Devon Hughes
LT	Andre Davis	Pat Wilson
LG	Jansen Carlson	Bob Blogdett - Back
C	Trevor Sales	Gabriel Barbe
RG	Graham Whinery	Dillon Guy
RT	Gokhan Ozkan	Jake Silas
TE	Gordon - Dennison
QB	Alex Zordich	Joe Licata
RB	Branden Oliver	Murie - Potts
FB	Boomer Brock	Rashad Jean
WR	Dixon - Willoughby
WR	Fred Lee	John Dunmore
Defense
DE	Steven Means	Beau Bachtelle
NG	Wyatt Cahill	Kristjan Sokoli
DE	Colby Way	Dale Barksdale
OLB	Dalton Barksdale	Kendal Roberson
ILB	Lee Skinner	Khari Brown
ILB	Jake Stockman	Scott Pettigrew
OLB	Isaac Baugh	Imani Chatman
CB	Cortney Lester	Marqus Baker
SS	Okoye Houston	Adam Redden
FS	Witney Sherry	Minniefield / Brim
CB	Najja Johnson	Lammons / Striggles

Welcome to the party:

UB has some true freshman on the depth chart

Two true freshman will be starting. Tyler Grassman will take care of the punting duties and he will be taking snaps from fellow freshman Marcus McGill.

Ron Willoughby, a red shirt freshman gets a start, sort of. He and Cordero Dixon will share the starting responsibilities as wideouts.

Another redshirt freshman, Tony Daniel, will be the holder on special teams.

Wheel of linebackers:

There has, predictably, been a huge storm at linebacker since the dismissal of Wonderful Mounds, Jaleel Verser, and the one game suspension of Khalil Mack.

Mack is replaced by Dalton Barksdale.

Barksdale used his red shirt in 2010 and spent 2011 filling out the scout team. Barksdale saw action in five games, recording a tackle against Eastern Michigan. His time on the field was spent mainly with the special teams. Now he will be starting against the #6 team in the nation.

Jake Stockman replaces Jaleel Verser.

Last season as redshirt freshman Stockman had a big impact on special teams and also played some minutes with the defense. He looked very solid in the spring game, putting up seven tackles.

According the the game note safety Isaac Baugh is now our other outside linebacker.

Last year baugh started 11 games and recorded 36.

Because Baugh is over as a linebacker Okoye Houston gets the start at safety.

Two headed tight end:

Still no decision between Alex Dennison and James Gordon as two how starts at tight end.

Buffalo Bulls Unit Preview: Offensive Line

Tim Riordan — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 18:20:37 -0000

After several years of rebuilding Coach Quinn is finally close to fielding a complete offensive line. In 2010 Quinn challenged the line to get leaner, more athletic, and agile so that his high powered spread offense could push the ball down the field.

The problem was that's not the line he inherited. The other problem is that he was left with just a few starters and a very thin bench behind them. The 2010 and 2011 recruiting classes were heavy on the line and spring and summer have been good to Buffalo in terms of injuries.

Quinn has also moved away from the fast, lean, athletic line that he first envisioned. The emergence of Branden Oliver and past struggles of the offense have move Buffalo's coach int the opposite direction. The linemen have been getting bigger. They are not quite as fast as they might otherwise be but UB Strength and Conditioning coach Duval has done a good job balancing their mass with some athleticism.

The line will open the season with the challenge providing time for a new starting Quarterback for the third time in as many years.

On the left side at Tackle Andre Davis is a player who has already proven his versatility and his durability. You have ot be durable to start every game on the line, and versatile to get moved to that line after being targeted as a defensive lineman.

Davis, a 2010 recruit, spent that season learning the Buffalo offense on the scout team. Last season, as a red shirt freshman, Davis played in every game, starting as a right guard.

Coming out of spring ball Davis ha retained a starting job but will be over on the left side, at tackle. He is in front of Pat Wilson and John Kling.

At left Guard is Jasen Carlson. Carlson made an immediate impact as a true freshman when the Bulls called on him in seven games, including a start. Last season Carlson spent the first half of the season nursing a nagging injury.

By the time the Temple game came around Carlson was healthy enough to contribute and a couple of games later he earned the starting job at left tackle.

Coming out of spring ball the Junior is the starter ahead of both Robert Blodgett and Jesse Back.

Trevor Sales looks to start at center. Sales came to Buffalo from La Porte Indiana via Delaware. The 315 pound sophomore is just one more piece of an offensive line rebuild three years the making.

Last season he provided a body for the scout team but after just one year he has worked his way into the starting center clot. He is sitting in front of Gabriel Barbe and Anthony Bartholomew on the depth chart.

Left Guard Graham Whinery is one of the few players left on the line who were a part of UB's 2008 MAC Championship season. Whinery was a freshman that season, he spent the year with a red shirt watching the Bulls seemingly right their ship.

During his redshirt freshman year he served in a backup capacity but still saw action in a hand full of games.

Since then Whinery has started in every game played by the Bulls. He has never missed a Jeff Quinn coached game, which is saying something considering the turnover and injury problems the Bulls have had over the past two seasons.

Coming out of camp this season he is once again starting at right guard. He will spend his senior season playing in front of Dillon Guy.

On the left tackle is Gokhan Ozkan who checks in at six foot seven and 330 pounds yet he is surprisingly mobile.

After suffering a season ending injury in 2010 Gokhan came back last season and took the starting slot for right tackle. He was a big part of Branden Oliver’s program-record 1,395 yards rushing, much of which was gained between the tackles.

Coming out of the blue and white game Ozkan is again pegged to be the starting right tackle, ahead of Jake Silas on the depth chart.

Position	Starter	Ye	GP (11')	HT	Weight
Left Tackle	Andre Davis	SO	12	6'4"	303
Left Guard	Jasen Carlson	JR	7	6'1"	301
Center	Trevor Sales	JR	0	6'2"	318
Right Guard	Graham Whinery	SR	12	6'4"	302
Right Tackle	Gokhan Ozkan	SR	12	6'6"	326

The starters should manage just fine. Buffalo's bigger problem has been depth and for the first time in three years UB seems to have a good number of established, healthy, and big players on the bench waiting for their chance to get it. This could be the best line since 2008, perhaps they are even a more solid unit then the Bulls fielded that season.

They can't control the turnover at Quarterback over the past few season but for the first time in a long time the starter should have enough time to make a few good reads.

Talking Bull: More Bulls Camp Coverage

Tim Riordan — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:53:29 -0000

Queen City Sports continues to do a solid job covering camp

Queen City Sports – UB Bulls Training Camp Day Three Recap
QCS Reporter Mike Bundt was at UB Bulls practice on Wednesday and made a few videos recapping the action. The first video is a bunch of highlights from the end of practice and includes quarterbacks Joe Licata and Alex Zordich as well as running back Branden Oliver.

The Buffalo News talks about UB's offensive line

Bulls have loads of experience up front - UB Football - The Buffalo News
This year's group comprises two seniors, one junior and two sophomores. Senior right guard Graham Whinery, who has started every game since his sophomore year, is one of the team's leaders. While the Bulls only lost one starter, it was a big one: behemoth veteran Matt Ostrowski, who played consistently since his freshman year. With Ostrowski gone, Whinery is taking the load on himself to lead the line.

Penn State shirt (sold at an off campus book store) ruffles NCAA heathers

About That Penn State Shirt - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
So, yeah. It's still not a good look, but it's not as though Penn State is protesting the sanctions by tossing this tee shirt into its stores. There's pretty obviously a market for it, and Smack Apparel is attempting to capitalize on said market. But ... fine, can this all go away now, please?

Know Your Bulls: #55 Graham Whinery

Tim Riordan — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 12:00:16 -0000

Know your Bulls is a countdown to the kick off. If will look at every single UB football player on the roster. When the players number matches the number of days remaining then it's his turn in the spotlight.

Position: Offensive Line (Right Guard)

From: Arlington, Texas

Started at Center / Guard last season

Graham Whinery is one of the few players left on the line who were a part of UB's 2008 MAC Championship season. Whinery was a freshman that season, he spent the year with a red shirt watching the Bulls seemingly right their ship.

During his redshirt freshman year he served in a backup capacity but still saw action in a hand full of games.

Coming out of camp this season he is once again starting at right guard. He will spend his senior season playing in front of Dillon Guy.

Know Your Bulls: #65 Dillon Guy

Tim Riordan — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 12:00:04 -0000

Dillion's Mugshot via www.buffalobulls.com

Position: Left Guard

From: Hamilton, Ontario

Played 11 games last season.

Dillon Guy is one of several linemen that have come to Buffalo from Canada. There have been, of course, Canadian Linemen on the Bulls roster going back some years but under Buffalo Coach Jeff Quinn it seems UB makes an effort to pull in at least one per season.

And in Guy's case, it was just in the nick of time. While the 2011 line was far less injury riddled than the 2010 edition there were still holes that needed to be filled and as a true freshman the 320 pound Guy did a great job of filling in on the line.

The graduate of Champlain College, and captain of Canada's world team, started six games last season and provided depth in five others.

This spring Guy switched from the right side over to the left. He is slated to back up Graham Whinery.

Phil Steele's 2012 Preseason All-MAC Team: BGSU Gets Five First Teamers

Matt Sussman — Mon, 28 May 2012 22:21:47 -0000

This is the part of the year where I look at stuff that happened the last two weeks and try to play catch-up. Last Friday Phil Steele announced his all-conference teams, and the MAC was one of the first conferences he knocked out of the way, because he's either nice or saved the bigger conferences for last.

He goes four teams deep, and in a surprising twist, Bowling Green had the most first-teamers with five. This pleases me and it's less surprising when you remember that BGSU is returning the most starters of anybody in the MAC (19, 10 on defense), and is ranked top-five nationally in this nebulous category.

But who had the most points using my cheatsheet method? Spoiler: Not Bowling Green.

School	First Team (4 pts/selection)	Second Team (3 pts/selection)	Third Team (2 pt/selection)	Fourth Team (1 pt/selection)	Total Points
OHIO	OG Eric Herman DE Tremayne Scott CB Travis Carrie PK Matt Weller	QB Tyler Tettleton C Skyler Allen OG Jonathan Lechner PR Travis Carrie	TE Jordan Thompson DT Carl Jones LB Alphonso Lewis S Gerald Moore	RB Beau Blankenship DT Neal Huynh	38
Bowling Green	RB Anthon Samuel DT Chris Jones LB Dwayne Woods P Brian Schmiedebusch KR BooBoo Gates	TE Alex Bayer	WR Je'Ron Stokes OG Dominic Flewellyn	QB Matt Schilz OG Chip Robinson LB Paul Swan CB Cameron Truss S BooBoo Gates	32
Northern Illinois	OG Logan Pegram DE Sean Progar	WR Martel Moore S Jimmie Ward PK Mathew Sims KR Tommylee Lewis	RB Jamal Womble WR Perez Ashford DT Nabal Jefferson	DE Alan Baxter LB Tyrone Clark LB Devon Butler	29
Miami	WR Nick Harwell LB Pat Hinkel CB Dayonne Nunley	DT Austin Brown	QB Zac Dysert DE Jason Semmes LB Evan Harris CB D.J. Brown P Zac Murphy	WR Dawan Scott OT Brad Bednar	27
Kent State	OT Brian Winters DT Roosevelt Nix LB C.J. Malauulu	LB Luke Batton	DE Jake Dooley S Luke Wollet	RB Trayion Durham DT Dana Brown CB Norman Wolfe S Calvin Tiggle PK Freddy Cortez	24
Eastern Michigan	TE Garrett Hoskins PR Demarius Reed	LB Justin Cudworth CB Marlon Pollard	RB Dominique Sherrer C Andrew Sorgatz PR Marlon Pollard	OG Corey Watman OT Korey Neal	22
Western Michigan	QB Alex Carder OT Dann O'Neill S Johnnie Simon	DE Paul Hazel	OT Terry Davisson CB Lewis Toler	WR Eric Monette DE Freddie Bishop	21
Ball State	None	RB Jahwan Edwards OG Jordan Hansel DT Nathan Ollie LB Travis Freeman P Scott Kovanda	KR Jamill Smith	WR Jamill Smith C Dan Manick PR Jamill Smith	20
Central Michigan	WR Titus Davis S Jahleel Addae	WR Cody Wilson OT Jake Olson	OT Eric Fisher PK David Harman	KR Titus Davis	19
Toledo	WR Bernard Reedy C Zac Kerin	DE T.J. Fatinikun S Jermaine Robinson	LB Dan Molls	LB Robert Bell P Vince Penza	19
Buffalo	RB Branden Oliver LB Khalil Mack	WR Alex Neutz CB Najja Johnson	OG Graham Whinery LB Lee Skinner	None	18
UMass	None	OT Nick Speller LB Perry McIntyre	None	TE Jerome Lewis	7
Akron	None	RB Jawon Chisholm	WR Keith Sconiers	None	5

Well, Bowling Green cannot officially sneak up on anyone. Not with a suddenly veteran team, at least. Between them and OHIO, the MAC East may not be the stronger division thanks to Akron and UMass, they've got a couple big contenders to re-claim the MAC crown in Detroit.

• I'm surprised at how low Toledo scored here, although give them a few games and you'll see some new names mentioned among the conference's best. That just shows how many starters — and good ones — they truly lost.

• I don't know what to read into any of this, but Ball State led the MAC with most second-team picks with five. Miami topped the MAC with five third-teamers and both Kent State and BG produced five men on the fourth team.

• It may be premature to call Jamill Smith the next Eric Page but he did make the team three times as a WR/KR/PR.

• Excellent to see Eastern Michigan get substantially more recognition for the strength of their team after getting marginally jobbed in the 2011 awards.

• Another cool thing: NIU linebacker Devon Butler, who recovered after that horrific drive-by shooting, might be able to return to form as Steele named him fourth team.

• Welcome to the club, UMass! Based on this, your best is better than Akron's best.

Depth Chartin' Welcome to the Summer!

Tim Riordan — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:26:12 -0000

Can't have a post spring depth chart with actually clears anything up can we? Coach Quinn released the summer depth chart and there are some things worth noting, and some things you expected.

Offense
WR	Alex Neutz	Rudy Johnson	- or - Willoughby
LT	Andre Davis	Pat Wilson	- or - John Kling
LG	Jansen Carlson	Bob Blogdett	- or - Jesse Back
C	Trevor Sales	Gabriel Barbe	- or - Bartholomew
RG	Graham Whinery	Dillon Guy
RT	Gokhan Ozkan	Jake Silas
TE	Jimmy Gordon	- or - Alex Dennison	Reeder / Wiser
QB	Alex Zordich	- or - Joe Licata	Daniel / Davis
RB	Branden Oliver	Brandon Murie
FB	Rashad Jean	Boomer Brock
WR	Devon Hughes	- or - Cordero Dixon
WR	Fred Lee	Saron Hood
Defense
DE	Steven Means	Kendall Patterson
NG	Wyatt Cahill	Dale Barksdale
DE	Colby Way	Kristjan Sokoli
OLB	Khalil Mack	Willie Mosely
ILB	Lee Skinner	Khari Brown
ILB	Jaleel Verser	Scott Pettigrew	Stockman
OLB	Imani Chatman	- or -Dalonte Wallace	Monds
CB	Cortney Lester	Marqus Baker
SS	Isaac Baugh	-Or- Okoye Houston	Adam Redden
FS	Whitney Sherry	Kyndal Minniefield
CB	Najja Johnson	Carlos Lammons	- or -Striggles

What you should have expected:

A Jeff Quinn depth chart has more "Ors" than the UB rowing team has "Oars". Some of these are understandable, some not so much.

It makes sense when you're talking about Ron Willoughby or Rudy Johnson. They are the second and third receivers behind UB's main aerial weapon.

Where it does not make sense is at Quarterback. Yes we have all heard how close the competition has been between Licata and Zordich but every time someone watches they say Zorfich is a bit more steady behind center.

The starters are all who you would have expected, maybe with the exception of Gordon at tight end.

The team is returning 18 starters, you should have expected a very similar depth chart to last season.

What you may not have expected

While the starters are all the same a lot of them have been shifted around.

Lee Skinner is on the other side of the interior and the offensive line is completely shifted around.

Coaching changes have a lot to do with this, especially on defense but it still seems a bit dramatic.

2012 UB Football Prospectus is out, whats inside?

Tim Riordan — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 19:01:20 -0000

Just a few Quick thoughts from the Media Guide. I will have more after I dig into it more thoroughly.

Low on returning Skill High on returning Beef

Seven offensive starters return this season and four of them are linemen (Jasen Carlson , Andre Davis, Gokhan Ozkan, and Graham Whinery. If UB can find a suitable replacement for Matt Ostrowski this could be the best line the Bulls have had in some years.

Things look different among the so called "skill positions" UB returns tight end Alex Dennison, wide receiver Alex Neutz, and offensive record setting running back Branden Oliver. But that's it. Both the Quarterback and the bulk of our receivers are all up in the air.

Balanced losses on defense:

The defense is also only down three starters but unlike the offense graduation did not beat up on any unit worse than the others. The defensive backs return Isaac Baugh, Najja Johnson, Cortney Lester. The linebackers are led by Khalil Mack but also returning are Lee Skinner and Jaleel Verser

The Defensive line may struggle to replace Ritchie Smith but the Bulls do return Colby Way and Steven Means.

Nowhere to be found:

Jeffvon Gill has apparently left the program. Someone commented on it yesterday and he is absent from the spring media guide. James Pott's, however, is listed and still on the roster.

UPDATE: According to some UB fans in the know Potts wont practice due to a violation of team rules

One more shot:

Jerry Davis is still listed as a Quarterback, I had thought that maybe he might get shifted out to a receiver slot. We are thin on experience and if nothing else Davis knows the offense. He is a senior and will have to try and unseat Junior Alex Zordich or freshman Joe Licata.