Painful ending is good place to start for Hens’ Kroll

By Andy Walter
Posted 8/4/21

NEWARK — David Kroll couldn’t believe it.

The big Delaware offensive lineman had never been hurt before.

And now here was Kroll injuring his leg during the Blue Hens’ NCAA FCS …

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Painful ending is good place to start for Hens’ Kroll

Posted

NEWARK — David Kroll couldn’t believe it.

The big Delaware offensive lineman had never been hurt before.

And now here was Kroll injuring his leg during the Blue Hens’ NCAA FCS Division I quarterfinal win at Jacksonville State in April — on a punt play no less.

“I was pretty livid,” said the 6-foot-7, 315-pounder. “I was on the sideline. I was trying everything not to just throw the training table. It was very frustrating.”

Kroll did play the next week as Delaware fell to South Dakota State, 33-3, in the FCS national semifinals. The starting left tackle clearly was hurting, though.

Kroll’s injury was just one of a number of reasons the Hens didn’t seem to be at their best over the last couple weeks of the spring season, despite reaching the semis.

As No. 4-ranked Delaware held its first pre-season practice on Wednesday morning in preparation of its season opener on Sept. 2 at Maine, Kroll said he’s glad to be fully healthy again.

The pre-season All-American pick grad student, though, said that the pain from that loss to South Dakota State has lingered a lot longer than his leg injury. And that might actually be a good thing.

“We know that we have so much to work on,” said Kroll. “We’re not just set in our ways. I think that was kind of a good thing, obviously, out of a bad moment.”

If he’s being honest, Kroll said Delaware’s offensive line really wasn’t at its best throughout the Hens’ three playoff games. He said it felt like they weren’t hungry any more after beating Villanova in the regular-season finale to win the Colonial Athletic Association title.

After averaging 186 rushing yards in its first five games, Delaware averaged just 88 yards on the ground in its last three contests. The Hens also gave up 11 sacks in those final three games.

“We had an attitude that we were the underdogs the entire season,” said Kroll. “And we had to go out there and prove to everyone that we were dominant, we were the best offensive line they were going to see all season.

“I feel like once we won that CAA title and finally beat Villanova, it kind of dawned on us that, ‘Oh, we are pretty good.’ Then we kind of backed down a little from being the nasty guys that we were. We want to regain that hunger.”

Getting Delaware’s offensive line back healthy and hungry sounds pretty good to quarterback Nolan Henderson. Keeping the pre-season first-team All-CAA pick healthy is one of the Hens’ priorities this fall.

While Henderson bears some of the responsibility for that himself, the offensive line will go a long way in determining how much the junior QB stays on the field.

“We had some injuries in the ‘O’ line late in the year and Nolan was running for his life a little bit in the post-season,” said coach Danny Rocco. “That’s not going to be the case this year.

“We’re looking at a lot of different things,” he said about new combinations of players that the Hens are trying on the line. “But the thing that excites me is the depth and experience.”

Delaware also recently picked up Illinois transfer Blaise Sparks, who should add some more depth up front.

Rocco, though, said Kroll is a pretty good place to start in putting together the Hens’ offensive front.

“David Kroll is an outstanding player,” said Rocco. “He is mature, developed, experienced and he certainly is the anchor of that group.”

Packing on the pounds

One thing Henderson is trying to do is add a little weight to his 6-foot-1 frame.

His secret to putting on some pounds?

Eating, of course.

“I eat more than a lot of my teammates just because of my metabolism,” said Henderson. “I try to eat as much as I can — and protein shakes in the middle of the night.”

Henderson, who has also been doing more weight lifting, said he’s up to 195 pounds. He’d like to get to 200.

In his bid to avoid injuries, Henderson has also been spending more time in the training room.

“One thing I’ve gotten better at is, it’s not a bad thing to be in the training room even when you’re feeling good just to keep yourself feeling good,” he said. “Stretching, yoga, doing all I can to stay mobile and stay on the field. Flexibility is availability, especially at the quarterback position.”

Whatever the reason, Henderson looked pretty good throwing the ball around on Wednesday morning.

“I believe he is as healthy as he’s been in quite some time,” said Rocco. “Today, he was really good.”

“Obviously, you want to complete every ball you throw,” said Henderson. “And it starts at practice. Details, being locked in as if it’s a game situation.

“Last season wasn’t too long ago. There wasn’t an opportunity for rust. I gave myself a week or two after the season to recover a little bit but I went right back into film and working out.”

Extra points

Running back Joseph Bruno, who spent last season at Penn State, has transferred to the Hens. He played in eight games as a true freshman with the Nittany Lions last fall, mostly on special teams, and ran for 42 yards on four carries against Illinois. ... Starting cornerback Nijuel Hill and Sparks watched Wednesday’s practice in street clothes but Rocco said that was only temporary as they waited to medically cleared. ... Isaiah Cherry, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound receiver/safety from Iselin, N.J. is the fourth high school recruit to verbally commit to Delaware.

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