Sports

UAM’S BUISSON READY TO TAKE NEXT STEP FOR BOLL WEEVILS

By Sean Saunders/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Saturday, July 4, 2009 11:56 PM CDT

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of stories about the different positions for the Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Arkansas-Monticello football teams.

Arkansas-Monticello quarterback Scott Buisson has led an offensive resurgence in Monticello. The junior to be averaged 365.4 total yards per game last season. PINE BLUFF COMMERCIAL/RALPH FITZGERALD.

Arkansas-Monticello quarterback Scott Buisson sometimes makes what he does on the football field look easy. But Buisson, in only two years as Boll Weevil signal caller, has had to overcome several obstacles outside of gameday to become one of the top quarterbacks in NCAA Division II.

First, UAM coach Gwaine Mathews has cycled through four offensive coordinators in as many years. That means Buisson has had to learn three different offenses throughout his time in Monticello.

“I guess it would be hard if I let the coordinators come here and change everything,” Mathews said. “It’s a lot easier as a head coach to keep everything the same. It’s just what I’ve done since I’ve been here. I know what kind of quarterback I’ve got, and through the changes I’ve said you can come in and tweek some things, but this is going to be the base package.”

The changing of the guard at offensive coordinator really hasn’t had much of an effect on the offense with Buisson’s presence in the backfield. In 2006, the Weevils averaged only 213.8 yards and 11.3 points per game. But once Buisson came on in 2007, they jumped to 436.8 yards and 26.3 points per game.

The combination of Buisson and Matt Middleton, who took over at O.C. after Will Hall, helped spark an offense that rolled up a Gulf South Conference-best 499.3 yards per game last season. Buisson benefited from Middleton’s wide-open scheme — the junior-to-be never lined up under center — by rushing for a league-leading 119.9 yards per game and totaling 365.8 yards of offense per outing (73.3 percent of the team’s offensive output). That led to Buisson earning the Gulf South Conference Offensive Player of the Year award after earning the Freshman of the Year honor the previous season.

But Mathews and Middleton, along with wide receivers coach Dan Fodrocy, parted ways during the offseason. Offensive line coach Derek Warehime was promoted to offensive coordinator in March.

With Warehime’s promotion comes a change from the straight spread to multiple sets. Buisson will actually step under center for the first time since his freshman year.

“He’s gonna do it a little bit because we think that’s a good way to protect him a little bit more and do some more things with (halfback) Johnny (Polite),” Mathews said. “But at the same time, I ain’t going to go crazy with it. I know that Scott excels in that situation with his running ability, and I don’t want to take that away from him. I just got to find a way to protect him a little bit more.”

Buisson has also had a different quarterbacks coach in each of his three years after the previous two offensive coordinators were also quarterbacks coaches. He finally gets a quarterbacks coach who’s not an O.C. in Troy Stubbs, former wide receivers coach at Davidson and graduate assistant at Louisville.

“I think coach Stubbs and Scott have a good relationship, but coach Stubbs is a little more cerebral,” Mathews said. “He was a quarterback for the Air Force Academy, so he brings a different light to the situation than what Scott is used to. He can kind of delves into the particulars of the position and about understanding coverages, so that Scott can do a little bit better job of throwing the football.”

On the field, Buisson’s nearly 200 carries last year took their toll on his 175-pound frame. A stretch of two games in six days last year almost cost Buisson to lose some playing time. He wasn’t able to practice at all during the nine-day layoff until the homecoming game against West Alabama on Oct. 18, and the result was a 27-14 victory, one of the lower offensive outputs of the season.

Mathews said he’s glad he picked up Allan Hancock (Calif.) College transfer Casey Cathcart last season despite having an All-American candidate starting at quarterback. Cathcart completed 7 of 12 passes for 41 yards last year and threw a touchdown pass in the waning minutes of the Ouachita Baptist game Oct. 4.

“We’d fall off if something happened to Scott, but I feel like we have the best backup quarterback in the conference,” Mathews said. “We have so much faith in Casey that we put the ball in his hands to win the Harding game. Against (Arkansas-Pine Bluff), we put the ball in Casey’s hands ASAP and didn’t start Scott until the third series of the game. ... This may sound clich/, but Casey Cathcart has the mentality of a dadgum linebacker.”

Both quarterbacks have to rebuild some chemistry with some new receivers after the two top wideouts from last year, Clarence Denmark and Tim Harris, graduated. Mathews said he’s banking hard on Alabama-Birmingham transfer Justin Johnson and Missouri-Southern transfer Mark Henderson. Henderson had 48 receptions for 654 yards and eight touchdowns last year.

Buisson can’t avoid the expectations after back-to-back award-winning seasons, as apparent by his preseason All-American honor by Sporting News magazine. But Mathews said Buisson uses those to set some lofty goals.

“The thing I expect out of Scott is the same thing he expects out of me, and that’s to advance the program. I think Scott’s legacy at this school and my legacy as a head coach are intertwined,” Mathews said. “Until we can step up and win the playoffs and win the conference championship, it’ll just be unfulfilled. I expect him to lead this team to the conference championship.”

UAM begins its season Aug. 27 against Tarleton State in Stephenville, Texas.

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