NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- The current landscape of college sports has certainly changed bowl season when it comes to college football. Players who intend to enter the transfer portal will, at times, opt out of postseason contests for any number of reasons, including staying healthy for their next destination.
Old Dominion will be without one of its best players when it takes the field in the Cure Bowl next Wednesday. Quarterback Colton Joseph announced his intent to transfer on Tuesday, subtracting a key weapon from the Monarchs' offensive attack.
With the exception of Joseph, however, the rest of the ODU roster seems to have remained intact for the team's match-up with South Florida in Orlando. So does offensive coordinator Kevin Decker expect the same explosive offense that fans saw during the regular season?
"I don't see any reason why we can't be," he said Wednesday.
The silver and blue boasted an offense that put up 460.8 yards per game, good enough to rank No. 15 in the country. Quinn Henicle will take the reins at quarterback in place of Joseph, a player who has seen flashes of success himself. Last season, Henicle played in three games for the Monarchs and rattled off touchdown rushes of 64 yards and 92 yards, respectively.
"[Colton] leaving, that wasn't a shocker to us. Saw that kind of coming awhile ago," Decker noted. "Nothing really changes. All year long they've been one and two (Joseph and Henicle) in practice. Quinn knows every single game plan, so I don't expect a whole lot to change."
"I feel like every guy prepares to be the guy," added redshirt sophomore running back Devin Roche. "I feel like there should be no drop-off, there should be no issue."
With Joseph being the only player missing, at least as of now, Henicle should have his full arsenal of running backs and wide receivers next week. Roche, Maurki James, Trequan Jones and Ke'Travion Hargrove have all contributed at running back during the season, with Tre Brown, Ja'Cory Thomas and Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding making up one of the top receiving trios in the Sun Belt, with all three eclipsing the 600 receiving yard mark.
As for the defensive side of the ball, defensive coordinator Blake Seiler says he has his entire unit on the practice field and ready to go.
"They're all here," he smiled. "They all want to finish what we started together. We're proud of that. That's a player-led team right there."
Old Dominion has a chance to get its tenth victory of the season against a talented South Florida squad. That's the rallying cry as the 2025 Monarchs head to the Sunshine State for one final ride together.
"We want a ring," safety Mario Easterly declared. "We went to the Toastery Bowl (2023) and didn't come out on top so obviously we didn't get a ring, but this year we want to get 10 wins. That's a big accomplishment for any college football team."
"A chance to get double-digit wins as a college football player is something that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives," Seiler added. "That's the mission and it's been fun to hear the kids. They're speaking it, they're breathing it, they're about it. Let's finish what we started."
Old Dominion and South Florida kick off in the Cure Bowl at 5 p.m. next Wednesday, December 17. WTKR News 3 will be in Orlando and bring you updates both on air and online throughout the week.
