Delaware Football: Spring Game Puts Spotlight on Blue Hens

NEWARK, DE—On Friday I made the trek to Newark from upstate New York to watch the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens football team’s annual Spring Game. While it was more of a scrimmage than a game itself, the program found unique ways to keep the event interesting and engaging to the fan base.

This season marks the first year that Delaware will be playing in the FBS after putting up dominant performances the last three years in the FCS under head coach Ryan Carty. With that in mind, here are my main takeaways and thoughts from the game.

Delaware Football: Spring Game Highlights and Notes

Zach Marker Steps Up

With the retirement of Ryan O’Connor, the Blue Hens need a quarterback to step up this season. So far, it seems like Zach Marker will get the first shot for Delaware.

Last year, the quarterback played in four games, completing 55.2 percent of his passes with over 1000 yards and 10 touchdowns. And on Friday, Marker was the first quarterback utilized in the scrimmage portion of the spring contest.

While his drive didn’t result in a touchdown, Marker put together an impressive performance. His ability to go through his reads really stood out. There was a great example in the red zone, where a crosser seemed open, but Marker read the safety perfectly and avoided throwing what could have been an interception. He then rolled out and kept the play alive, showcasing a high IQ at the position.

In the quarterback gauntlet competition, Marker was one of just two quarterbacks to hit the moving target, and the only passer to hit the base of the goal post. That performance led him to win the competition, in what capped off an impressive day for the grad student.

Delaware QB Zach Marker hitting the moving target during the team’s quarterback competition.

Marker was only 1-of-2 QBs to do so, and won the competition – going 4-for-6 for 16 points. pic.twitter.com/opByLF2z4c

— Thomas Christopher (@ThomasCP_NFL) April 19, 2025

After the practice, I asked Marker about the challenges of going through progressions as a college quarterback. In his response, the former Iowa Central CC quarterback gave an insightful response, talking about his growth while at Delaware, and how different it is from playing quarterback at lower levels of football.

Delaware QB Zach Marker hitting the moving target during the team’s quarterback competition.

Marker was only 1-of-2 QBs to do so, and won the competition – going 4-for-6 for 16 points. pic.twitter.com/opByLF2z4c

— Thomas Christopher (@ThomasCP_NFL) April 19, 2025

Wide receiver battle should be wide open

During the scrimmage I was impressed with some of the calls to scheme receivers open. To open the practice, Jake Thaw received two designed looks. One of those saw him wide open for a 20+ yard gain. Thaw is the team’s most productive returning receiver, and should be Delaware’s WR1 to open the season. Behind him, the competition is likely open.

Former Rutgers receiver Max Patterson showcased good ability on his release. He showed good leverage on his stems in long-developing routes. However, in what seemed to be a theme to start the session, he was unable to pull in some targets during the live portions.

Another player who looked well route-running was former Cornell receiver Nicholas Laboy. Laboy showcased a good release and separation ability during the practice sessions. With plenty of questions regarding the position entering this season, Delaware will need multiple players to step up on their football team.

Dominant Defense

During spring football, it’s honestly really hard to put stock into certain performances. While some are easy (like a quarterback making the correct read against a specific coverage), others aren’t as easy. Yet when the defense is having a lot of success, it’s always hard to ignore.

The Delaware defense truly dominated the first half of the football scrimmage. They were flying all over the ball, but where they were truly impressive was in the trenches. Multiple players stepped up during the event, putting together sacks or tackles for loss.

Defensive end Nate Ray had a two-sack performance and tacked on a TFL. Meanwhile, Ethan Saunders also recorded a sack and looked unblockable during one-on-one drills.

Along the interior, Jack Hall and Dom Brogna put together good performances with sacks and run-stops.

The trench work, especially offensively, is somewhat of a concern of mine after a performance like that. However, as stated before, it’s only spring ball. We’ll find out a lot more about this team as we get into the summer programs.

Other Notes

• Freshman quarterback EJ Archield Jr. looked great during his scrimmage reps. This included an incredible throw down the seam, with perfect ball placement for a touchdown.
• Jo’Nathan Silver seems like he will get the RB1 workload this season.
• Delaware’s defensive backs are great in coverage, but need to get their head turned to the ball to create turnover opportunities.
• Sophomore safety Alex Nash-Lally had a great read on a swing pass to the running back, making a huge hit. Some of his defensive reads were impressive.
• The concepts on offense and defense will help this team grow and be competitive immediately in the C-USA.