Daniel Bronson got handed the reins to the Yellowjackets offense as a freshman. University of Rochester athletics photo

A good leader knows how to share the credit.

Perhaps it’s because he’s a coach’s son. Maybe it’s because he was a three-time captain in three different sports in high school.

But Rochester quarterback Daniel Bronson wanted to you to know about his offensive line and their coach Dan Kyle.

“I’d just like to give a sincere public thank you to my o-line,” said the sophomore from Lockport, N.Y. “Coach Kyle and his boys keep me safe every week.”

It wasn’t that long ago that Bronson didn’t even know if he’d play football again. But now, the sophomore (and his o-line) have helped lead the Yellowjackets to their best start since 2000 at 3-0.

Bronson and the Rochester offense have averaged 45 points and nearly 440 yards a game during that fast start. The trigger in the unit’s read option attack, Bronson has passed for 552 yards and nine touchdowns, while rushing for 225 yards and three scores.

But his journey to starting college quarterback almost never happen. After leading Lockport High School to a Section VI title and being named offensive player of the year as a junior in 2012, Bronson had aspirations and some interest from “bigger schools.”

However, in the first game of his senior year, he fractured his collarbone. It required reconstructive surgery. His season was over. The interest from larger schools disappeared with it.

“I wasn’t sure whether I was going to play football again,” Bronson said. “I knew I wanted to, but I wasn’t sure if the opportunity would present itself.”

That opportunity came when Kyle showed up on a recruiting visit to his high school.

“I visited and just fell in love with the school,” said Bronson, a National Honor Society student at LHS. “The campus was perfect, all the opportunities it presents in research and the sciences (were what I was looking for.) It was an opportunity to play football again (too.) I couldn’t pass it up.”

Still, as preseason started in 2014 the thought that he’d be the starting quarterback at Rochester was unlikely. Kyle had recruited him as a receiver. But he thought might like to try playing quarterback “for a week” during camp.

By early in the 2014 season, he had worked himself into the No. 2 spot on the depth chart and played a little in certain packages to take advantage of his running ability. But after a 31-6 loss to St. Lawrence, the starter left the team.

Bronson was now the man.

“I was thrown into the fire,” he said. “My teammates were a real big help in helping me make the adjustment from playing three or four series as a change of pace to being the everyday starter. They helped me get acclimated quickly and made me feel comfortable”

The team won three of its next four games before falling to unbeaten and top-ten ranked Hobart 28-23 in the season finale to finish at 5-4. With their 3-0 start this season, he is now 6-2 as a starter.

Rochester’s great start is not totally unexpected. They lost just three starters and just about everyone returns on both sides of the ball. With defending Liberty League champion Hobart losing several key players, including current Tampa Bay Buc Ali Marpet and D3football.com defensive player of the year Tyre Coleman, the league looks to be more competitive than it has been in years.

“We wanted to come out hot,” said Bronson. “Our saying for this year is: The time is now.”

They defeated Springfield 29-3 on Saturday to notch their first conference victory of the year. The Yellowjackets held the Pride and their triple option attack to their lowest point total in over a decade.

“Our defense has been playing awesome,” he added.

The unit has allowed just 10 points and 281 yards a game so far this season. Senior linebacker Thomas Marone, earned D3football.com Team of the Week honors in Saturday’s game vs. Springfield and leads a unit with 10 sacks and five takeaways.

After being picked to finish fifth in the Liberty League, The Yellowjackets still have a lot to prove before being considered a contender for the conference championship. They’ll get that chance this Saturday when they take on St. Lawrence (3-1) in Canton, N.Y.

“They definitely have one of the one of the top teams in the Liberty League,” Bronson said. “From my point of view, their defense is excellent. It’s going to be a huge test. Our guys are ready, because we are out to prove ourselves.”

The winner of this game has the best shot at dethroning Hobart.

By the way, the starting offensive line for Rochester is Jeremiah Bill, Trevor Robinson-Gray, Bruce McKenty, David Berry and Chris Martin.

Lead on, Daniel.

Top 25

Wesley (3-0) stayed at number five after converting a two-point conversion with seven seconds left to defeat 21st-ranked North Central 50-49. Quarterback Joe Callahan led a late 94-yard drive and ended up passing for over 414 yards and rushing for more than 111. According to coach Mike Drass, one of Callahan’s calves cramped up as he sprinted left toward the pylon on the two-point play before flipping the ball over the head of a Cardinal defender to Xavier Allen. Drass said the decision to go for it was easy when you have Callahan and a chance to win the game right at the point. He felt overtime would have been a bigger gamble.

Rowan climbed one spot to No. 15 by edging Montclair State 13-7. The key play was a 92-yard touchdown pass from Dante Pinkney to Ross Forchion. In battle between two physical defenses, the teams combined for just 444 yards.

Ithaca (3-0) moves a spot to 19th after pulling away from previously unbeaten Alfred. The Bombers broke open a tight game with 17 points in the last eight minutes of the game. Tristan Brown rushed for 176 yards and two touchdowns, including a 64-yarder after the Saxons had pulled to within three early in the fourth quarter.

Cortland State (4-0), who entered the rankings at 25th last week, moved up to 22nd after topping Utica 47-40 in overtime. The Red Dragon defense has given up some points and yards this season, but came up big by holding the Pioneers to a game-tying field goal inside the 10 late in the fourth quarter, then stopping them on fourth and goal at the 5 during overtime to end the game.

Hobart returns to the poll at No. 25 after a week absence. The Statesmen beat Merchant Marine 30-15. Their offense remains a work in progress, gaining just 215 yards after tallying just 159 in their loss to Ithaca. Their defense has picked up the slack allowing only 444 yards. Hobart is still playing without starting quarterback Shane Sweeney.

Three teams with unbeaten records are receiving votes in Albright (15), Kean (8) and Stevenson (2). Salisbury is getting one vote after winning two straight and outscoring opponents 137-21.

Trending Up

Kean. The Cougars are 3-0 for the first time since they went to the playoffs in 2011. Kicker Steve Ferlisi booted a 35-yard field goal as time expired to move the Cougars past the Pioneers. They’ll travel to Frostburg State (2-1) this Saturday.

St. Lawrence. The Saints have won two straight conference games since falling to Morrisville State. Quarterback Mike Lefflbine has tossed five touchdowns and has more than 500 yards in the pair of wins.

Albright. The Lions knocked off long-time nemesis Lycoming on the road 32-10. Albright got the running game going behind 127 yards and three touchdowns from Bryan Wickkiser. They’ll travel to winless Misericordia this weekend.

FDU-Florham. After going winless last season, the Devils have won two-of-three to start this season. They’ll face their toughest challenge to date when they host Delaware Valley on Friday night.

Stevenson. The Mustangs have won seven straight games dating back to last season. They have to beware looking ahead when they host King’s this Saturday. They play at Delaware Valley and host Widener in their following two contests.

RPI. The Engineers are quietly 3-1 after knocking off previously undefeated WPI last week. They are currently averaging 31 point a game while quarterback Jeff Avery has 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions. They host a Merchant Marine squad that pushed Hobart last week.

Trending Down

Wilkes. The Colonels dropped two straight since upsetting Delaware Valley in Week 2. Their schedule doesn’t get any easier this weekend with Widener coming to town.

Union. At 0-3, The Dutch have scored some points, but don’t seem capable of stopping anyone, including St. Lawrence this weekend.

Montclair State. The Red Hawks came to play against but the challenges on offense remain. They have started a season at 0-3 for the first time in this century.

TCNJ. At 0-3, they host Salisbury and Wesley the next two weeks. Ouch.

Southern Virginia. Not much was expected of the Knights this year, but even then, they have given up 198 points in their three losses and travel to Wesley this Saturday.

Buffalo State. The Bengals were looking good this season until losing quarterback Kyle Hoppy during the Alfred game. They haven’t recovered yet. They’ll face a St. John Fisher team coming off an emotional 42-41 double overtime victory over Brockport State.

Games to Watch

Any Empire 8 game. Only Brockport, who hosts winless independent Alfred State, is a big favorite this weekend. The rest of the games are conference tilts. So we’ll either see favorites starting to emerge or the beginning of the chaos we’ve been expecting.

Lycoming at Lebanon Valley. Both these team are 1-3 coming in. The winner begins the climb back toward the chance at a respectable season. The loser could be in for a long year.

Delaware Valley at FDU-Florham. The Devils are off to a nice start but the level of competition jumps this week. This Aggie team at 3-1 is still in the MAC race despite a disappointing loss to Wilkes in week two.

Rowan at Christopher Newport. Battle of two teams that made the playoffs last season. Despite a 1-2 start, the Captains have some playmakers that could cause some problems for that stout Rowan defense.