Titler

BUTLER TWP — St. Vincent College's only football relationship in the past 44 years has been with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

No more.

The Steelers still hold their training camp there, but they will be joined by the Bearcats' own football team this summer.

And Butler senior Joe Titler will be among 60-plus players looking to nail down a position.

St. Vincent last fielded a varsity football team in 1962. It has been a club sport sporadically since then.

Bob Colbert, brother of Steelers director of player personnel Kevin Colbert, was hired as Bearcats head coach in January 2006. Bob Colbert previously was associate head coach and offensive coordinator at NCAADivision IIIpower Bridgewater (Va.).

"He helped build a program from nothing there, so I know he can do it again,"Titler said. "I want to be part of the team that gets the program off the ground."

Bridgewater was 0-10 during Colbert's first season there, which was also the first year the school had football.

But the team finished 5-5 the following season, then 10-2 while reaching the second round of the Division IIIplayoffs in its third season. In the program's fourth year, Bridgewater lost the national championship game by three points.

"I know it can be done,"Colbert said of a quick rise to the top. "It's just a matter of recruiting the right athletes and developing them."

Titler was recruited as an outside linebacker and long snapper. It's the latter duties that might get him on the field quickly at St. Vincent.

"He had maybe one bad snap all year,"former Butler coach Garry Cathell said. "Joe is very good at that specialty."

Titler's desire to be on the field for more than just special teams play is what led him to St. Vincent.

He also was recruited by Princeton, Yale, Lehigh, Duquesne and Robert Morris.

"All of those places wanted me as a long snapper and nothing else,"Titler said. "I want to play. I'm walking into the perfect situation to prove myself."

Titler is 6-fee-1, 215 pounds. His goal is to be a four-year starter.

Titler plans to major in business at St. Vincent, which will be a member of the Presidents' Athletic Conference.

Colbert brought in 26 players last winter and the team held 29 practices last fall, but didn't scrimmage another team so the players could maintain four years of eligibility.

Colbert has no problem sharing the campus with the Steelers during the summer.

"There will be about a 10-day overlap when we'll be there and they'll be there,"he said. "A ton of fans come to Steelers camp every year. Hopefully, they'll notice us practicing and will check us out, too."