Who can play linebacker at the University of Rhode Island, offense at Bryant and quarterback at Brown?

Those are questions that football coaches Tim Stowers, Marty Fine and Phil Estes hope to answer by the end of April.

Spring is the time to find replacements for departing seniors and underperforming underclassmen, and the time to experiment with new schemes. Stowers and Fine will conduct the second of their NCAA-allotted 15 spring practices today, and Estes will start the first of his 11 sessions — the Ivy League has to be different — next Friday.

“As always, it’s the most fun time to coach college football because you don’t have a game to prepare for,” Stowers said. “You can teach the redshirt players from last year and see the players you admitted at midyear on the field for the first time.”

Stowers and his staff, frustrated by seven seasons of inconsistent and occasionally embarrassing defense, are focusing on that part of the game. Disappointed by the play of his linebackers last fall, Stowers has opened the starting positions to the entire linebacking corps. Those who shed blocks and make tackles now and during training camp in August will be on the field Sept. 1 for the season-opener against Fordham.

Stowers also wants to see improvement on the defensive line and in the secondary.

“We’re trying to shore up that side of the ball,” he said. To that end, he recruited Dan O’Connell (Barrington/Milford Academy) to play weak-side linebacker; Matt Patterson, a 6-4, 215-pound defensive player of the year from Glendale CC in California, to take over a safety slot, and Robert Meredith, a 6-3, 330-pound defensive tackle from Brooklyn by way of Lackawanna CC, to fill a hole up front.

Stowers also recruited several freshmen in the hope that they will contribute sooner rather than later. And he brought in Joe Todd, who played at William & Mary and coached at New Hampshire last season, to work with the linebackers and re-assigned defensive coordinator Dick Hopkins to the secondary.

The Rhody offense will run out of the shotgun formation more often this spring. Stowers liked how Florida used the shotgun with elements of the spread formation while winning the national championship. He believes the shotgun will reduce the number of hits quarterback Derek Cassidy will absorb.

Two-time All-Atlantic 10 fullback Joe Casey will not participate in contact drills this spring while he continues to rehab from offseason shoulder surgery.

URI’s spring game is schedueld for April 28.

Bryant enjoyed a record-breaking season in 2006, finishing 8-3 overall, 7-2 in the Northeast-10 with a share of the title, and a first-round appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament.

But that glory is history now. Quarterback Charlie Granatell is the only starter returning on offense, so the emphasis in 2007 will be on defense and the kicking game.

“We return nine starters on defense and feel that is the strength of the club,” Fine said. “With 10 new players on offense, to go out and think we’ll be what we were last season is silly. We still think we can win football games. We’ll just be a different-looking football team.”

With Lorenzo Perry running wild for 1,924 yards and 20 touchdowns and Justin Kix catching 36 passes for 615 yards and 7 TDs, the Bulldogs fielded one of the most potent offenses in Division II.

But between now and the April 21 spring game they will spend a lot of time on punts and kickoffs — they worked almost an hour on those areas Wednesday — in the expectation of playing field-position football next fall.

“We need to shorten the field for our new offense,” Fine said, “and I feel we’re fast enough to block some punts and field goals.”

Eighty veterans are working out this spring, and 30 recruits will join them for training camp.

“Our depth has gotten better and better, and that was just the thing we wanted to accomplish when we got here,” Fine said.

Estes has to find a quarterback to replace Brown’s two-time All-Ivy Joe DiGiacomo and a tailback to jump-start a stalled running game that contributed to Brown’s 3-7 finish. Junior Matt Dougherty will get plenty of reps because fellow junior Matt Nuzzo is playing shortstop for the baseball Bears.

Dereck Knight (Pawtucket/Shea) is the leading rusher returning, but he gained only 213 yards and will have to do better in 2007.

Brown’s spring game is April 28.

There will be a new head coach in the area next season. Bill Kavanaugh, who guided UMass-Dartmouth to a 104-64 record in 17 seasons, has resigned to become head coach at Bishop Stang High School, where he will also eventually teach. He is currently chairman of the English department at Dartmouth High School.

Kavanaugh had 13 winning seasons with the Corsairs and won two NEFC championships. His 2002 team finished 11-1 without playing a home game because of renovations to Cressy Field. He is a three-time NEFC coach of the year.

UMD has begun a search for Kavanaugh’s replacement.

mszostak@projo.com