Head coach Maurice Linguist returns to the Buffalo sideline for his second season after a 4-8 finish a year ago. AP photo

AMHERST — Maurice Linguist has seen the preseason hype.

Positive and negative.

But the second-year head coach of the University at Buffalo football team knows predictions don’t matter.

Results are measured on the field.

To that end, the Bulls have made a lot of changes since finishing last season 4-8 overall, including 2-6 in the Mid-American Conference’s East Division.

With just nine starters returning overall, Buffalo took advantage of the transfer portal to add quarterback Cole Snyder from Rutgers, wide receivers Justin Marshall (Louisville) and Boobie Curry (Arizona), and offensive linemen Nick Hartnett (Virginia Military Institute), Desmond Bessent (San Diego State) and Sidney Walker (Connecticut) on offense.

“We have ‘new’ guys, but some of them are older. They understand the time that we’re in right now in terms of training camp and the purpose of training camp,” Linguist said Tuesday afternoon at the Bulls’ preseason Media Day inside the Murchie Family Fieldhouse. “So much of the objective of training camp is finding out who you can depend on, having guys present themselves in a way that can be trustworthy on a consistent basis.”

On defense, the Bulls added Caleb Offord from Notre Dame, Jahmin Muse from Boston College and Elijah Blades from Florida.

“We certainly, like a lot of programs around the nation, feel the excitement and the buzz,” Linguist said. “We’ve seen a noticeable jump from the spring through the summer to where we are in training camp right now at a number of positions. … We added double-digit numbers of scholarship players after spring football, so we have a lot of guys who just joined us for the first time in June and July, and you see some of these guys are going to be able to make an immediate impact for us.”

That’s not to say Buffalo didn’t return any talent from last year’s squad.

Linebacker James Patterson was named a third-team preseason All-American by Pro Football Network. That honor came after the graduate student from Glendale, Maryland, was already named to the preseason watch list for the Chuck Bednarik, Butkus and Bronko Nagurski awards.

Senior running back Ron Cook Jr. was named to the preseason watch list for the Paul Hornung Award, presented annually to the most versatile player in college football.

Daymond Williams, a second-team All-MAC selection a year ago, was named to the preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy, presented annually to the best interior lineman in college football.

“That team success is going to lead to that individual success. You look at these teams that end up winning national championships at the end of the year and they have all of these guys drafted. Everybody thinks they have guys drafted because they are good players, but they also get a lot of guys drafted because of team success,” Linguist said. “People ultimately want winners. We’ve got a number of guys who have those individual accolades … but ultimately that team success that we have is going to pour down to every single piece of this program. That rising tide is going to raise all of the ships that are on it.”

Ultimately, as is the case with most football teams, Buffalo’s success will likely come down to the play of its quarterback.

As of Monday, Linguist and his staff had not decided on a starter for Week 1 at Maryland.

West Seneca West graduate Matt Myers is the incumbent, having played in 10 games last season. The 6-foot-4 senior made two starts, throwing for 703 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 179 yards and four more touchdowns on the season.

“Matt Myers, older guy, has been through it,” Linguist said. “He has a ton of experience and he hasn’t missed a beat in terms of where his mind is, staying steady and pacing himself the right way.”

Myers is being pushed by Snyder, the 2018 Southwestern Central School graduate, who went 18 of 28 for 130 yards and a touchdown last fall at Rutgers. The redshirt-sophomore decided to transfer after the season and enrolled at Buffalo in time to participate in spring practices.

“Cole Snyder came in as a transfer and has just operated as a pro,” Linguist said. “He’s a first-one-in, last-one-out type of guy.”

Casey Case, a 6-foot-6 sophomore from Winter Park, Florida, could also make his “case” for the job.

“Casey Case, as a young guy,” Linguist said, “has shown an incredible amount of leadership.”

Whichever way the Bulls decide to go, Linguist would like to name a starter early next week after this coming Saturday’s second scrimmage of camp. That would give whoever the starter is nearly two weeks to prepare for the Sept. 3 opener against the Terrapins in College Park.

“We have to obviously name a guy to get him ready to go out there,” Linguist said. “We’re going to support the heck out of him and make sure every single person in that locker room pours their support into that guy.”

UB opens its home schedule a week later with a 6 p.m. kickoff Saturday, Sept. 10 against Holy Cross before another nonconference road test against Coastal Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 17.

MAC play opens Saturday, Sept. 24 at Eastern Michigan.

“We cannot control outside messaging. The other day somebody had us at 10-3, somebody else had us at 5-7,” Linguist said. “Those things don’t matter because we have to play the games. … Our expectation for these guys is to improve and grow every single day.

“Every team does the larger things the right way, but it’s the details,” Linguist added. “It’s the pride and detail in your work. … When we do that on a consistent basis, that allows us to really lay out some real, tangible, on-field expectations.”