Southland: how is your team looking for this upcoming season?

[txstatebobcat]

After reading the SLC predictions thread I just couldn't get myself to make any actual predictions since I don't know enough about the teams for this upcoming season.

With this in mind if you guys can post the number of returners of both offense and defense, any outstanding players coming back, etc.



I'll go first for TxSt:

Six starters returning on offense and eight on defense.

Offense summary: Biggest question mark would be our QB position. Not long ago we heard that our leading candidate for the position decided to transfer to UTSA (which is an unconfirmed rumor, he is just as likely to go DII).

The two leading candidates are: Tim Hawkins (passing stats: 5-9-0 for 36 yards) a redshirt sophomore who played in several games last year and impressed with the little playing time that he had (threw a touchdown pass against TCU, ran for another against SLU I think and had a 8.2 YPC on 20 carries. however he did not impress during the spring game so a lot of fans are down on him right now. The other potential starter is Tyler Arndt who is quite possibly the highest ranked QB recruit to become a bobcat in TxSt history (Rivals three star, Tx top 100 recruit and ranked by ESPN as the 32nd best QB in the nation). This is all well and good about his potential, however I'm not sure how Arndt will react to the college game.

The running game should be potent because we return four experienced O-linemen along with RB's: Karrington Bush (if healthy then could potentially be all conference this year), Transfer RB Marcus Curry (7.3 YPC while at Navy), sophomore Frank Reddic (could have a break out year this upcoming season) and Redshirt freshman Dexter Imade (several of us believe that this young man has tons of potential). Despite loosing Mishak Rivas (transfered) and RB Alvin Canady (graduation) we return 9 out of the top 12 pass catchers including our Number 1 and 2 receivers.


The defense:

The defense should be much improved from last year which isn't saying much since we were one of the worst in the nation last year. We have good talent coming back at all the other positions including a very deep LB core. However, It all depends on how well the defensive line will do this year. Personally I think the DL is far more talented than last year, however most of the DL are freshmen and sophomores. So it wouldn't surprise me to see swiss cheese defense in OOC and then suddenly becoming a good defense in conference play.

[jhanel]

Lost 12 starters 8 on defense and 4 on offense.

Offense:

We have good depth at RB, WR, TE, FB. We have good depth on the O-Line, but only had 4 healthy O-Line for the spring game(which turned into a passing drill because of injuries). If they all get healthy, cross fingers, and stay healthy, we could have a very experienced O-Line. Paul Harris, at QB, showed great promise last year and should develop into an even better QB this year. Tyler Wolfe should also be in the mix. He had off-season shoulder surgery and was not able to throw during the spring, but he gives us a really big arm when healthy. We will have to just wait and see on all the incoming freshman. Fall practice should let us know who will contribute and who will redshirt.

Defense:

We lost a lot, but I think we got a lot faster. We had a minus 19 turnover ration last year, horrible. We have to get more turnovers on defense.
The defense looked very good in the spring. We are very young but we are very athletic and play a lot more physical. Replacing 3 starters at linebacker and 3 starters in the secondary will be tough, but the want and talent are there.
Coach Jay Thomas(Nicholls ex-Head Coach) our new D-Line coach, has brought a lot to the table, the players are playing hard for him, and looked great during the spring.
As on offense Fall practice should let us know who will contribute as true freshman.

Special Teams:

Hope to get a lot better on punting, or at least consistent. Watched Shaughnessy kick a few 50 yard FG's during the spring. He looks much improved from last year. We also have Bradley Brown (WR), and Phillip Harvey (WR), both sophomores coming back.

We will not see another 0-11 season. NSU will be the underdog in every game, except maybe one. The players and coaches believe that great things will happen this year. I agree. So, I hope everyone takes us lightly.

[TexasTerror]

Sam Houston State

Offensively, we are waiting for confirmation on Tyrik Rollison's status at the school. Is he coming in or not? Sometimes these transfers are tricky and he may be getting some hours at summer school to become eligible.

Running back is very young at this point and it would not surprise me if we find a JUCO transfer. At WR, we have a pair of JUCO transfers from Blinn JC that should be able to step in right away. Again, some youngsters there as well - I do like that we have Rollison's playmaker from HS - Jace Jackson - though he was not in the spring two deep.

Defensively, we were young a year ago. Scott Stoker changed the system then too. LB Will Henry and DL Coty Gatewood are probably two of our better known players.

5 of 7 penciled in starters in the secondary are underclassmen. If these guys take another step forward this year, we'll be good for the future.

Special teams, we return Miguel Antonio at kicker. This is good as he has length. SHSU also added Craig Alaniz, a transfer from UTEP, who is a kicker. Not sure what we'll see return-wise, but there are a few speedy options.

I'm predicting in the 4-5 win territory, pending what JUCO transfers or FBS transfers we add.

[txstatebobcat]

Jhanel- Is Paul Harris the QB that played against TxST last season? I was impressed by that QB, he made our defense look silly with his running game.

TT - I noticed how young SHSU is when I checked the two deep. Its been a couple of weeks but I think I only saw three seniors in the entire two deep.

[TexasTerror]

Jhanel- Is Paul Harris the QB that played against TxST last season? I was impressed by that QB, he made our defense look silly with his running game.

Paul Harris is going to be a special QB. Notice something about him? He was 0-11 as a freshman (though he did not start all the games) and so was Jeremy Moses of SFA. If Harris can develop as rapidly, well - we'll see...


TT - I noticed how young SHSU is when I checked the two deep. Its been a couple of weeks but I think I only saw three seniors in the entire two deep.

I believe we lost about 27 seniors from last year's squad and that this is the youngest squad that SHSU has since moving to the Division I level. We'll have quite a few hurdles to overcome...

[Hood]

I'm not sure of our specific depth issues, all I know is we're going from an option offense to a passing offense....with a lot of option based recruits.


I'm not optimistic.

[UCABEARS75]

At UCA we lost a ton of very good players from our defense and we now go into our second straight season without a proven (QB); in other words without Nathan Brown.

However, I believe we will be athletic though young on defense and by the end of the season I believe our defense will be close to as good as last year's team.

With what I am hearing about our QB play in the spring and the quality depth we have at RB and in the OL I am confident our offense will be MUCH better than last year.

My prediction is 7-4 or with a break or two 8-3.

[mikebigg]

I've been meaning to catch UCA when they play one of the Louisiana schools... Is Clint Conque still the head coach?

[TexasTerror]

My prediction is 7-4 or with a break or two 8-3.

I got you down at 8-3. That'd be a strong year and could put you on the verge of a playoff berth in wake of expansion.


I've been meaning to catch UCA when they play one of the Louisiana schools... Is Clint Conque still the head coach?

Yep - Conque is the longest-tenured coach at any SLC school - at least as far as being at the same school.