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Written By
Written By
Written By
The quarterback position will see a competition between holdovers Landry Lyddy and John White, along with newcomers Ethan Hampton (Illinois) and true freshman Hugh Price. Price is 6-foot-5 and the quarterback of the future. Hampton has experience, starting 14 games at Northern Illinois.
The running back room returns some experience in Robert Briggs. He started two games last season. There are four transfers in this room. Jamarice Wilder (Louisville), Brandon Hood (UMass), Steven Richardson (JUCO), and Jaylen Foster (JUCO) will all see action. Most of these guys are smaller, quicker backs.
The wide receiver room returns some experience in Grant Page and Davis Dalton. The additions of Jaylen Himes (D2 Wingate), AJ Little (Chattanooga), Kaden Saunders (Penn State), Mario Sanders II (Illinois), MJ Johnson (JUCO), Eelijah Singleton (JUCO), and multiple tight ends, provide a lot of weapons for this unit.
The offensive line returns some experience in Luke Rogers, Broderick Roman, and Liam Cassidy. The additions of Joe Rounds (D2 Virginia Union), Braden Cain (Texas Southern), Toby Mealer (Louisiana Tech), Christian Young (D2 Emory & Henry), Zerian Hudson (Troy), Brayden Warner (JUCO), and Dante Devine (JUCO), among others, will need time to gel together.
The defensive line room is almost all transfers. The additions of Xavier McIver (East Carolina), Jeffery Rush (Ole Miss), Will Smith (North Texas), A’mari Wilson (Campbell), Jackson Banks (Western Carolina), JR Stegall (Towson), Josh Jackson (Nicholls), Nasim Cario (Southeast Missouri State), Kameron Cyprien (JUCO), and Ramon Pernas (JUCO), among others, will also need time to gel together.
The linebacker room returns some experience in Mathis Haygood and Avery Sledge. The additions of Melvin Spriggs (Akron), Andrew Martin (Stetson), and Teyondre Coleman (JUCO), among others, bring a lot to the table. Martin has proven production at the FCS level.
The secondary returns some experience in MaLik Caswell, Ishmael Ibraheem, and Malakai Murphy. The additions of Kobi Albert (UConn), Jonah Martinez (TCU), Baron Taylor (Southern Utah), Kolby Peavy (Alabama), Michael Robinson III (UConn), Kelby Hampton (New Hampshire), Champ Lewis (Tulsa), Jordan Pride (Texas A&M), Hiroshi Carr (Morgan State), Laquan Robinson (Kansas), Landon Sylvie (Southeast Missouri State), and Jyaire Brown (UCF) bring tons of talent to this unit.
Punting duties will belong to Aussie Dusty Zimmer. He was originally signed with Washington. Kicking duties will belong to either Creighton Wilbanks or Reed Harradine. Either way, they need more consistency. Chattanooga transfer AJ Little is a valuable weapon. He had two punt returns for touchdowns last season.
Blake Anderson takes over but has a brand-new team. He is a proven winner, going to nine bowl games in 10 seasons at Arkansas State and Utah State. With that said, this team will need time to gel with all the new faces. Come November though, I wouldn’t want to play this team.
