The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly wrecked havoc in all forms of entertainment and sport over the past year, with perhaps arguably no form affected more than FCS football.
On Thursday, the Southern Conference held its annual football media day via a zoom virtual call, and though many uncertainties remain heading into the 2020-21 season, coaches and student-athletes are just ready for some sense of normalcy to return, and normalcy means having a football season even if it is in the spring and in a limited capacity.
The coaches and players are ready to go, and a eight-game conference schedule was unveiled in the fall. Four teams went ahead and played at least one game in the fall, while the other four opted to wait until the spring. That seven-game slate will get underway on Feb. 20.
Below is the selected order of finish for both the media and coaches, as well as the coaches' all-conference teams.
2020-21 Preseason Southern Conference Media Poll
Team (1st-place votes) Total
1. Furman (16) 246
2. Wofford (10) 228
3. Chattanooga 192
4. The Citadel (3) 164
5. Samford 142
6. Mercer 118
7. VMI 91
8. ETSU 75
9. Western Carolina 49
2020-21 Preseason Southern Conference Coaches Poll
Team (1st-place votes) Total
1. Wofford (5) 60
2. Furman (3) 56
3. Chattanooga (1) 53
4. The Citadel 39
5. Samford 34
t6. VMI 26
t6. Mercer 26
8. ETSU 20
9. Western Carolina 10
2020-21 Preseason All-Southern Conference Football Teams
Offensive Player of the Year: Reece Udinski, QB, Sr., VMI
Defensive Player of the Year: Willie Eubanks III, LB, Sr., The Citadel
First team offense
QB Reece Udinski, Sr., VMI
RB Quay Holmes, R-Jr., ETSU
RB Devin Wynn, Sr., Furman
OL Haden Haas, R-Jr., The Citadel
OL Tre’mond Shorts, R-Jr., ETSU
OL Mike Williams, Sr., Samford
OL Cole Strange, R-Sr., Chattanooga
OL Nick Hartnett, R-Sr., VMI
TE Nate Adkins, Jr., ETSU
WR Montrell Washington, Sr., Samford
WR Bryce Nunnelly, Sr., Chattanooga
First team defense
DL Blake Bockrath, R-Sr., ETSU
DL Armond Lloyd, Sr., Samford
DL Devonnsha Maxwell, R-Jr., Chattanooga
DL Jordan Ward, Sr., VMI
DL Jayden Pauling, Jr., Western Carolina
DL Michael Mason, So., Wofford
LB Willie Eubanks III, Sr., The Citadel
LB Adrian Hope, R-Jr., Furman
LB Ty Boeck, Jr., Chattanooga
DB Chris Beverly, Jr., The Citadel
DB Tyree Robinson, Jr., ETSU
DB Brandon Dowdell, Sr., Chattanooga
DB A.J. Smith, Sr., VMI
First team specialists
PK Mitchell Fineran, Jr., Samford
P Matthew Campbell, Jr., The Citadel
RS Montrell Washington, Sr., Samford
Second team offense
QB Hamp Sisson, R-So., Furman
RB Jay Stanton, So., Samford
RB Ailym Ford, So., Chattanooga
OL Jordan Harris, R-Sr., Furman
OL Evan Jumper, So., Furman
OL McClendon Curtis, R-Jr., Chattanooga
OL Harrison Moon, Sr., Chattanooga
OL Chad Gardner, Jr., Wofford
OL Zak Kurz, Jr., Wofford
TE Chris James, Sr., Chattanooga
WR Raleigh Webb, R-Sr., The Citadel
WR Jakob Herres, Jr., VMI
Second team defense
DL Dalton Owens, R-Jr., The Citadel
DL Cameron Coleman, R-So., Furman
DL Jay Person, R-So., Chattanooga
DL Tanner Barnes, So., Wofford
LB Braden Gilby, R-So., Furman
LB Nathan East, Jr., Samford
LB Ty Harris, Sr., Western Carolina
DB Travis Blackshear, R-So., Furman
DB Ty Herring, Sr., Samford
DB Jordan Jones, R-Sr., Chattanooga
DB Darron Paschal, Sr., Wofford
Second team specialists
PK Tyler Keltner, So., ETSU
P Bradley Porcellato, Jr., Samford
RS Korey Bridy, Jr., VMI
Furman and Wofford Top the two polls
Both Furman (8-5, 6-2 SoCon/2nd in 2019) and Wofford (8-4, 7-1 SoCon/1st in 2019) topped the media and coaches' polls, for the 2020-21 Southern Conference football season, respectively. Those were the two teams that battled it out for the Southern Conference title on Nov.16, 2019, with the Terriers able to get a 24-7 win over the Paladins at Gibbs Stadium.
Wofford has won the last three Southern Conference regular-season crowns, and will be looking to be the fourth-straight Southern Conference title since Appalachian State won six-straight from 2005-10. The Terriers welcome the return of 10 starters to the fold for the upcoming campaign.
Despite a disappointing finish for the Southern Conference in the FCS playoffs last fall, the one thing Wofford could hang its hat on in 2019 is that it finished out the decade as the team of the decade in the Southern Conference, and many had questioned who might pick up the slack following the departures of Appalachian State, Elon and Georgia Southern foilowing the 2013 season.
That team proved to be Wofford, as the Terriers claimed five outright or shared regular-season SoCon titles from 2010-19, and the 2010s were easily the Terriers’ most successful decade as a football program since joining the SoCon as a football playing member in 1997.
All told, the Terriers posted an 81-42 overall record over the past 10 seasons, which included a 56-24 in league action, the aforementioned five league crowns, and have made seven FCS playoff appearances over the past 10 seasons.
Wofford finished out the 2010s in strong fashion, finishing out the decade with three-straight Southern Conference crowns, and head into the 2020s having made four-straight FCS playoff appearances.
Wofford also underwent a coaching transition, as it was announced after the 2017 season that 30-year legendary and Southern Conference Hall-of-Fame head coach Mike Ayers would be stepping down as the head coach of the Terriers. An arduous search for candidates led the Terriers back to hiring one of their own--Josh Conklin--who returned to Wofford and is 2-for-2 in managing to lead the Terriers to back-to-back playoff appearances and retain its Southern Conference crown.
His third season at the helm in Spartanburg, however, could prove to be his toughest-to-date. Wofford returns just 11 starters from that team that finished 8-4 a year ago, and rebounded to have a pretty solid campaign after getting off to an 0-2 start.
The real sting was left by that had eligibility remaining, but opted to transfer out and play elsewhere for their final seasons of eligibility. Two talented all-conference offensive linemen, in Josh Burger and Blake Jeresaty will be missed, while Thad Mangum and Mikell Horton have opted to exercise that option on the defensive line.
The good news is Wofford usually has little trouble re-loading in the trenches on both sides of the ball, year-in and year-out. Perhaps the more pressing question for the Terriers might be who will step in to replace under center for the Terriers.
The good news is Wofford was one of the few teams in Division I football that got to complete its entire spring practice before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and were able to get some quality reps for Appalachian State transfer Peyton Derrick, as well as Jimmy Weirick, as those two are the two most likely candidates to draw interest as fall camp gets closer.
The Terriers should still be strong defensively, despite the losses of both Mangum and Horton along the defensive line. The good news for the defensive line is the return of Michael Mason, who comes off an outstanding first season as a Terrier, posting 10.5 tackles-for-loss and seven sacks. Mason is one of seven starters that returns from a Wofford defense that finished out the 2019 season as the SoCon’s statistical champion for total defense (335.3 YPG), while ranking second in the league in scoring defense (22.1 PPG).
Furman's fourth-year head coach Clay Hendrix believes he has his most-experienced, seasoned football team returning for the 2020-21 season, despite losing co-starting quarterback Darren Grainger to transfer on the offensive side of the ball, and on defense, having to replace Taylor Hodge from the middle of the Paladin defensive line. The other major loss the Paladins have to deal with is All-America place-kicker Grayson Atkins, who transferred to the University of North Carolina as a grad transfer this past fall.
The Paladins struggled to stop the game in their five losses last season, particularly in their FCS losses to Wofford, The Citadel and Austin Peay, the Paladins yielded an average of 272.6 YPG on the ground in those three FCS setbacks, while the Paladins surrendered 177.4 YPG on the ground for the season, which ranked third overall in the Southern Conference in 2019.
The reason why the Paladins could once again field a top 10 ground game is due to the fact that a talented quartet of backs, which features senior Devin Wynn, junior Devin Abrams, sophomore Wayne Anderson Jr., and redshirt sophomore Dominic Roberto.
The Paladins have Adrian Hope back at iinebacker, and his 21.5-career sacks already rank as the third-most in program history. Travis Blackshear is one of the best young cornerbacks in the Southern Conference, and he will anchor the secondary.
Mocs Picked third by media and coaches
Chattanooga (6-6, 5-3 SoCon/3rd in SoCon in 2019) was a team that made some waves under first-year head coach Rusty Wright after struggling the previous two seasons under Tom Arth.
One of the reasons for such optimism is the excitement the Mocs generated last season, including some young talent that helped re-energize the program after that great run from 2012-16 in the latter part of Russ Huesman’s stint seven-year stint as the head coach of the Mocs.
The Mocs had one of the most exciting freshman running backs in all of FCS football last season, in Florence, S.C., native Ailym Ford. Ford had a season that almost topped former Mocs standout James Roberts rookie campaign back in 1989, as Roberts rushed for a Chattanooga freshman record 1,090 yards during his first season in the Scenic City.
Ford, who had his season cut short due to a torn ACL, finished just 10 yards shy of setting a new mark in the Mocs rushing record books, as he finished his career with 1,081 rushing yards prior to going down with the season-ending knee injury. The good news is that Ford is off to quite the start to his young Chattanooga career, keeping good company with Smith, who finished his career as the program’s third all-time leading rusher.
The Mocs did manage to make one appearance during the fall, and that came against Western Kentucky, as Chattanooga lost what was a heartbreaking, 13-10, contest to FBS and Conference USA member Western Kentucky. It appeared the Mocs might pick up the lone win of the fall for the SoCon against the Hilltoppers.
Following a 100-yard kickoff return from All-America wide receiver Bryce Nunnelly with 1:21 seemingly gave the Mocs a 17-13 lead over the Hilltoppers at Jimmy Feix Field, however, the score was called back after it was ruled that one of the return men, which was not Nunnelly, and the score was taken off the board. The Hilltoppers
The biggest order of business for Wright and the Mocs offense heading into fall camp will be finding the right replacement for veteran quarterback Nick Tiano under center. Tiano completed a successful three-year career with the Mocs last season, and ended up on an NFL roster, signing as an undrafted free agent contract with the Houston Texans.
The big-armed quarterback finished out a stellar career for the Mocs, fashioning a three-year stint as a starter that placed him as the program’s seventh all-time leading passer after transferring in from Mississippi State in the spring of 2016. He finished his Chattanooga career with 5,825 pass yards, while his 35-career scoring tosses were good enough to tie him for sixth in program history.
Set to try and step into the rather large shoes left as a result of Tiano’s graduation will be senior Drayton Arnold, who hails from Myrtle Beach, S.C. and transferred into the program from Old Dominion last year. Arnold will be more of a dual-threat signal-caller for the Mocs this season than Tiano has been the past three seasons. Arnold started the only game of the fall against the Hilltoppers, as he completed 9-of-23 passes for 90 yards, while rushing for 46 yards and a touchdown on 13 attempts.
During his time at Old Dominion, Arnold saw time in only three games for Old Dominion, with his most significant action coming in a loss to Tennessee, as he completed 5-of-10 passes for 36 yards. He was originally a three-star recruit coming out of Myrtle Beach High School in 2016, and was ranked as the No. 52 recruit in the state by rivals.com.
Set to battle him for the starting job will be Cole Copeland, who reAll told, the Mocs had a league-high 11 players selected to the preseason All-SoCon team, turns to the program following a two-year hiatus and now has his academics in order well enough to return to the gridiron.
Bulldogs head into the fall with plenty of talent, as well as question marks
So much has changed for The Citadel's (6-6, 4-4 SoCon/T-4th in 2019) football program since August, with players like Brandon Rainey and Dante Smith--two players that made The Citadel one of the best ground attacks in the FCS back in 2019 opting out of the spring season.
The Bulldogs ended up playing more games than anyone this past fall, due mostly to the financial adversity the school was going to endure from not being able to have a fall season, and subsequently, The Citadel went out and challenged itself in the fall, taking on South Florida (L, 6-27), Clemson (L, 0-49), Eastern Kentucky (L, 14-37) and Army (L, 9-14).
It would turn out to be the last go-around for quarterback Brandon Rainey, who would have entered the FCS fall season as a potential All-America candidate had their been a normal conference season. That having been said, things obviously didn't turn out that way due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result, like several other teams around the SoCon, the Bulldogs will also be breaking in a new signal-caller this fall, in Jaylan Adams. Adams was a player that was able to end up logging some valuable playing time during the fall for the Bulldogs, and those reps will help benefit him and The Citadel as they embark on the 2020-21 campaign.
Also back on offense includes a talented pillar of the offensive line, in Haden Haas, who was a preseason first-season All-SoCon selection, as well as big-play wideout Raleigh Webb, who like Haas, found himself on the preseason All-SoCon team, as a member of the second-team offense.
When Webb was making a catch during the 2019 season, he was routinely ending up in the end zone with six points. The 6-2, 213-lb speedster completed the 2019 season by hauling in 30 passes for 617 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging an eye-popping 20.6 yards-per-reception. It was good enough to garner Webb first-team All-SoCon honors in the Bulldogs’ run-oriented offense. During the fall, Webb caught four passes for 105 yards and a score, averaging an impressive 26.2 yards-per-grab.
There was some question as to whether or not The Citadel would even be able to play a full eight-game conference schedule in the fall since it played four games in the fall, and the NCAA already mandated an 11-game regular-season for everyone in NCAA Division I football. However, the fourth game didn't end up hurting the Bulldogs in what was a strange year all-around, as the NCAA waived that rule due to financial hardship.
The Bulldogs, which were favored by some, including myself, to win the Southern Conference before the fall conference season was nullified due to the pandemic, returns talent on both sides of the ball, despite the losses of Rainey and Smith. One of the biggest keys to success for the Bulldogs on the defensive side of the football will be the return of arguably the best linebacker in all of FCS football, in Willie Eubanks III.
The reigning and preseason conference Defensive Player of the Year comes off an impressive fall season. In just four games, Eubanks III registered 43 tackles, 5.0 tackles-for-loss, and a pair of sacks. He recorded eight or more tackles in each of The Citadel's four games during the fall, which included a 14-tackle effort against Eastern Kentucky, and a 12-tackle performance against South Florida.
Rounding out the Bulldogs that found themselves among the preseason all-conference selection on either the media or coaches' all-league scrolls in the preseason were safety Chris Beverly (71 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 1 FF in 2019), who was selected to the first-team, while defensive lineman Dalton Owens (23 tackles, 8.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks in 2019) was a second-team pick. Punter Matt Campbell, who figures to challenge for All-America honors this fall, was also a first team selection as a part of the special teams unit.
The Citadel will kick off its 2020-21 campaign on Feb. 27, when the Bulldogs travel to Macon, GA., to tangle with the Mercer Bears.
Samford's 'Hatch Attack' offense is selected to finish fifth in both the coaches and media polls, respectively
Being completely honest here, I had Samford (5-7, 3-5 SoCon/T-4th in 2019) a little higher in my preseason ballot. In fact, I had the Bulldogs second. That's primarily because of the talent that comes from the state of Alabama in this sport, which akin to the type of talent that UNC Greensboro might get from the basketball talent-rich state of North Carolina in hoops.
And if there's one thing I at least know you can count on year-in and year-out for Samford, it's the talent factor. That might not always equate to an upper-echelon finish, however, as has proven in recent years. That being said, and confused more than ever by what I saw from some team's in the fall, I decided to go with Chris Hatcher's Bulldogs as my second-place team in the SoCon.
With so much talent two years ago and having failed to live up to preseason expectations as the prohibitive favorites to win the SoCon, some have wondered if 2020-21 season might have been a make-or-break season for Chris Hatcher, who heads into his sixth season at the helm for the Bulldogs. However, with the pandemic, it has alleviated some of that pressure and quelled some of that speculation.
In the five previous seasons, though, Hatcher has maintained the level previous bar set by his predecessor Pat Sullivan, however, he hasn’t elevated better talent than the Sullivan days to that next naturally progressive level. He’ll have another chance to do that this spring, as the Bulldogs return 13 starters (6-offense, 7-defense).
The Bulldogs were inconsistent on both sides of the ball for the majority of the 2019 season, with the Bulldogs ranking 111th (456.8 YPG) nationally in total defense last fall, while ranking tied for 117th nationally in scoring defense (37.8 PPG) in 2019.
On offense, both quarterback Chris Oladokun and Liam Welch split time behind center for the Bulldogs’ high-octane, ‘Hatch Attack’ offense.Oladokun got off to the stronger start, but suffered some mid-season nagging injuries, which slowed his pace down the stretch of the season.
Still, Oladokun completed his first season in Birmingham, connecting on 169-of-272 passes for 2,064 yards, with 18 TDs and seven INTs. The South Florida transfer was also strong running the football for the Bulldogs in 2019, completing the campaign with 493 yards and eight scores. He finished with 2,557 yards of total offense.
The biggest challenge offensively for the Bulldogs this fall offensively is replacing three starters along the offense, as well as its top two receivers, in Chris Shelling and Roland Adams.
Most of the struggles for Samford came in the same area that virtually every other team in the SoCon had trouble solving defensively last season, which was stopping the run. The Bulldogs ranked 113th of 124 teams in the FCS at defending the run in 2019, surrendering 235.5 YPG.
The Bulldogs operate out of a 3-4 defensive alignment, and return two of three starters along the defensive front fotr the 2019 season, including Armond Lloyd, who earned second-team All-SoCon honors as selected by the media. The senior finished the 2019 campaign with 63 tackles, 8.5 tackles-for-loss, a pair of sacks and a fumble recovery last fall.
Also returning on the defensive side of the football is first-team All-SoCon selection John Staton at linebacker. Staton led the Bulldogs and the SoCon with 116 tackles last season, 3.0 tackles-for-loss and a fumble recovery last season.
Samford had eight players named to the preseason All-SoCon team Tuesday, with wideout Montrell Washington garnering recognition as both a wideout and return specialist. As a receiver in 2019, Washington hauled in 28 passes for 405 yards and three scores, while as a punt return specialist, completed the campaign with 15 punt returns for an average of 21.9 YPR, which included a TD. As a kick return threat, Washington completed the 2019 campaign with seven kick returns for an average of 22.1 YPR. He garnered preseason first-team honors as both a return specialist and wide receiver.
Offensive lineman Mike Williams and place-kicker Mitchell Fineran (15-of-21 on FGs, 46-of-47 on PATs) also garnered preseason first-team honors, while sophomore running back Jay Stanton was a preseason second-team All-SoCon honoree. Stanton completed the campaign by rushing for 690 yards and seven touchdowns on 122 attempts, averaging 5.7 yards-per-carry.
On the defensive side of the football, the Bulldogs lone first-team preseason All-SoCon selection was defensive lineman Armond Lloyd (63 tackles, 8.5 TFL, 2.0 sacks, 1.0 FR in 2019), while linebacker Nathan East (82 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 4 QBHs, 3 PBUs) and defensive back Ty Herring (73 tackles, 1 PBU, 1 INT, 1 TD) were second-team selections.
Punter Brad Porcellato (40.2 YPP) was also a second-team selection for the Bulldogs, as Samford had a player selected to the special teams at all three major positions.
Samford opens its 2020-21 slate on Feb. 20 in Johnson City against East Tennessee State.
Mercer and VMI tied for sixth in coaches poll, while the Bears ranked sixth and the Keydets seventh in the league's media poll
It's the start of a new era for Mercer (4-8, 3-5 SoCon/7th in 2019) football, and while an 0-3 mark in the fall might have been the official start, it almost felt like a trial run for first-year head coach Drew Cronic, as Mercer now has something to officially play for in the spring of 2021. During the fall season, Mercer faced off against Jacksonville State (L, 27-34), Abilene Christian (L, 17-20) and
The Bears parted ways with Bobby Lamb after seven seasons last fall, hiring Lamb’s former assistant and wide receivers coach at Furman, Drew Cronic.
Cronic will give the Mercer offense a jolt, and pump life back into a program that showed signs of decline in Lamb’s final two seasons, with the Bears having suffered an inordinate amount of injuries in the process.
Lamb had such a promising start at Mercer through his first four seasons in Macon only to see it fizzle in the final three. However, it was Lamb that likely helped Mercer gain entrance into the Southern Conferene, and convince leadership to go with scholarship football back when he was hired in July of 2011.
While Lamb may have moved on, the excitement might be back for Mercer with Lamb’s former offensive understudy now taking the reins of the program.
Cronic, a native of the Peach State by way of Sharpsburg, has grown up around football all of his life, with his father Danny Cronic having been a highly successful coach himself coaching at both East Coweta High School and Reinhardt before turning the reins over to his son at the NAIA school in 2015. Cronic coached at Reinhardt for two seasons, helping the Eagles put up numbers like they were going out of style in what can best be described as a hybrid/spread option offensive scheme.
Cronic led the Eagles all the way to the quarterfinals of the NAIA playoffs in 2016, as Reinhardt averaged an impressive 51.1 PPG and 550.6 YPG en route to leading the program to a 13-1 record. The Eagles led the nation in both scoring offense and total offense in 2016. Cronic’s first season at Reinhardt had seen him lead the Eagles to a nine-win campaign.
Cronic then returned for his second stint at Furman in 2017 as the Paladins’ offensive coordinator under newly hired head coach Clay Hendrix. Cronic was a major part of Furman’s resurrection of gridiron success in 2017 following a dark three seasons in Greenville, which led to the exit of Hendrix’s predecessor, Bruce Fowler.
In his second stint back at Furman, Cronic helped the Paladins average 34 PPG, a playoff win, and as high as a No. 22 ranking in the STATS FCS poll. He also was largely responsible for helping senior quarterback P.J. Blazejowski garner Second Team All-SoCon honors.
Cronic would leave Greenville after only one season to re-charge his batteries as a head coach, as he landed at NCAA Division II Lenoir Rhyne for the 2018 and ‘19 campaigns. During his time as the head coach of another school that just happened to have the masoct of a Bear, Cronic was able help engineer the largest turnaround in the nation in his two years at the helm.
The season prior to Cronic’s arrival, the Bears had been a woeful 3-8, however, following two seasons with the 44-year old coach at the helm, the Bears were 25-3 and back-to-back South Atlantic Conference titles during that span. He helped the Bears gain entrance into the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time since 2014 in his first season. The seven-win improvement from 2017-to-2018 marked the sixth-greatest turnaround for any program at the NCAA Division II level.
In 2019, the Bears won a school-record 13 games, and found themselves in some unfamiliar territory, as Lenoir-Rhyne advanced two rounds in the playoffs to the quarterfinals for just the second time in school history. All told, in four seasons as a head coach at the NAIA and NCAA Division II levels, Cronic has compiled an impressive 47-6 record as a head coach to go along with four conference titles.
In fact, in each of the past five seasons as either an assistant or head coach, Cronic has been associated with league crowns at Furman as an assistant, as well as two league titles in both seasons as head coach at Reinhardt, and followed up that same feat at Lenoir-Rhyne in 2018 and ‘19.
Prior to returning to Furman for his second stint as an offensive assistant in Greenville, Cronic spent the previous five seasons helping Reinhardt football get up and running under the leadership of his father from 2012-16.
In Cronic’s first stint as an assistant at Furman, he spent nine seasons (2002-10) as both an offensive assistant and recruiting coordinator under the then Paladin head coach Bobby Lamb. Cronic was extremely influential in two of the best seasons on the offensive side of the football in 2004 and ‘05. The Paladins fielded arguably its greatest corps of receivers at one time in school history, in Brian Bratton, Isaac West and Justin Stepp, as Cronic was their positional coach, helping each of their careers of three of the very best in Paladin football history.
He was part of a 2004 Paladin squad that shared the Southern Conference regular-season title, and an ‘05 squad that not only put together an unprecedented season in school history offensively, but also one that finished with an 11-3 record, falling just short of the FCS national title with a 29-23 loss to eventual national champion Appalachian State in Boone.
The 2005 Furman offense finished the season setting new school single-season standards for points scored (488), touchdowns scored (64), and total offense yardage per game (470.0 YPG). Cronic also helped Furman place in the SoCon annals in five offensive categories for a single season in league history, as the Paladins rank eighth all-time in points scored (488/2005), second in total yards amassed (6,580 yds/2005), ninth in total offense average per game (470.0 YPG/2005), second in total plays (1,061 plays/2005) and tied for ninth all-time in touchdowns scored (64/2005).
After playing for his father as the star quarterback at East Coweta High School before joining the University of Georgia football program as a wide receiver and special teams contributor during the mid-1990s.
With Robert Riddle expected to return under center for the 2020-21 season, I expect this Bears offense to be exciting to watch this spring. When you add running back Tyray Devezin in the mix, who has rushed for 2,187 yards and 20 TDs in his Bears career, it only adds to the potential explosiveness this Bears offense could have in the spring.
Also teaming with Devezin in what looks to be a strong offensive backfield is speedy Deondre Johnson (75 rush att, 459 yds, 3 TDs, 6.1 YPC), who returned the opening kickoff vs. Jacksonville State 100 yards for a score, as got the Drew Cronic era off to an outstanding start in Macon.
On the defensive side of the football, the Bears have one of better safeties in the SoCon, in Lance Wise, who had an outstanding fall, which was highlighted by a 20-tackle effort in the final game of the fall season in the three-point setback to Abilene Christian.
All told, the Bears will have five starters back on the defensive side of the ball. Mercer really struggled on the defensive side of the football throughout the 2019 season, having surrendered 472.7 YPG and 35.4 PPG, which ultimately led to Lamb being led out of Macon. Mercer will kick off its eight-game 2020-21 slate at defending champion Wofford--a school which the Bears have yet to defeat since joining the SoCon as an official league member in 2014.
VMI (5-7, 4-4 SoCon/T-4th) made major imrprovements during the 2019 football season in what was Scott Wachenheim’s fifth season at the helm, as the Keydets finished with a 5-7 overall record, which included a 4-4 record in league play. Heading into Wachenheim's sixth season at the helm this fall, there is arguably more optimism surrounding the program than any in recent memory.
The four Southern Conference wins by the Keydets marked the first time since the 1991 season that VMI finished the season with four or more Southern Conference wins. It also marked the first time since the 2002 season that the Keydets knocked off military arch-rival The Citadel, as the Keydets took a 34-21 win in Charleston.
The Keydets will have to try and accomplish that feat this season with one of their own on the opposite sideline, as record-setting running back Alex Ramsey has moved on, but there is enough talent returning on the offensive side of the football, which includes record-setting quarterback and preseason SoCon Offensive Player of the Year Reece Udinski, to consider the Keydets as once again being a really tough out in the league.
While Ramsey will be missed, another extremely important piece returns to the VMI offense this spring, in record-setting signal-caller Reece Udinski, who set a new mark for passes thrown without an interception, spanning the end of the 2018 season and into the 2019 campaign, as he completed the campaign with 368 passes thrown without an INT, shattering the old mark of 342, which was once set by jimmy Blanchard at Portland State back in 1999.
All Udinski did was establish himself as a worthy Walter Payton Award candidate in his own right, completing the 2019 campaign by connecting on 306-of-479 passes for 3,276 yards, 19 touchdowns and just five interceptions and will enter the 2020 campaign as the top quarterback in the Southern Conference.
Udinski will lead what should once again be an outstanding offense even without Ramsey, and it will be a unit that returns eight starters, including big-play threat and all-conference wideout Jakob Heres. Heres finished out the 2019 season by leading the SoCon in virtually ever receiving category, completing the 2019 season by hauling in 72 passes for 1,096 yards
The Keydets also retun all five starters along their offensive line, which helped the Keydets finish the 2019 season ranked 35th nationally in scoring offense (30.8 PPG), 18th in passing offense (286.6 YPG), and tied for 41st nationally in total offense (407.3 YPG). Udinski was one of two Keydets chosen to the preseason All-SoCon first-team, as he was joined by offensive lineman Nick Hartnett. Additionally on the offensive side of the ball, the aforementioned Jakob Heres was named to the second-team at wide recei
The area where VMI has continued to struggle during the Scott Wachenheim era has been on the defensive side of the football, where the Keydets finished last season ranking among the worst of all of FCS football, as the Keydets finished the campaign ranking 120th in total defense (494.8 YPG).
The Keydets return some solid players on the defensive side of the football, however, as the Keydets welcome back all-conference defensive back AJ Smith, who is a preseason first-team All-SoCon selection and will be one of the lynch pins on the defensive side of the ball this spring. He finished the 2019 campaign by totaling 67 tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss, three interceptions, seven passes defended, and one forced fumble.
Defensive end Jordan Ward, who started all 12 games for the Keydets in 2019, was also a first-team all-league pick following a campaign, which saw him finish the season with 53 tackles, 11 tackles-for-loss, and six quarterback hurries.
VMI will open the 2020-21 campaign at Chattanooga on Feb. 20.
If ETSU can solve its QB issues, it seems reasonable that the Bucs may finish higher than eighth
It's been a wild ride to say the least in two seasons under head coach Randy Sanders. From winning a SoCon title and nearly every close game in his first season at the helm in 2018, to losing every close game in heartbreaking fashion in the fall of 2019. That has been only part of the story for ETSU (3-9, 1-7 SoCon/9th in 2019) over the past couple of seasons.
The Bucs are faced with the same question entering a campaign for the third-straight season, however, and that is who will be the signal-caller when ETSU takes the field for its opener on Feb. 20 in William B. Greene Stadium against Samford.
It was just two years ago that ETSU made that magical run to the Southern Conference title under first-year head coach Randy Sanders. What did the defending champs do for an encore? They did something no other team has in the modern history of the Southern Conference, which is go from first-to-worst. That’s right. The Bucs went from winning just their second Southern Conference title in school history in 2018 to finishing ninth out of nine teams in the SoCon last fall, posting just a 1-7 mark in league play.
But it’s not as if the Bucs didn’t know what their problems were heading into the season. After all, the Bucs had no experience under center, which made for a rocky start to the season to say the least. Add to the fact that the quarterback who won the starting job in fall camp--Chance Thrasher--went down early in the second quarter of the season opener against Appalachian State, and the Coastal Carolina transfer never factored in to the plans for the Bucs in 2019
Trey Mitchell played a majority of the season under over center for the Bucs, and did enough to manage the offense and keep ETSU in every game. In fact, the Bucs were in most every game in conference play in what could otherwise be considered a most bizarre season for the men in the Old Gold and Blue uniforms.
The Bucs only loss by more than two touchdowns in league play came against Wofford at William B. Greene Stadium, as the Bucs dropped a 35-17 decision to the eventual league champions. ETSU dropped its other six Southern Conference losses by a touchdown or less. In fact, just like ETSU’s six wins in league play came by a combined 16 points in 2018, the Bucs lost seven league games by a combined 49 points last season, and if you take out the Wofford game, which was ETSU's lone loss by more than a TD last fall, the Bucs lost a combined six league games by a total of 31 points.
One of the reasons ETSU has been able to stay in every game during the Randy Sanders era--win or lose--has been thanks in large part to its talent and experience on the defensive side of the football. In the 2020-21 season, however, the Bucs defense must replace some key pieces on the defensive side of the football like Nasir Player and the media Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year and STATs Buck Buchanan Award finalist, Artevius Smith.
The Bucs will still be solid on that side of the ball this season, however, as some key pieces return to the unit. ETSU’s defense will welcome the return of redshirt senior linebacker Colton Lakes and defensive back Tyree Robinson (50 tackles, 3.0 TFL, 8 PBUs, 1 FF) will be two anchors of the 2020-21 ETSU defense. Robinson Last season, ETSU fielded an impressive defense that yielded just 20.1 PPG and just 373.3 YPG. He saw action only eight games in 2019 before injuries cut his season short by four games, however, is considered one of the favorites to challenge for the league's Defensive Player of the Year accolade.
Joining Robinson as a member of the SoCon's preseason all-conference team on the defensive side of the football is LB/DL Blake Bockrath (57 tackles, 6.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks, 4 QBHs)
Many of the problems that ETSU had last season came offensively, outside the play of All-SoCon running back Quay Holmes, stemmed from the inconsistencies under center.
Cade Weldon, who suffered a preseason shoulder injury after transferring in from Miami, and Tyler Riddell, who saw action in four games as a true freshman last season, are the two main QBs in competition for the starting job. While Weldon should gain the starting nod, Riddell finished his true freshman campaign by completing 17-of-33 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown.
The Bucs will be young along the offensive line, however, that won’t likely phase the All-America running back Holmes, who comes off another outstanding season running the football for the Bucs. He finished the 2019 campaign as the SoCon’s third-leading rusher, with 1,143 yards and seven touchdowns on 206 carries, averaging 5.5 YPC. The 1,143 rushing yards in a season last fall was an ETSU single-season record. In two seasons for the Bucs, Holmes has 2,071 rushing yards and 20 rushing TDs.
Holmes, who was a first-team All-SoCon selection and will be a favorite to challenge for league Offensive Player of the Year honors this fall, was joined on the All-SoCon offense by offensive lineman Tre'Mond Shorts (1st team) and tight end Nate Adkins (25 rec, 241 yds, 2 TDs, 9.6 YPR).
The lone member of the special teams, which was able to garner preseason All-SoCon accolades was place-kicker Tyler Keltner, who connected on 14-of-18 field goals in 2019 as a true freshman, and was a preseason second-team all-league pick heading into the 2020-21 campaign.
Of the six Bucs chosen as preseason All-SoCon honorees for the 2020-21 campaign, five of them were chosen as first-team selections, which is tied for most in the league. ETSU will host Samford on Feb. 20 to open the spring campiagn.
Western Carolina rounds out the media and coaches polls
Like Chattanooga, The Citadel and Mercer, Western Carolina (3-9, 2-6 SoCon/8th in 2019) opted to play games in the fall, and in those three games, the Catamounts were outscored 157-47 by two really good FBS opponents, in North Carolina and Liberty, while getting dominated on the road at 1980s FCS powerhouse Eastern Kentucky.
Western Carolina head coach Mark Speir probably faces a make-or-break season heading into his eighth season at the helm in Cullowhee. Speir made some coaching adjustments, and that started with the defense side of the football, as the Catamounts came off a second-straight season in which they struggled to stop virtually anyone.
The Catamounts, however, finished the 2019 season strong on the defensive side of the football to finish rank 97th nationally (434.7 YPG) in total defense, however, it wasn’t enough for defensive and Speir’s longtime friend and staffmate's at Appalachian State and Western Carolina, John Wiley, to keep his job as the Catamounts’ defensive coordinator.
Speir first promoted Tripp Weaver to defensive coordinator a little over a year ago to the day, only to see Weaver return to his alma mater at East Carolina a couple of weeks later as a defensive assistant in mid-January of 2020. Speir finally ended up hiring former Middle Tennessee State head coach Andy McCollum for the post. McCollum brings a experience and a track record of success as both a head coach and a defensive cooach during his 39 years of experience as both an assistant and head coach.
McCollum most recently served as a part of Paul Johnson’s staff at Georgia Tech in Atlanta where he coached several different positions on the defensive side of the football under former App State defensive coordinator Nate Woody. His most recent role as a defensive assistant at Goergia Tech came as the coach of nickel backs and safeties.
The Catamount head coach must first address the vacancy at the quarterback position, however, with the graduation of one of the greatest to ever suit up in the Purple and Gold behind center--Tyrie Adams.
The favorite to replace Adams under center the fall for the Catamounts will be redshirt junior Will Jones, who saw some action in each of the past two seasons in key moments when Adams was missing due to injury or suspension.
Jones comes off a 2019 season, which saw him complete 62-of-97 passes for 443 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. He will compete with Mark Wright for the starting responsibilities this spring. He connected 13-of-25 passes for 73 yards, with a pair of INTs in the fall.
The Catamounts biggest homerun hitter on offense this fall might come from the running back position, where Donavan Spencer returns following a season which saw him lead the Catamounts in rushing, completing the season with 530 yards and four touchdowns. He was also an effective pass-catcher out of the backfield, as he hauled in 19 passes for 233 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Catamounts top threat through the air will be Owen Cosenke, who heads into the 2020 campaign as one of the best pass-catching tight ends in all of college football. Cosenke finished the 2019 season with 22 catches for 246 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Two players as a part of the Catamount defense were chosen to the preseason All-SoCon team, with both linebacker Ty Harris (109 tackles, 7.0 TFL) and defensive end Jayden Paulding (51 tackles, 11.0 TFL, 6.5 sacks in 2019) were first-team all-league selections.
Western Carolina opens the 2020-21 spring season on the road when it faces preseason favorite Furman on Feb. 20.
2020-21 SoCon Virtual Media Day Audio
SoCon John's Predicted Order of Finish for 2021:
1 | Furman |
2 | Samford |
3 | Chattanooga |
4 | Wofford |
5 | The Citadel |
6 | VMI |
7 | Mercer |
8 | East Tennessee State |
9 | Western Carolina |
2019 SoCon Football Recap (PDF)
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