Head coach Steve Roberts enters his 9th season at Arkansas State feeling the pressure of producing a winning team in 2010. The Red Wolves finished a disappointing 4-8 last year and return 11 starters from that team. Expectations have lessened and Roberts usually turns out his best teams when they fly under the radar. View the full conference breakdown in our 2010 Sun Belt football predictions article.
The Red Wolves offense struggled with consistency last year even though they returned a four year starter at quarterback. Corey Leonard left as the school's all time leader in total offense, but was benched twice in 2009 and ended his career by tearing an ACL. The decision was made midway through the season to give redshirt freshman Ryan Aplin an opportunity to showcase his skills. Aplin finished the year with a 65% completion rate and threw for 889 yards. He finished second on the team in rushing, but watched spring practice after recovering from shoulder surgery. That injury could cost him the starting job this year as Phillip Butterfield was impressive in Aplin's absence. Arkansas State will make the change to a no huddle offense in 2010. Reggie Arnold led the team in rushing with 723 yards and 12 touchdowns but will not return. Derek Lawson played behind Arnold a year ago and should get an opportunity to be the full time back. He rushed for 244 yards and two scores in 09'. The receiving core might have the biggest question marks on offense. Only sophomore Taylor Stockemer saw considerable action last year and was a downfield threat averaging over 21 yards per reception. Allen Muse and Kedric Murry combined for 13 catches and should play a much larger in the passing game. The offensive line returns all five starters and will be one of the top units in the Sun Belt. Being in much better shape was an off-season priority for the line with the new fast paced offense.
Live odds are available all season long at Betfirms. Our top handicappers provide expert college football picks to help you build a bankroll and beat the books!
The defense was not the problem last year as they were above average against both the run and the pass. They still managed to give up over 23 points/game, which had much to do with being -5 in turnover differential. The defensive line played strong versus the run, allowing 122 yards/game. This year they must replace three key starters and their star up front in Alex Carrington. Carrington was a 1st team all-conference selection and 3rd round draft pick by the Buffalo Bills. DT Bryan Hall has been a two year starter and recorded a team high 6.5 tackles for loss. He will need to increase his performance even more this season if the Red Wolves want to dominate the line of scrimmage. LB Demario Davis led the team in tackles as a sophomore with 80 stops. Javon McKinnon will run alongside Davis at the outside linebacker position and brings experience to the defense. He finished fourth on the team in tackles with 53. The secondary returns both safeties, but will have to find two new starters at corner. FS MD Jennings is the key player and was a 1st team all-conference member as a junior. His 64 tackles ranked second on the Red Wolves. Their pass defense could slip if they have issues with the new players at corner.
Three of Arkansas State's four non conference games are against BCS power conference teams. They almost defeated Iowa last year before ultimately losing by a field goal. A road trip to Auburn, AL opens things up on Sept. 4th. Their schedule is different in that they will play three conference games before the 1st of October. A key home game that has to be circled is their Nov. 2nd match-up with preseason conference favorite Middle Tennessee State. I think this team shows some improvement, but not enough for bowl eligibility and finishes with 5 wins.
iAutoblog the premier autoblogger software
No comments:
Post a Comment