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Southern Conference spring football glance

By CRAIG HALEY
Stats Perform FCS Senior Editor

(Stats Perform) - No disrespect to former Wofford quarterback Joe Newman, but the Southern Conference will return a lot of its leading offensive talent in the 2020 season.

Passers, rushers, receivers.

And that's the thing with Wofford. The three-time defending champion Terriers return the fewest starters in the conference, most notably losing Newman, who directed their triple option offense as the SoCon's offensive player of the year last season.

It's welcome news to Furman, The Citadel and the other teams that seek to unseat the champs in what could be a deep, terrific title race.

Following is a look across the SoCon with spring practices underway in college football:

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CHATTANOOGA

HEAD COACH: Rusty Wright (6-6, first season)

2019 RECORD: 6-6, 5-3 Southern (3rd)

PROJECTED RETURNING STARTERS: 17 (8 offense/9 defense)

PRIORITIES: Replacing quarterback Nick Tiano, likely with 2019 backup Drayton Arnold, although 2017 starter Cole Copeland has returned to the team. Getting healthy after 15 players on the season-opening, 44-player two-deep were unavailable for the final game.

NOTABLE: Wright earned a contract extension at his alma mater after only one season, so the Mocs hope to keep the momentum going this year. The majority of their All-SoCon players were underclassmen. Running back Ailym Ford's return from a knee injury is important, and Tyrell Price and Jeffrey Wood add to the potentially deep unit when also healthy. The defense lost a 100-tackle linebacker in Marshall Cooper, but returns one in junior Ty Boeck.

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ETSU

HEAD COACH: Randy Sanders (11-13, two seasons)

2019 RECORD: 3-9, 1-7 Southern (9th)

PROJECTED RETURNING STARTERS: 12 (6 offense/6 defense)

PRIORITIES: Rebuild the offensive and defensive lines after each lost three starters. Improve on third down on both sides of the ball.

NOTABLE: Last year's drop-off was greater than excepted following the Buccaneers' 2018 SoCon co-title. Youth will reign this season, although sophomore quarterback Trey Mitchell and junior running backs Quay Holmes and Jacob Saylors are highly experienced already. The defense will be hard-pressed to overcome the losses of defensive end Nasir Player and strong safety Artevius Smith, but having a healthier Tyree Robinson at free safety will boost the unit. The Bucs' road schedule is particularly tough, including Georgia, Austin Peay, The Citadel and Wofford.

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FURMAN

HEAD COACH: Clay Hendrix (22-14, three seasons)

2019 RECORD: 8-5, 6-2 Southern (2nd)

PROJECTED RETURNING STARTERS: 14 (8 offense/6 defense)

PRIORITIES: Getting consistency out of rising sophomore quarterbacks Darren Grainger and Hamp Sisson. Finding a replacement for place-kicker and punter Grayson Atkins, who departed as a grad transfer.

NOTABLE: The Paladins have advanced to the FCS playoffs in two of Hendrix's first three seasons and may be the team to beat in the SoCon. They're loaded at running back with Devin Wynn (1,182 yards, 14 touchdowns) and Devin Abrams (615, 6). The defense boasts defensive end Adrian Hope and linebacker Elijah McKoy, although both were more productive in 2018 than a year ago. All you have to know is the 2020 season kicks off with a home game against Wofford.

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MERCER

HEAD COACH: Drew Cronic (first season, 47-6 overall)

2019 RECORD: 4-8, 3-5 Southern (7th)

PROJECTED RETURNING STARTERS: 15 (8 offense/7 defense)

PRIORITIES: Transitioning to Cronic and his new coaching staff. Improving the rush defense, which ranked last in the SoCon (269.2 yards per game on 5.7 yards per carry).

NOTABLE: Cronic was an assistant coach in the SoCon at Furman from 2002-10 and then in 2017. There's competition everywhere following a coaching change, but quarterback Kaelan Riley is in the NCAA transfer portal and his departure would end the back-and-forth play between him and rising junior Robert Riddle. The offense boosts 1,000-yard rusher Tyray Devezin and a playmaker in wide receiver/kick returner David Durden. The Bears had a minus-12 turnover margin last season.

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SAMFORD

HEAD COACH: Chris Hatcher (32-26, five seasons; 153-83 overall)

2019 RECORD: 5-7, 4-4 Southern (Tie/4th)

PROJECTED RETURNING STARTERS: 15 (7 offense/8 defense)

PRIORITIES: Improving on last year's minus-13 turnover margin, which was the worst in the SoCon. The defense needs to be more sound in tackling.

NOTABLE: The Bulldogs did a solid job last season in overcoming the loss of 2018 Stats Perform Walter Payton Award recipient Devlin Hodges, but their offense still needs better consistency behind quarterbacks Chris Oladokun and Liam Welch. The continued development of rising sophomore running back Jay Stanton will help with the Bulldogs' poor time of possession. Their secondary struggled last season, but it gets a boost in Koi Freeman's return from injury. The special teams are strong with place-kicker Mitchell Fineran and All-America punt returner Montrell Washington leading the way.

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THE CITADEL

HEAD COACH: Brent Thompson (26-20, four seasons)

2019 RECORD: 6-6, 4-4 Southern (Tie/4th)

PROJECTED RETURNING STARTERS: 18 (9 offense/9 defense)

PRIORITIES: Replacing linebacker Willie Eubanks III, the SoCon defensive player of the year, and defensive tackle Joseph Randolph II. Replacing two starters on the offensive line.

NOTABLE: The Citadel will install an artificial surface at Johnson Hagood Stadium before the 2020 season. Quarterback Brandon Rainey's toughness - he played through injuries last season - sets the tone for the Bulldogs, who can beat any opponent on the schedule outside Clemson, although they need more consistency. While the offense runs the triple option, rising senior Raleigh Webb caught 10 touchdowns. Four of last year's six losses were by seven points or less.

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VMI

HEAD COACH: Scott Wachenheim (11-45, five seasons)

2019 RECORD: 5-7, 4-4 Southern (Tie/4th)

PROJECTED RETURNING STARTERS: 13 (7 offense/6 defense)

PRIORITIES: The Keydets are replacing their place-kicker and punter. Their two inside linebacker spots are open.

NOTABLE: VMI will seek to build off its best season since 2003 as well as its highest SoCon win total since 1979. Quarterback Reece Udinski went over 3,000 passing yards for the second consecutive season and set the FCS record with 368 straight pass attempts without an interception. He loses reliable targets Javeon Lara and Rohan Martin, but No. 1 wide receiver Jakob Herres is back and 1,300-yard running back Alex Ramsey caught 50 passes. VMI has to get better defensively after ranking last in the conference.

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WESTERN CAROLINA

HEAD COACH: Mark Speir (32-60, eight seasons)

2019 RECORD: 3-9, 2-6 Southern (8th)

PROJECTED RETURNING STARTERS: 18 (9 offense/9 defense)

PRIORITIES: Replacing one of the program's all-time greats in dual-threat quarterback Tyrie Adams. Improving the defense under new coordinator Tripp Weaver.

NOTABLE: The Catamounts were outscored on average by over 20 points per game, but they join The Citadel in having the most returning starters in the SoCon. The quarterback competition features rising junior Will Jones, who has plenty of experience; redshirt freshman Malik Richardson; and junior college transfer Mark Wright. Defensive linemen Adam Henderson and Trevon Poole, who were injured much of last season after being projected as starters, are returning to the lineup. Julian Pletz took over place-kicking duties after midseason and was 7 of 9 on field goals and 7 of 7 on PATs in November.

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WOFFORD

HEAD COACH: Josh Conklin (17-8, two seasons)

2019 RECORD: 8-4, 7-1 Southern (1st)

PROJECTED RETURNING STARTERS: 11 (4 offense/7 defense)

PRIORITIES: The Terriers have to decide on a new quarterback after losing Joe Newman, the SoCon offensive player of the year. Reloading on the offensive line.

NOTABLE: Conklin is not pleased the three-time defending champ is playing four straight SoCon games to open the season. The offense is being hit hardest by graduation. Running back Blake Morgan is a key loss in addition to Newman, but the triple option offense has a solid trio returning in Jacquez Allen, Nathan Walker and Ryan Lovelace. SoCon coaches voted center Blake Jeresaty as the conference's top offensive lineman. The defense is usually among the conference's best and it gets back standout defensive linemen Mikel Horton and Thad Mangum from shoulder and knee injuries, respectively.

Updated February 26, 2020

DL Thad Mangum of Wofford has entered his name in the transfer portal as grad transfer (immediately eligible)

Paul C wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 19, 2020 4:14 pm

DL Thad Mangum of Wofford has entered his name in the transfer portal as grad transfer (immediately eligible)

He went to CCES - I always wondered why the Dins didn't recruit Mangum.

AstroDin wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 19, 2020 7:05 pm

Paul C wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 19, 2020 4:14 pm

DL Thad Mangum of Wofford has entered his name in the transfer portal as grad transfer (immediately eligible)

He went to CCES - I always wondered why the Dins didn't recruit Mangum.

Those were not the greatest years of Furman recruiting. It doesn't surprise me that we overlooked a really good local player.

Out of that 2015 recruiting class, Furman had maybe one guy (Anoor) that was an all conference caliber player.

The Jackal wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 19, 2020 8:41 pm

AstroDin wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 19, 2020 7:05 pm

Paul C wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 19, 2020 4:14 pm

DL Thad Mangum of Wofford has entered his name in the transfer portal as grad transfer (immediately eligible)

He went to CCES - I always wondered why the Dins didn't recruit Mangum.

Those were not the greatest years of Furman recruiting. It doesn't surprise me that we overlooked a really good local player.

Out of that 2015 recruiting class, Furman had maybe one guy (Anoor) that was an all conference caliber player.

Here is our chance to get him! Though I bet he goes somewhere with more grad options. This is one thing that does play against Woffd - if a guy stays until his fifth year and has graduated already he basically HAS to leave Woffd, isn't that correct? Or am I misreading that?

Wofford has a Masters at Teaching in cooperation with Converse. We have an education masters, one in chemistry, one in community health (whatever that is) and one graphic design. So either school is ok for future teachers and coaches which prolly covers a good percentage of football players. We might have an artist football player every now and then but I bet the chemists are very rare. It seems like the easy way to gain a huge advantage is offer a high quality MBA. I’m surprised there isn’t a demand for that around Greenville.

I think the current programs offered are sufficient. Furman does not need to be in the business of creating master's programs to keep 5th year seniors around longer.

Starting an MBA now would be a bad investment. Middle of the pack MBA programs are on the decline nationally, and you'd be hard pressed to just create a high-quality MBA out of nothing. A smarter move would be to start a Masters of Accounting and Finance in downtown Greenville. More analytical skills, higher demand, and is a 1 year program to pair nicely with an undergraduate liberal arts degree.

Furmanoid wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 21, 2020 8:20 am

Wofford has a Masters at Teaching in cooperation with Converse. We have an education masters, one in chemistry, one in community health (whatever that is) and one graphic design. So either school is ok for future teachers and coaches which prolly covers a good percentage of football players. We might have an artist football player every now and then but I bet the chemists are very rare. It seems like the easy way to gain a huge advantage is offer a high quality MBA. I’m surprised there isn’t a demand for that around Greenville.

Thank you both (Furmanoid and Pfan12) for your answers. Much appreciated. Mangum is a stud for sure and will make an impact wherever he lands if it is FCS or maybe G5 level too. Interesting how different schools in SoCon seem to get better players at certain positions. I mean you would expect the e triple option to get better RBs and the air-raid to get better QBs and WRs.

But then you have the Wofford types who do seem to have an abundance of superior large DL.
Furman often gets great LBs. With the right coaches our OL is often very good.
Chattanoga seems to have numerous superior DL also.

Curious, what other schools do you see a pattern of great recruiting at any certain position???

historically… for Furman

Offensive Line
Linebacker
Runningbacks
Quarterback
Tight end

AstroDin wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 22, 2020 9:17 pm

historically… for Furman

Offensive Line
Linebacker
Runningbacks
Quarterback
Tight end

I think we can fall into a recency bias with this. We probably also look at it too through the lens of a Furman fan (i.e., how certain players played against Furman)

Is Samford better at recruiting quarterbacks, or do we just think they are because they had a really good one recently?

Does Furman have more success recruiting TEs or do we just run an offense that more heavily features a TE?

Jackal, I agree. Recency bias - to which we are all susceptible - would lead us to say Samford has stud QB/WR. but do they really over 20-25 years? After 2005 we might have said Furman has awesome QB WR and fullback. But I don’t think that was sustained.

I feel comfortable w Woff on DL, FU at LB and Chatt at DL. I might give us RBs



Trying to think of current SoCon members what else seems to be a recruiting strength that persists. Citadel, ETSU? Mercer? Mercer might qualify as QB for their short tenure ? Western?

Slow news day:



I've watched that first play on the highlight film a few times.

- Watch Bo Layton block/impede/hinder 3 or 4 defensive players. He cut blocks the MLB, sprawls out his frame, and basically locks up all of Samford's linebackers with one block.

- Also check out Devin Abrams (32) as lead blocker. He gets to the next level, looks inside at Samford's MLB and almost seems to say "nah, you aren't fast enough to catch him." He then goes up to the third level, blocks the safety, and springs the touchdown.

I don't know what Samford thought about Furman's offense going into that game, but I can tell you after the first play everyone on the Bulldog sideline realized that the Paladins were bigger, faster, and stronger than they were.

gofurman wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 23, 2020 5:18 pm

Jackal, I agree. Recency bias - to which we are all susceptible - would lead us to say Samford has stud QB/WR. but do they really over 20-25 years? After 2005 we might have said Furman has awesome QB WR and fullback. But I don’t think that was sustained.

I feel comfortable w Woff on DL, FU at LB and Chatt at DL. I might give us RBs



Trying to think of current SoCon members what else seems to be a recruiting strength that persists. Citadel, ETSU? Mercer? Mercer might qualify as QB for their short tenure ? Western?

Looked back through a few years all conference teams. I would add Furman PK. and Woff OL.

Thoughts at a position Mercer (clearly FUBeAR son!) or Citadel or other teams consistently recruit well? Seems to me Western often has one freaky ATH (Adams recently but others at WR or KOR). But maybe that’s recent bias?

Looks like Wofford losing another key returning starter to the transfer portal.

Didn’t realize this transfer portal thingy was so active. About 120 quarterbacks and about 50 are still available. Didn’t count all the other positions.