The Unofficial Furman Football Page

The previews are done.
The kickoff of the fall 2021 season is one week away.
It's time to close the door on the spring and look forward to a fall season of Paladin Football.

This Furman team has an explosive mix of talented veterans and talented newcomers.

Who do you think is going to shine this fall?

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Veterans on Offense

Backfield
Devin Wynn. Wynn is ready to take this team to the endzone, but he can't do it alone. Who else? Reading the teas leaves, I'll keep an eye on Dominic Roberto.

Who am I kidding? Everyone's attention will be on Hamp from the moment he walks onto the field. A lot is depending on Mr. Sisson.

Receiving
Ryan Miller, that was easy. I'll also be watching Dejuan Bell. Can he take the next step?

OL
The focus of the fans ire in the spring, do these proud men shine in the fall? I think they do. I'm going to limit myself to two players to watch. Pearson Toomey and Dylan Davis, and I can't help myself, let's add Wyatt Hughes.


Veterans on Defense

DL
Furman will step on the field against A&T with four seniors and one junior in the trenches. I think we're going to see some extraordinary things from London Lewis.

OLB
The two-head beast of Hope and McKoy. I expect to see two men causing havoc.

ILB
I'm only going to focus on two players, but I will say Kuzemka is a remarkable story. We need DiMaggio and McCormick to step in and make plays. These guys were highly recruited; they're long and fast.

Corners & Safety
Furman does a lot with these men, lots of looks, and personnel groupings. With so many moving pieces, it will be hard to keep up with who's who.

Champ Yates (22) and Micah Robinson (14) will be great bookends to Blackshear at the corners. Keep an eye on (3) Kam Brinson at SS.

New Faces
On paper, Furman has a lot of promising talent, so who's going to shine?

Defense
1) Dominic Morris (CB), keep an eye out for #4
2) Luke Clark (Bandit) made some big plays in the spring; he's the future
3) Caden Richards and Amaah Achina (Spur). Dae'one Wilkins will need some help

Offense
1) We're going to see some new faces show up on the line; look out for Ryan Lamb (79) and Alex Cain (74). Lamb is ready to play now, and I can tell by his demeanor, and after following him on Twitter for a year and a half, this dude loves football.
2)a Jace Wilson (16) How will the coaches implement Jace into the offense this season? His elusiveness gives Furman options to weave him into unique personnel groupings.
2)b Luke Shiflett (12)I just have a gut feeling Shiflett will make some big plays this fall.
3) Joshua Harris (2) FCS rarely get 6-2 athletic receivers that also get FBS offers. Harris looks to be one of those rare gems. I've seen firsthand his talent going against an outstanding group of DBs.
4) KT (17) We got to see some KT flash in the spring, and I want to see more.
5) Healy and Whittemore (TE) I'm really curious about these two.
6) Back to the offensive backfield, with so much depth, how much action will Myion Hicks and Grant Robinson see this fall? I'm not sure, I think you have to put redshirts on both of them.

From what I’ve been reading, barring C-word issues, the Paladin Stadium Experience will SHINE in the Fall of 2021.

Not sure if it will quite measure up to the Jimi Hendrix Experience, but with all that Wicked Weed everywhere, Saturday’s at Paladin Stadium this Fall just may be filled with a Purple Haze…and many WIN celebrations!

Offensively, I expect a big turnaround season from Hamp Sisson. They were hard lessons but this kid learned a lot in the spring. He appears more cool and confident this year and could have a very big season for us. Ryan Miller will be a marked man but I suspect that will not deter him from making some spectacular plays for the Paladins. Devin Wynn looks primed to be one of the best back in the FCS. He is lighter and faster and will break some big runs this year.
On the defensive side, look for Adrian Hope and Elijah McCoy to wreak havoc on opposing QB's from the Bandit position. Teams running away from that side will open it up for Dae'one Wilkins to lead the team in tackles the way former Spur, Jordan Willis did during the last fall season. London Lewis has the capacity to wreak havoc from the NG.

My musings:

Defensively, I think London Lewis is one to circle. The kid is a monster and will likely play multiple positions in the interior depending on what Vaughn wants to do defensively.

I like our defensive line a lot. I feel pretty confident that over the last 5 or 6 years, Furman has had starters along the defensive front that wouldn't break the three deep on this defensive line.

Offensively, I'd love to see some of the WRs step up. Dejuan Bell has been around a minute and has a unique skill set. Zach Peterson has seen the field a good bit and looks like he could be productive. Josh Harris looks like he could be a big player at some point. We really have just one guy that's established himself at WR - Deluca - and need to see some of these guys be difference makers.

Flagman is going to shine. He is going to be so buff from waving his flag he will attend the last month of games shirtless and rubbed down in Hawaiian Tropic oil.

Astro Thanks for your analysis.
-2 players that seem to still be either a total mystery or haven’t reached their potential.

Luke Shifflet - entering his 3rd season and basically yet to see the field. Is he a QB or WR? You say you expect to see some big plays from him this year but how if he is buried in the QB depth chart? He certainly won’t see any PT at QB barring injuries. Do you expect him to play some at WR?

Dejuan Bell- entering his 4th year in the program. Has excelled as returner but not so much at WR. Was told he would be the next great WR at FU. Still south of 10 career receptions. Do you expect DB to have a breakout year at WR?

apaladin wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 28, 2021 3:16 pm

Astro Thanks for your analysis.
-2 players that seem to still be either a total mystery or haven’t reached their potential.

Luke Shifflet - entering his 3rd season and basically yet to see the field. Is he a QB or WR? You say you expect to see some big plays from him this year but how if he is buried in the QB depth chart? He certainly won’t see any PT at QB barring injuries. Do you expect him to play some at WR?

Dejuan Bell- entering his 4th year in the program. Has excelled as returner but not so much at WR. Was told he would be the next great WR at FU. Still south of 10 career receptions. Do you expect DB to have a breakout year at WR?

Shiflett has missed a lot of time. I don't know what we will see out of him.

Bell gets 4-5 touches a game between offense and special teams. Outside of some of our passing struggles, we spread the ball out a bunch to non-WRs (three of our top pass catchers are backs). So, I wouldn't read too much into any individual player's receiving stats.

At this point, Bell's biggest contribution may just be that he can outrun just about everyone you've got.

cavedweller2 wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 28, 2021 2:42 pm

Flagman is going to shine. He is going to be so buff from waving his flag he will attend the last month of games shirtless and rubbed down in Hawaiian Tropic oil.

Are you saying "Flag" could be Furman's Most Improved Position?

Davemeister wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 29, 2021 11:21 am

cavedweller2 wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 28, 2021 2:42 pm

Flagman is going to shine. He is going to be so buff from waving his flag he will attend the last month of games shirtless and rubbed down in Hawaiian Tropic oil.

Are you saying "Flag" could be Furman's Most Improved Position?

I resemble that remark.