Meet Your 2014 Arkansas State Red Wolves

[gschwendt]

Meet Your 2014 Arkansas State Red Wolves


Quarterbacks

Pos	Name	Year	OVR	Ht, Wt	THP	THA	SPD	AGI	ACC	BTK	ELU
QB	Tajhea Chambers	So	71	6-2, 217	81	75	81	73	81	66	75
QB	DJ Pearson	FrRS	71	6-3, 196	83	75	79	72	76	62	73
QB	Bob Lawson	Fr	72	6-4, 222	87	75	66	63	67	52	50

During the 2013 campaign, Arkansas State saw their only reliable player at QB, Fredi Knighten, go down to injury early in the season. As a result, redshirt Freshman James Tabary was thrust into the starting role before he was ready which lead to fan-forum posters saying some not-nice-things about him. Tabary decided he had a long hill to climb if he wanted to earn the fan's respect again so he decided to transfer somewhere closer to home. Because of that, the Red Wolves coaches haven't been able to develop their QBs to the point that they want them. All three candidates are young and all three have the exact same level of accuracy in their throws. Where they differ is their ability to run with the football and their arm strength. Sophomore Tajhea Chambers won the starting role in spring practice and will take the first start of the season. His running ability set him just above backup DJ Pearson. True Freshman Bob Lawson had a chance to start but with his inability to run the option, the coaches decided to let him sit for a year to hopefully be able to groom him for the future.


Runningbacks

Pos	Name	Year	OVR	Ht, Wt	SPD	AGI	ACC	BTK	TRK	ELU	CAR
HB	Johnston White	JrRS	86	5-11, 180	91	82	93	81	61	86	86
HB	Alex Turner	Fr	76	6-2, 217	85	85	93	76	88	75	71
HB	Terrance Hollingsworth	SoRS	76	5-9, 199	87	79	89	79	55	77	71
HB	DeKeathan Williams	SrRS	75	6-1, 215	88	82	79	74	77	62	75
HB	Earl Harrison	So	72	5-10, 179	87	81	91	67	56	79	73
FB	Riley Robertson	Fr	49	6-3, 216	72	53	71	53	59	56	64

Like at the QB position, at Runningback, key starter Michael Gordon went down early in the season to injury and was never seen again. His more-than-capable backup, Johnston White stepped in and had an exceptional season amassing 845 yards on 153 attempts with 12 TDs. Joining White in the backfield will be true Freshman Alex Turner who will provide the thunder in the dual-HB offense. Look for the two of them to be on the field together often in order to make use of perhaps the two best offensive weapons the Red Wolves have. Behind them are capable backs but no-one that makes the coaches excited.


Receivers

Pos	Name	Year	OVR	Ht, Wt	SPD	CTH	SPC	CIT	RTE	JMP	REL
WRX	Dijon Pascal	JrRS	86	6-1, 197	91	91	79	73	88	76	57
WRZ	Tyler Trosin	SrRS	75	5-11, 182	85	78	61	70	84	77	69
WRY	Booker Mays	SrRS	78	5-5, 170	89	77	60	69	77	65	70
WRY	Michael Porter	Fr	70	6-0, 196	90	76	65	61	77	83	65
WRZ	Darveon Brown	FrRS	71	5-10, 179	88	75	61	64	69	71	59
WRZ	Omar Bayless	FrRS	70	6-3, 191	84	75	65	65	67	79	69
WRZ	Trey Quinn	Jr (T)	81	6-0, 196	89	81	72	69	79	77	77
WRX	Blake Mack	Jr	75	6-3, 201	86	79	62	72	79	67	74
WRX	Jon Everett	Fr	70	6-0, 196	82	72	65	75	72	60	79

At receiver, coaches are most excited to see what redshirt Junior Dijon Pascal can do now that he'll be the key target. Will he make his QBs look better than they are or will they struggle to get the ball to him? Aside from Pascal, no one really stands out on the team aside from incoming transfer Trey Quinn. Quinn will have to sit for a season but the Red Wolves will have two years of him, one with both Pascal & he in the offense together.


Tight Ends

Pos	Name	Year	OVR	Ht, Wt	SPD	CTH	CIT	STR	PBK	RBK	IBL
TE	Warren Leaphart	SrRS	72	6-5, 243	77	63	70	75	64	75	72
TE	Jerry Morehead	JrRS	67	6-4, 211	80	76	77	67	60	66	60
TE	Danny Harrison	Fr	67	6-5, 265	81	73	61	67	65	66	69

At tight end, former FB Warren Leaphart moves over to the TE position but will be utilized more like an H-Back. His blocking abilities far outweigh his receiving abilities and coaches will find ways to let him contribute. Behind him will be the Red Wolves receiving threat at TE, Jerry Morehead.


Offensive Line

Pos	Name	Year	OVR	Ht, Wt	STR	PBK	RBK	IBL
LT	Jemar Clark	SrRS	80	6-6, 304	82	84	85	82
LG	Devin Mondie	JrRS	80	6-5, 293	85	83	86	82
C	Brad Sharpe	Fr	73	6-4, 298	75	78	80	74
RG	Jared McCoy	Fr	70	6-2, 301	80	74	78	74
RT	Colton Jackson	SrRS	79	6-4, 277	81	85	81	80
C	Jhamahl Bell	SoRS	71	6-3, 298	82	73	78	76
LT	Adam Whalen	JrRS	69	6-6, 253	77	78	76	78
RG	Joseph Bacchus	JrRS	69	6-4, 290	81	75	77	77
RT	Cameron Davis	FrRS	69	6-4, 264	79	76	78	78
LG	Dalton Ford	FrRS	68	6-4, 287	78	74	80	75
RT	Christian Beard	SoRS	68	6-4, 277	79	72	79	75
LT	Pierre Hughes	Fr	68	6-5, 278	71	77	80	77
LG	John Landry	Fr	68	6-1, 282	77	69	81	73

Along the Offensive Line is a hodge-podge of big bodies that can hopefully protect their young Quarterback. While the Tackles and Left Guard are all more than capable to pull their weight, what concerns the coaches are whether or not two true Freshman will be ready to step up or not. If not, those behind them aren't much more ready to start either.


Defensive Line

Pos	Name	Year	OVR	Ht, Wt	SPD	STR	FMV	PMV	BSH	TKL
LE	Ja'Von Rolland-Jones	JrRS	86	6-2, 226	80	74	73	85	88	82
DT	Chuks Ota	Jr	79	6-2, 288	64	82	79	66	83	80
NT	Austin Moreton	SrRS	70	6-1, 320	70	86	78	61	73	72
RE	Chris Odom	Sr	81	6-3, 236	72	76	87	75	78	82
LE	Caleb Caston	SoRS	77	6-2, 213	83	72	70	67	75	77
DT	Clifford Thomas	JrRS	77	6-2, 282	68	77	79	63	78	79
DT	Darrius Rosser	SrRS	77	6-3, 286	82	79	73	61	78	82
DT	Eugene Sutton	SoRS	73	6-3, 278	68	80	68	68	77	74
DT	Courtney Garnett	SoRS (T)	76	6-2, 289	63	78	76	79	77	78
NT	Manny Drew	Fr	70	6-3, 285	66	86	70	64	73	74
RE	Nick Jones	Fr	61	6-3, 213	77	76	67	78	59	68

Defensive Line is probably where the team shows the most of their strength. With excellent starters in speed-rusher Rolland-Jones and big bullies in Ota, Moreton, & Odom, the Red Wolves DL will need to cause havoc to help protect against a mediocre defensive backfield. After the starters, the Red Wolves are set at DT but only have one warm body ready to go at DE. So long as injuries don't plague the DL, this could be a special group.


Linebackers

Pos	Name	Year	OVR	Ht, Wt	SPD	STR	BSH	TKL	HPW	PRC	PUR	ZCV
MLB	Kyle Wallace	Jr	79	6-1, 220	81	81	70	81	74	86	76	73
ROLB	Xavier Woodson	Sr	86	6-1, 217	81	71	79	92	83	85	85	77
LOLB	Quanterio Heath	SrRS	74	6-2, 212	80	70	74	83	82	72	80	70
ROLB	Khari Lain	SoRS	74	5-10, 188	85	68	71	76	73	71	77	77
MLB	Mark Johnson	JrRS	71	6-2, 182	77	71	74	75	75	72	74	77
MLB	Kirk Louis Jr.	FrRS	68	6-2, 238	79	76	69	69	77	77	76	66
ROLB	Justin Clifton	FrRS	67	6-0, 209	84	69	65	71	68	61	85	82
LOLB	Marty Cook	Fr	69	6-1, 220	77	74	71	80	69	70	66	69

At Linebacker, MLB Kyle Wallace transfers in from JUCO just in time. He comes in ready to start where now LOLB Heath left off last year. With Wallace and Woodson on the field together, they should be a good combination to help out in run defense. Behind them, the coaches are most excited about the future for the undersized ROLB Lain and youngster MLB Louis. That said, if Wallace & Woodson can't play 90% of snaps every game, the Red Wolves will likely be in trouble.


Secondary

Pos	Name	Year	OVR	Ht, Wt	SPD	AGI	ACC	MCV	ZCV	PRS	PRC	TKL	BSH
CB	Blaise Taylor	Jr	77	5-9, 171	90	86	91	84	80	81	80	62	55
CB	Charles Grant	SoRS	75	5-11, 181	87	84	87	83	80	80	79	74	69
FS	Brandon Young	Fr	72	6-0, 179	91	79	91	70	81	80	79	60	76
SS	Money Hunter	Sr	86	6-1, 194	88	86	87	83	86	70	87	82	51
SS	Sterling Wright	JrRS	78	6-2, 215	87	86	88	76	80	74	81	75	71
FS	Cody Brown	Sr	76	6-2, 205	86	83	87	74	79	72	74	74	57
CB	Jamaris Hart	JrRS	72	5-9, 164	87	84	87	79	78	73	77	71	57
CB	Marques Whitehead	So	68	5-10, 160	92	85	84	71	78	76	76	60	32
CB	Nehemiah Wagner	SoRS	67	6-0, 171	87	86	87	74	80	67	73	66	61
CB	Donte Jackson	So (T)	86	5-11, 176	94	81	96	96	95	96	84	84	83
SS	Mike Brown	Fr	72	6-0, 210	83	76	80	72	79	71	73	79	44
SS	Jason Brown	Fr	70	5-11, 190	84	85	90	67	75	74	65	73	67
SS	Corey Turner	SoRS (T)	70	6-1, 191	84	74	86	70	80	70	60	76	63
CB	Paul Stephens	So	68	5-10, 174	87	78	88	81	78	72	70	54	30

In the Secondary, coaches were elated when former LSU CB Donte Jackson decided to transfer to Arkansas State. Unfortunately, despite having a sick grandmother in the area, the NCAA declined to allow his transfer to be a hardship transfer. As a result, CBs Taylor and Grant will have to play earlier than they are ready for. While both have adequate coverage abilities, neither is ready for a starting role. Playing in the middle of the field, FS Young will feel right at home; with good speed and decent zone coverage abilities, he'll be a significant improvement in helping to defend against the deep ball. Playing near the line, SSes Hunter & Wright will both play tweener roles between Linebacker & Nickel. Both have decent coverage abilities but Wright will probably shine most in blitzes off the edge with his ability to get off of blocks.


Kickers

Pos	Name	Year	OVR	Ht, Wt	KPW	KAC
K	William White	Fr	78	6-1, 218	78	79
P	Hunter Holmes	JrRS	78	6-2, 209	86	72

At Kicker, with the loss of Luke Ferguson, the Red Wolves were hoping to replace his big boot with another. However, instead of pure strength, they found a reliable kicker in White. He won't be able to kick 60 yarders, but he should be solid from 40 and in. At Punter, Holmes returns stronger than a season ago; coaches hope his services won't be needed as much as they were last season.

[gschwendt]

Unfortunately I didn't have the full stats from last season so I couldn't do it in the preferred format. I'll try to grab those at the end of this season for next year.

[JeffHCross]

I grabbed my stats but do not have the time to write a preview. I wish I did. Nice job here, G.