Note: The following was written by Scott Keeler, who worked as a reporter at the Greenville News for more than 25 years. This is the last in his three-part series of previews of Southern Conference football teams ahead of the 2017 season. “Keeler’s Corner” will also appear throughout the season.
Keeler can be found on Twitter @Scott_Keeler.
VMI
2016 record: 3-8, 1-7 SoCon
Offensive starters returning: 4
Defensive starters returning: 7
Specialists returning: 1
When a new coach takes over at a football program that hasn’t had a winning record since 1981, an overnight turnaround isn’t an expectation. However, Scott Wachenheim enters his third season at VMI looking to build off of the improvements his squad made in 2016.
While the Keydets went 3-8 in 2016, there were positives. VMI started 3-2 for the first time since 2003 and had three wins for the first time since 2010. That 3-2 start featured back-to-back road wins for the Keydets for the first time in 35 years.
Defensively, VMI allowed its fewest points in a season since 2003. The Keydets improved their turnover margin by 12 and were the least-penalized team in the Southern Conference.
While VMI went 1-7 in the SoCon, it had a three-point, overtime loss to Mercer, a three-point loss at Western Carolina and a 10-point loss to The Citadel, which went undefeated in the league.
VMI’s biggest hole to fill in 2017 appears to be quarterback, where sophomore Austin Coulling has been named the starter following the graduation of Al Cobb. In just three seasons, Cobb threw for a school-record 7,727 yards. Cobb is also VMI’s all-time leader in career completions, attempts, touchdown passes and 200-yard passing games.
Also gone are the Keydets’ three leading receivers (VMI’s all-time leading pass-catcher Aaron Sanders, Dane Forlines and tight end Ryan Swingle). With those departures, VMI is expected to work to establish its ground game more this season. That’s also an offensive philosophy more in line with Wachenheim and his staff.
The Keydets return their top two rushers in Daz Palmer and Tyain Smith, who combined for more than 700 yards rushing as freshmen last season.
“We’ve got a lot of running backs that we’ve recruited the last couple of years,” Wachenheim said. “The teams that finish near the top in our conference do a heck of a job running the football and stopping the run on defense. We’ve been working really hard to get better at that.”
Wachenheim says the biggest strength of his team is a defense that returns seven starters. Those include standout senior linebackers Allan Cratsenberg and Ryan Francis.
Cratsenberg led the SoCon in tackles (126) and tackles per game (11.5) and had 8.5 tackles for loss in 2016. The preseason All-SoCon first-team selection posted the Keydets’ first 20-tackle game since 1999 against The Citadel.
Francis ranked third in the SoCon with 9.6 tackles per game and led VMI with 13.5 tackles for loss. Francis and defensive back Greg Sanders, who had 68 tackles and two interceptions in 2016, made the preseason All-SoCon second team.
Cratsenberg believes VMI’s defense can continue to improve and is excited about the team’s changes on offense.
“It’s awesome because I feel like our entire conference has run-heavy offenses and everybody’s really good at running the ball,” Cratsenberg said. “It’s good seeing that a lot more in practice.”
The Keydets open the season at Wachenheim’s alma mater, Air Force, on Sept. 2 at noon Eastern.
WESTERN CAROLINA
2016 record: 2-9, 1-7 SoCon
Offensive starters returning: 9
Defensive starters returning: 7
Specialists returning: 1
Following a couple of seasons of big steps forward, Western Carolina’s football program took a step back with a 2-9 record in 2016. That came after back-to-back seven-win seasons for the Catamounts, a total which had not been reached previously since 1984.
Based on what coach Mark Speir has seen from his team this offseason, he’s confident a rebound will occur.
“Our players and their leadership has really stepped up in the offseason,” Speir said. “That leadership is going to make what happened in 2016 the exception, not the norm.
“What gives me so much hope this season is that our guys never quit playing hard (last season).”
The Catamounts’ struggles didn’t affect standout running back Detrez Newsome. The preseason All-Southern Conference first-team pick at running back and return specialist ran for 1,031 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging 6.6 yards per carry last year. His season was highlighted by a school-record 277-yard rushing performance against a Chattanooga team that ranked sixth in the FCS in total defense.
Newsome also caught 31 passes for 342 yards and four touchdowns and averaged 24.2 yards per kickoff return, including a 93-yard touchdown.
Tyrie Adams returns at quarterback after putting up nearly 3,000 yards of total offense (2,568 passing, 358 rushing) as a freshman last year. That included posting a school-record 510 yards of total offense (427 passing, 83 rushing) in a 44-14 win over Gardner-Webb.
Speir said all of Adams’ talents weren’t displayed last season because of the team’s many injuries.
“Last year, we had one quarterback for our last seven games so we couldn’t unleash him like we wanted to,” Speir said. “We did for the South Carolina game, because there wasn’t another game, and he runs for 93 yards.”
Preseason All-SoCon first-team receiver Terryon Robinson returns after catching 71 passes for 738 yards and six touchdowns last year. The return of versatile tight end Tyler Sexton should also be a boost. Sexton, a first-team All-SoCon pick in 2015, was lost for the year due to an injury suffered last preseason.
Preseason All-SoCon second-team offensive lineman Nathan Dalton, a junior who’s made 20 career starts, paves the way up front.
Speir has hired John Wiley as defensive coordinator to help turn around a unit that ranked last in the SoCon in total defense and scoring defense. Speir and Wiley were on the same staff of Appalachian State’s three FCS national championship teams from 2005-07.
Keion Crossen, who made the preseason All-SoCon second team, is the leader of Western Carolina’s defense. The senior defensive back had 61 tackles, seven pass break-ups and a 65-yard interception return for a touchdown last year.
Also back for the Catamounts is preseason All-SoCon first-team punter Ian Berryman, who averaged 44.9 yards per punt last season.
Western Carolina technically opens the season on Sunday, Sept. 3, as the Catamounts visit Hawaii for a midnight (EST) kickoff.
WOFFORD
2016 record: 10-4, 6-2 SoCon
Offensive starters returning: 6
Defensive starters returning: 8
Specialists returning: 1
For all the high levels of success Mike Ayers has coached Wofford to over the past three decades, one thing his team had never been was the preseason favorite to win the Southern Conference championship.
Until now.
Wofford enters Ayers’ 30th season at the school as the media and coaches’ pick to win the SoCon title. The Terriers return 15 starters off a team that went 10-4 last season and were the last SoCon team standing out of four that reached the FCS playoffs.
What made Wofford’s run last year remarkable was the way it all began. After a few years of uncertainty at quarterback, Evan Jacks was clearly the No. 1 starter last preseason. But in Wofford’s final scrimmage, Jacks tore an ACL, ending his final season before it got started.
Without Jacks, three different quarterbacks guided Wofford’s triple-option offense at times. Third-stringer Brandon Goodson started the final 10 games, which included a six-game winning streak that ended in a double-overtime, 30-23 loss at Youngstown State in the third round of the FCS playoffs.
“It was a year that could’ve been catastrophic, but it turned into a miracle year,” Ayers said. “The unity that occurred after the injuries was phenomenal.
“A lot of times when guys face adversity, they have a tendency to run from it. Instead of that, our guys embraced it.”
This season, it’s Goodson who’s set to go as Wofford’s clear-cut starting QB.
While six starters return offensively, Wofford will have to replace star running back Lorenzo Long, who ran for 1,424 yards and 18 touchdowns last season, along with second-leading rusher Will Gay. Blake Morgan, who ran for 274 yards and averaged 11.0 yards per carry in 2016, is slated to start at one of the halfback spots.
Leading the way along the offensive line are preseason All-SoCon first-team center Roo Daniels and second-team selections tackle Ross Demmel and tight end Chandler Gouger.
Wofford’s biggest strength appears to be its defense, which returns eight starters from a unit that ranked fifth in the country in total defense. In addition to posting three shutouts last year, the Terriers held The Citadel to just a field goal in Wofford’s 17-3 road win in the second round of the FCS playoffs.
After getting back to the postseason for the first time in four years, the Terriers opened the playoffs by grinding out a 15-14 win over Charleston Southern in a matchup of two of the best defenses in the country.
“It let us know that if we put our nose to the gravel, we can defeat anybody,” said defensive end Tyler Vaughn. “It let everybody know that we were meant to be there.”
Vaughn, who had 17.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks last season, was one of four preseason All-SoCon first-team selections off Wofford’s defense. Joining Vaughn were fellow end Miles Brown (12.5 tackles for loss), sophomore linebacker Datavious Wilson (97 tackles) and cornerback Devin Watson (three interceptions). Sophomore cornerback George Gbesee (11 pass break-ups) made the second team.
No. 11 Wofford will open the season by hosting rival Furman on Sept. 2 at 6 p.m.