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 first in a two-part series of previews of Southern Conference football teams ahead of the 2019 season. The next edition will be posted Thursday, Aug. 29. “Keeler’s Corner” will also appear throughout the season.
Keeler can be found on Twitter @Scott_Keeler

THE CITADEL
2018 record: 5-6, 4-4 SoCon
Offensive starters returning: 10
Defensive starters returning: 7
Specialists returning: 3

In 2017, The Citadel started the season 3-0 but faded down the stretch to finish 5-6. Last season, a slow start followed by a hot finish netted the same result. The back-to-back losing seasons followed back-to-back seasons in which the Bulldogs reached the FCS playoffs.
The Citadel will try to get back toward the top of the Southern Conference by building off the momentum created by last season’s finish and by the quarterback who led that charge. Junior Brandon Rainey was named a team captain this season after helping the Bulldogs go 3-1 last November. The lone loss in that span came in a game that had the college football world buzzing as The Citadel was tied 10-10 at the half at Alabama.
Rainey, who had not taken a snap all season before starting those last four games, piled up 529 yards rushing (132.2 yards per game) and three touchdowns, while completing 8-of-15 passes for 168 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Those three November wins marked the Bulldogs’ three highest-scoring games of the season, and they outscored opponents in the second half of those games 69-3.
Defensively, The Citadel will be led by a pair of preseason All-SoCon first team members in junior linebacker Willie Eubanks III and senior defensive tackle Joseph Randolph II. Eubanks led the team in tackles (80) last season, and also had 4.5 sacks and two interceptions. Randolph had a team-high 14 tackles for loss, including four sacks.
Fellow preseason All-SoCon first team member Matthew Campbell returns at punter. Campbell averaged 44.4 yards per punt as a freshman in 2018.
August/September game to watch: vs. Towson, Aug. 31. The Citadel has a chance to make a couple of big statements early this season, starting with Saturday’s season opener. Towson is ranked No. 11 in the STATS FCS preseason poll and 12th in the AFCA poll. The Bulldogs play at consensus No. 21 Elon the following Saturday.

ETSU
2018 record: 8-4, 6-2 SoCon
Offensive starters returning: 4
Defensive starters returning: 8
Specialists returning: 2

There was no bigger story in the SoCon last season than ETSU’s rise to the top of the league. The 2018 edition of the reincarnated Bucs did something the old program never did - win a SoCon football championship. They did so on the strength of six conference victories, all by three points or fewer.
ETSU will try to follow up that success without a big offensive leader in graduated quarterback Austin Herink. Entering 2018, Henrink had started each of the Bucs’ 33 games since the program resumed in 2015. After beginning last season in a backup role, Henrink came off the bench to lead to a stunning comeback win over Furman that was part of a six-game winning streak against non-FBS competition to begin the year.
Chance Thrasher, a senior transfer from Coastal Carolina, has won the starting QB job this year for the Bucs, who also signed University of Miami sophomore transfer Cade Weldon this summer. No matter who’s taking snaps, running back Quay Holmes should command plenty of attention from opposing defenses. The preseason All-SoCon first-team performer rushed for 928 yards and 13 touchdowns as a freshman last year.
Senior lineman Nasir Player is one of three preseason All-SoCon picks back on a defense that returns eight starters. Player, the league’s preseason defensive player of the year, had 43 tackles, including 11 for loss and six sacks in 11 games last season. Also returning are first-team lineman Jason Maduafokwa (39 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks in 2018) and defensive back Tyree Robinson (71 tackles), who led the SoCon in interceptions (six) and passes defended (15).
August/September game to watch: at Furman, Sept. 28. Two of the three 2018 SoCon champions will battle at Paladin Stadium in a key game early in the conference race. Last season, ETSU trailed Furman 27-6 with less than five minutes left in the third quarter before rallying for a 29-27 victory.

FURMAN (#17 AFCA / #19 STATS)
2018 record: 6-4, 6-2 SoCon
Offensive starters returning: 8
Defensive starters returning: 7
Specialists returning: 2

After Furman turned things around in Clay Hendrix’s first season as head coach in 2017, it kept things up in 2018 as the Paladins posted consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2009.
While a 6-2 league mark earned Furman a second-place finish in 2017, last year’s 6-2 showing earned the Paladins their SoCon-best 14th conference title. What it didn’t earn Furman was a trip to the FCS playoffs and that snub has given the Paladins plenty of motivation entering this season.
Redshirt freshman Darren Grainger won the competition to replace graduated quarterback Harris Roberts, who overcame a broken thumb suffered in the 2018 preseason to break the school record for passing efficiency (182.59). Grainger will be protected by an experienced group of offensive linemen led by All-SoCon preseason pick Bo Layton. Furman’s entire starting offensive line - and four No. 2 team linemen - return this season.
While he may not be first team on Furman’s defensive depth chart, bandit linebacker Adrian Hope is a first-team All-SoCon preseason pick. Hope returns after a freshman season in which he led the FCS in sacks (15) and ranked second nationally in forced fumbles (five) in 10 games - all off the bench.
All-SoCon preseason first-team kicker Grayson Atkins carries a streak of 11 consecutive made field goals into this season. After missing his first two attempts of 2018 in week two at Elon, Atkins didn’t miss any the rest of the way. Four of those successful tries were from at least 50 yards out, three of which came in one half against Samford.
August/September game to watch: vs. Charleston Southern, Aug. 31. While Furman has enjoyed success the last two seasons, it hasn’t been spurred by hot starts. Each of the last three years, Furman has gotten off to an 0-3 start. Playing in its first home opener since 2015, a victory Saturday would mark the Paladins’ first 1-0 start since 2014.

MERCER
2018 record: 5-6, 4-4 SoCon
Offensive starters returning: 8
Defensive starters returning: 8
Specialists returning: 2

Mercer appeared poised for a breakthrough season in the SoCon in 2018 when it opened league play with a 30-24 win at prohibitive preseason favorite Samford. However, the Bears followed that big road win with a 38-31 home loss to The Citadel and that seemed to set the tone for the season.
Mercer went 3-1 in SoCon road games last year but 1-3 in SoCon home games to finish at .500 in the league for the third consecutive season.
Injuries, particularly those at the quarterback and running back positions, took a toll on the Bears last season. But through one of those, a star emerged in junior Tyray Devezin. The 5-8, 233-pound running back earned first-team All-SoCon preseason honors after trucking opposing defenses for 949 rushing yards and eight touchdowns last season. Of those 949 yards, 729 came over the final seven games of the season.
Sophomore quarterback Robert Riddle is fully healthy and ready to build off what was a promising start in 2018. After a breakout performance in the win at Samford, Riddle set the school’s single-game passing record with 347 yards against The Citadel before suffering a broken collarbone that ended his season.
Protecting Riddle and paving the way for Devezin up front is All-SoCon preseason first-team left tackle Austin Sanders.
Mercer returns another weapon in wide receiver David Durden, who was the All-SoCon preseason first-team return specialist. He was a freshman All-American after averaging 27.6 yards per kick return and 22.2 yards per catch last year.
Senior linebacker Will Coneway is back to lead the defense after posting a team-high 94 tackles last season.
August/September game to watch: at Western Carolina, Aug. 31. The scoreboard could light up early and often Saturday if these two offenses perform to their capability. Last season at Mercer, the Bears trailed the Catamounts 21-7 midway through the second quarter before storming back for a 59-46 win.

SAMFORD (0-1)
2018 record: 6-5, 5-3 SoCon
Offensive starters returning: 7
Defensive starters returning: 6
Specialists returning: 3

Samford entered last season as the odds-on favorite to win the SoCon and that thought appeared as strong as ever for the first five quarters of the year. After a blowout win over Shorter in the opener, Samford traveled to Florida State and jumped on the Seminoles 16-7 after one quarter.
Despite turnover problems the rest of the night, the Bulldogs still led with less than five minutes to play before FSU pulled out a 36-26 win. Letting a potential win over an FBS Power 5 program seemed to derail Samford as that started a four-game losing streak. While the Bulldogs won five of their final six games - including victories over all three SoCon league champions in 2018, it left them with a fourth-place league finish.
Samford is tasked this season with replacing three of the greatest players in school history in quarterback Devlin Hodges, the FCS’ all-time leading passer, wide receiver Kelvin McKnight, and defensive lineman Ahmad Gooden.
In the Bulldogs’ season-opening 45-22 loss to Youngstown State last Saturday, starter Liam Welch was 13-of-22 passing for 142 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Chris Oladokun, a South Florida transfer, came on in the fourth quarter and went 7-of-10 for 125 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. He also ran for another score.
Senior left tackle Nick Nixon, a preseason All-SoCon first-team selection, leads Samford up front.
Sophomore defensive end Nelson Jordan looks to be a leader on the other side of the ball after posting 33 tackles, including eight for loss and five sacks, in 2018.
Sophomore kicker Mitchell Fineran, a first-team All-SoCon preseason pick, returns after converting 13-of-17 field goal attempts last year.
August/September game to watch: at Wofford, Sept. 14. The 2018 preseason favorite meets the 2019 preseason favorite in both teams’ SoCon opener. The Bulldogs topped the Terriers 35-20 last season.