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 second in a two-part series of previews of Southern Conference football teams ahead of the 2019 season. “Keeler’s Corner” will also appear throughout the season.
Keeler can be found on Twitter @Scott_Keeler

CHATTANOOGA
2018 record: 6-5, 4-4 SoCon
Offensive starters returning: 9
Defensive starters returning: 6
Specialists returning: 2

For the second time in the past three years, Chattanooga is opening the season with a new head coach. Rusty Wright, a former Moc player and assistant, has returned following Tom Arth’s departure to Akron.
After a 4-0 start in 2018, Chattanooga lost five of its final seven games. While the Mocs struggled down the stretch, their defense was strong throughout the season. Chattanooga allowed just 18.2 points per game against FCS opponents last season. The Mocs were the only team to hold Western Carolina below 23 points in a 26-6 road win. In its four SoCon losses, Chattanooga gave up just 17, 21, 16 and 13 points, respectively.
While SoCon Defensive Player of the Year Isaiah Mack is gone, a trio of All-SoCon preseason first-team players are back on defense in senior linebacker Marshall Cooper and junior defensive backs Brandon Dowdell and Jerrell Lawson. Cooper led the Mocs in tackles last season with 98. Lawson had 53 stops, including 4.5 for loss, while Dowdell had 40 tackles and three interceptions.
Offensively, Chattanooga returns leading rusher Tyrell Price (697 yards, nine touchdowns), leading passer Nick Tiano (2,699 yards, 15 touchdowns, six interceptions) and standout receiver Bryce Nunnelly. Nunnelly is a preseason All-SoCon first-team selection after ranking sixth in the FCS at 112.5 receiving yards per game last season. His 1,237-yard season was the second-highest total in school history.
August/September game to watch: Take your pick. No SoCon team will be tested like Chattanooga will be to start the season. After Thursday’s opener against Eastern Illinois, the Mocs face consensus sixth-ranked Jacksonville State and consensus second-ranked James Madison sandwiched around a trip to SEC member Tennessee.

VMI
2018 record: 1-10, 0-8 SoCon
Offensive starters returning: 8
Defensive starters returning: 8
Specialists returning: 3

VMI endured another tough season in 2018. While it snapped a 25-game losing streak with a 20-11 win over Tusculum, the Keydets enter 2019 having not defeated a Division I opponent since Oct. 8, 2016.
While the losses continued to mount, VMI showed tons of improvement offensively. After averaging 218.5 yards and 8.8 points per game in 2017, the Keydets put up 368.4 yards and 23.4 points per game last season. That led to a much more competitive team as half of VMI’s SoCon losses were by seven points or fewer.
That offensive surge was led by junior quarterback Reece Udinski, who returns after setting single-season school records for passing yards (3,082), completions (302), attempts (523) and touchdowns (20). In VMI’s 52-50 loss to Western Carolina, Udinski broke the school’s single-game passing record with 491 yards.
Udinski’s top target should be senior Javeon Lara, who was an All-SoCon preseason first-team selection after collecting 814 receiving yards and seven touchdowns last year. He averaged 15.4 yards per catch.
Junior safety A.J. Smith will try to help turn around a defense that ranked last in the FCS at 48.2 points allowed per game. Smith, an All-SoCon preseason first-team selection, had a team-high 90 tackles last season.
August/September game to watch: at ETSU, Sept. 14. ETSU marked VMI’s last Division I victory three years ago. Last season, the Buccaneers scored early in the fourth quarter to take a 27-24 lead at VMI. The Keydets entered ETSU territory on each of their last four possessions, but two interceptions, a missed field goal and a fourth-down incompletion left them with the three-point loss.

WESTERN CAROLINA
2018 record: 3-8, 1-7 SoCon
Offensive starters returning: 6
Defensive starters returning: 7
Specialists returning: 2

After putting up seven wins in three out of four years, it appeared that Western Carolina was headed in that direction again early on in the 2018 season. But after a 3-0 start, the wheels came off for the Catamounts, who enter this season on an eight-game losing skid.
Defensive issues and slow starts coming out of the locker room proved most costly for Western Carolina last year. The Catamounts allowed at least 38 points in all but one SoCon game - a 26-6 loss to Chattanooga. For the season, Western Carolina was outscored 120-65 in the first quarter and 106-54 in the third.
Despite the struggles in the win-loss column, the Catamounts still provided plenty of highlights thanks to their superhero quarterback Tyrie Adams. Adams is back this season to cap off a brilliant college career. Last season, Adams became the 11th player in FCS history to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 as he established a new school record with 3,423 yards of total offense. The SoCon Preseason Offensive Player of the Year completed 62.7 percent of his passes, threw 16 touchdowns and six interceptions, and ran for 10 touchdowns.
Just about all of Adams’ supporting cast on offense returns, including receivers Nate Mullen (600 yards receiving) and Daquan Patten (567 yards, 14.5 yards per catch, five touchdowns), and All-SoCon preseason first-team tight end Owen Cosenke (eight touchdowns on 23 receptions). Running backs Connell Young (529 yards rushing, 334 receiving) and Donnavan Spencer (506 yards) are also back.
Sophomore Ronald Kent Jr. (45 tackles, 12 pass break-ups), an All-SoCon preseason first-team cornerback, will try to help the defense bounce back after allowing 490.1 yards per game last year.
August/September game to watch: vs. Mercer, Aug. 31. Fans of offense may want to tune in for the Ingles SoCon Game of the Week this Saturday (Nexstar/ESPN+). A year ago in Macon, Western Carolina took a 7-0 lead after one quarter and things seemed fairly normal. Well, 98 points later, Mercer came away with a 59-46 victory. The teams combined for 1,282 total yards of offense with WCU falling one yard shy of the school record of 711. Adams finished that day with the third-highest single-game total yardage in SoCon history at 545, including a career-high 185 yards rushing.

WOFFORD (#8 AFCA / #9 STATS)
2018 record: 9-4, 6-2 SoCon
Offensive starters returning: 9
Defensive starters returning: 5
Specialists returning: 2

The first year of the Josh Conklin era really didn’t appear much different from the previous 30 years of the Mike Ayers era at Wofford. At least in results and style. The Terriers’ formula of a prolific option rushing attack and a stout defense netted a second consecutive SoCon championship and has made them the favorite to win a seventh league title this year. Last year also marked Wofford’s ninth FCS playoff appearance and third in a row.
The Terriers were one of the top rushing teams in the country, averaging a SoCon-best 311.6 yards per game on the ground. They did that despite having only one returning starter on the offensive line. This year, Wofford’s entire starting line returns, led by seniors Justus Basinger and Michael Ralph. Both earned first-team All-SoCon preseason honors.
The only two starters not returning on offense are last year’s two leading rushers - Andre Stoddard and Lennox McAfee - but Wofford has plenty of experienced backs returning. Those include fullback Nathan Walker (547 yards rushing, 7.1 yards per carry), quarterback Joe Newman (533 yards rushing) and running backs Ryan Lovelace (12.3 ypc on 24 carries) and D’mauriae VanCleave (9.0 ypc on 21 carries).
In addition to guiding the option game in his first year as a starter, Newman also passed for 1,070 yards. He’s still competing this preseason with other quarterbacks including Miller Mosley, who rushed for 258 yards (5.3 ypc) and passed for 343 in 2018.
First-team All-SoCon preseason defensive lineman Thad Mangum returns to lead a unit that ranked No. 1 in the SoCon in total defense, rushing defense, passing defense and scoring defense.
Luke Carter, who connected on 12-of-16 field goals and averaged 43.6 yards per punt, is also back.
August/September game to watch: vs. Samford, Sept. 14. For all the success Wofford has enjoyed the past few seasons, Samford has been a hill that’s been difficult to get over. The Bulldogs have won each of the last four meetings and six of the last seven overall. The Terriers have only beaten Samford in Spartanburg twice - in 1949 and 2011.