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Chris Heidel - The New Hampshire Wildcats currently hold the current FCS playoff streak at 13, one of the most impressive streaks in the country. Seems like the postseason was made for the Wildcats even though last year their season ended with a 55-22 loss to James Madison. Head Coach Sean McDonnelll, who been a fixture in Durham, NH for last 19 years, is hoping to make another run to playoffs this season. The Wildcats offense has 6 returning starters this season. Quarterback Trevor Knight will look to improve on his 56% completion percentage as well as his 14 touchdown passes. Knight will rely heavily upon his offensive line anchored by senior center Jake Kennedy. Coach McDonnell stated that Kennedy was "The best offensive lineman the Wildcats have. It was tough on him because he had to wait his turn because he played behind two players that were All Conference the last three years, but this year he will have his opportunity." Kennedy will anchor an offensive line that yielded 31 sacks last season. Undoubtedly the pressure also had an effect on quarterback Trevor Knight also throwing 10 interceptions. Defensively the Wildcats must improve on their run defense. They gave up almost 140 yards per game on the ground. In the secondary senior safety D'Andre Drummond-Mayrie is a playmaker, "D'Andre is young man who plays safety for us and has played since being a true freshman. He has become one of best athletes on our team," added Coach McDonnell. "We are looking for a big season from him." Both players have been voted captains for their leadership and play and must help elevate the play of the other teammates around them for UNH to win a championship this season. The New Hampshire Wildcats currently hold the current FCS playoff streak at 13, one of the most impressive streaks in the country. Seems like the postseason was made for the Wildcats however last year their season ended with a 55-22 loss to James Madison. Head Coach Sean McDonnelll who been a fixture in Durham, NH for last 19 years is hoping to make another run to playoffs this season. Wildcats offense has 6 returning starters this season. Quarterback Trevor Knight will look to improve on his 56% completion percentage as well as his 14 touchdown passes. Knight will rely heavily upon his offensive line anchored by senior center Jake Kennedy. Coach McDonnell stated that Kennedy was "The best offensive lineman the Wildcats have. It was tough on him because he had to wait his turn because he played behind two players that were All Conference the last three years, but this year he will have his opportunity." Kennedy will anchor an offensive line that yielded 31 sacks last season. Undoubtedly the pressure also had an effect on quarterback Trevor Knight also throwing 10 interceptions. Defensively the Wildcats must improve on their run defense. They gave up almost 140 yards per game on the ground. In the secondary senior safety D'Andre Drummond-Mayrie is a playmaker, "D'Andre is young man who plays safety for us and has played since being a true freshman. He has become one of best athletes on our team," added Coach McDonnell. "We are looking for a big season from him." Both players have been voted captains for their leadership and play and must help elevate the play of the other teammates around them for UNH to win a championship this season.
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Euan McCreath - The Miami Hurricanes are a favorite to win the ACC Coastal Division despite the fact that they will be starting a quarterback with little or no experience. However their stellar defense returns eight starters including the best linebacking duo in the country in sophomores Shaq Quarterman and Michael Pinckney. Quarterman shared this thoughts at ACC Media Day in Charlotte, NC when asked about what he’s doing to improve on an impressive freshman year,“I’ve been focused on my pre-snap analysis and trying to understand what the offense is trying to do to me. So once you understand that you’re one step ahead of the offense. Even reading the stance of the lineman and looking to see how the quarterback identifies the defense and also the wide receiver splits.” I thought to myself this film study hardly sounds like a sophomore linebacker, the student of the game characteristic is rare to see in such a young player.
This dynamic linebacker duo recorded 17 tackles for loss in addition to six sacks. Speaking of sacks the Canes finished 22nd in the nation in sacks. Although these two linebackers are key make no mistake, this is a unit that plays together and with an unselfishness. Penetration was key in 2016 as the Canes finished sixth in the nation in tackles for loss. This stat is key considering that this statistic puts opposing offenses behind the chains and often in predictable passing situations. Not to be undone that same penetration allowed the Canes to block five kicks. Only four teams in the nation had more. Defensive end Joe Jackson is back after an excellent freshman season. In just two starts and limited action off the bench Jackson still managed to tally 17 solo tackles, 11 of those were for a loss. He also recorded 7.5 sacks. A second team freshman All-American, Jackson should be a more dominant force this year creating even more havoc in the backfield not to mention tackling lanes by eating up blockers for his formidable linebacking core. Pressure and penetration are even more critical to the units success considering the Canes have an unproven and young secondary. The experience the Canes front seven has will undoubtedly have to carry them until their quarterback gets settled in, whomever that is. Miami allowed a mere 18.5 points per game last year and had the best turnover margin in the ACC last year at plus nine, tied for 13th in the nation. It’s a great luxury for the Canes to face Bethune-Cookman and Arkansas State the first two weeks of the season to allow their new signal caller to gain some confidence. Last year head coach Mark Richt returned the Canes to national prominence as Miami finished in the top 25 of both the Associated Press and in the Amway Coaches Poll. Richt needs to see what kind of quarterback he has in the first two weeks. The Canes take a major step up in competition in their first real test of the season in week three when they travel to Tallahassee to face the hated Florida State Seminoles where undoubtedly this sports writer thinks they will be double digit underdogs. However with a defense that’s only going to get better the Canes will never be out of game this season. Sitting on this wonderful bus heading home to the free state, I'm sitting here watching traffic, recapping my 2 days at Westin Hotel in Charlotte, NC. It was great to talk to some of the coaches of the ACC Football teams that my brother and I watch on Saturday afternoon in the fall.
It was great to spend time with couple of my favorite coaches. I might one day invite them to family party or maybe my wedding someday, including Dabo Swinney Head Coach of 2017 National Championship Clemson Tigers and Jimbo Fisher of my childhood favorite college football team Florida State Seminoles. These men feel like they are part of my family and they make you feel like a million dollars after you spend time with them. I might have found a job for Coach Swinney after his coaching days are over as a meet and greeter at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte NC. Coach Fisher is a person who you should watch, a father who is always there for his children even at his job where he teaches 85 young men to be great people in on and off field. Well I got run, I'm going to take a nap so I can rest up for season. Thanks for listening, Chris Heidel Chris Heidel - This time last season the James Madison Dukes didn't know what their season was going to be like with brand new football coach Mike Houston at the helm. Houston, who spent one year at The Citadel as their head coach, got the job in Harrisonburg, VA. after Everett Whithers left Shenandoah Valley for the Bobcats of Texas State.
The Dukes went undefeated in FCS only to fall to AAC the powerhouse team in North Carolina by score of 56-28 in Chapel Hill. The Dukes put on a high power offense scoring over 80pts in game twice during the season JMU is looking to keep their winning streak alive at 12 when they travel to Greenville, SC. to play AAC member East Carolina on Sept 2nd. Euan McCreath - Daniel Jones is a big reason why I feel the Duke Blue Devils will challenge for the ACC Coastal Division Championship this year. The sophomore quarterback is coming off a season that saw many highs and lows but it was perhaps how Jones ended the season that has the Duke faithful more optimistic than ever. It was simply put a tale of two seasons for the redshirt freshman who started the first five games throwing six touchdowns and eight interceptions. However the final seven weeks of the season Jones found his groove tossing ten touchdowns and only one interception. Jones talked about the turnaround, “I don’t know if you can say there was a defining moment. It took some time and patience. As a redshirt freshman there were so many ups and downs, Coach Cutcliffe’s support and confidence in me really helped me develop.” When asked about the difference in his quarterback from year one to year two Coach Cutcliffe offered these thoughts on Jones,“No question there’s a big difference physically. He’s stronger and faster. The biggest difference is in the confidence and the leadership and the knowledge that he knows what he’s capable of doing.”
The 6-5, 210-pound lengthy signal caller ended the year throwing 173 passes without an interception which is the longest streak in the country. He looks to improve on his 62% completion percentage and he throws a nice accurate deep ball, “I think as an offense we collectively want to emphasize our explosive offense and our down the field passing game. I feel like the guys upfront will provide the time and protection. Now it’s about timing and repetitions,” he added. Jones also displayed discipline in his decision making particularly in the red zone. Duke was the only team in the ACC not to to commit a turnover in the red zone in league play. All of this and the Blue Devils still only finished 4-8 and 1-7 in the ACC. Duke has a grueling schedule that includes FSU, Miami and Baylor at home. However let’s not forget that Jones lead the Blue Devils to upset wins at Notre Dame and against North Carolina. He also rushed for almost 500 yards and seven touchdowns. So nearly all of the sports writers that vote on the ACC polls aren’t buying what I’m selling? The majority picked Duke to finish fourth in the division. Duke is my dark horse and if history tells us anything it’s that polls mean nothing. Take for instance the 2013 poll where Duke was picked to finish last and they ended up winning the Coastal Division. You like apples, how do you like them apples! Euan McCreath - For the past six years the winner of the ACC Championship has come from the Atlantic Division and I think this year will make it seven. The Atlantic Division of the ACC is in my estimation the best division in all of college football this year. The Clemson Tigers are the defending National Champions while the Florida State Seminoles ended their season winning seven of their final eight games. Not to be overshadowed are the Louisville Cardinals who have the most exciting player in college football and just so happens to be the youngest winner of the Heisman Trophy ever, quarterback Lamar Jackson.
The ACC overall is the best conference in college football and the numbers prove it. Two of the last four National Champions have come from the ACC. The ACC has also amassed a 9-3 bowl record last year not to mention going 10-4 against the powerhouse SEC Conference as well. “We’ve have two Heisman winners the past two years and we have tremendous coaches in the ACC. We’re the best conference in college football,” remarked FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher. Jimbo Fisher is dying to get back to the ACC Championship game and he believes he has the quarterback that can lead him back there. When asked about the development about his signal caller Deondre Francois he offered these thoughts,“What I love about Deondre is that he allows himself to be coached. Last season he made plays with his legs and scored five rushing touchdowns. I feel he has to be more consistent and we have to help him get the ball out of his hands quicker. I feel very confident where we are up front as well.” The development of Francois will be magnified given the fact that All-American running back Dalvin Cook and his 173 all purpose yards per game are now in the NFL. Francois offered these thoughts when asked about what he has been focusing on in the offseason, “I’ve just been polishing up my game, polishing up my protections and where I call my hot reads.” The ACC Rookie of the Year will get a monumental test week one when the Noles face the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic on September 2nd. Challenging the Noles for the Atlantic Division will be the Louisville Cardinals who return arguably the most exciting player in college football, Lamar Jackson. He was clearly the focal point of ACC media day as his superstar status continues to grow while his upside is immeasurable. It was evident that Lamar had one thing on his mind when he addressed the media and that was winning. “My biggest goal is to win the National Championship. I want to win more games than we did last year and it starts with Purdue,” he stated. Head coach Bobby Petrino offered these thoughts when talking about his quarterback,“What we worked on the most is his ability to throw the ball and read coverages. He takes a lot of pride out on the practice field and understanding the coverages. He has worked real hard on his footwork and he’s a great deep ball thrower. The best thing about Lamar Jackson is his attitude and work ethic.” The charismatic 20-year old phenom is only going to get better and his humbleness has earned him a ton of respect not only on his own team but throughout college football. Clemson Tiger Head Coach Dabo Swinney addressed the media and hardly had the comments of a coach that had won the National Championship. In fact he spoke like a coach hungrier than ever to get the season underway and his swagger was one of a coach that had something to prove. He had a few key points of emphasis when talking about the many talented players that were lost that played an integral part of their championship run. “You go out and recruit and develop players. I think that’s one of the things we do best at Clemson. When your able to develop players then you can sustain consistency and that’s really what we want is to be a consistent program. We’ve got good players that are ready to emerge.” Although the Tigers have inexperience under center they do have the luxury of returning four of five on the offensive line including preseason All-ACC offensive guard Tyrone Crowder who passed up an opportunity to play in the NFL to return for his senior year. I asked him about the influences that ultimately lead him back to staying at Clemson.“Our offensive line is a brotherhood and their comments influenced my decision to come back. I was also only 11 credits away from graduating,” remarked the 6-3, 340-pound guard.“I feel like I’m a great run blocker but I have to work on my pass blocking. I feel like this is our best offensive line.” On the other side of the ball junior defensive tackle Christian Wilkins is back with his ferocious hitting and leadership. “We shouldn’t get complacent because we won one, there’s still more out there for us. We can never get satisfied with whatever we did and there’s always room to improve,” remarked the First Team Preseason All-American. The Tigers will open up against Kent State before getting really tested at home the following week against the Auburn Tigers. The Tigers just aren’t sure what they have at the quarterback position as of yet. Although the Noles have an ever improving quarterback, I think the loss of Cook will be to much to overcome. I believe the Louisville Cardinals are ready and primed to make a run at the college football playoff not just an ACC Championship. Behind Lamar Jackson and a potent offense that also boasts an explosive wide receiving group. All this and I haven’t even mentioned that the Cardinals have one of the best defensive backs in the country in Jaire Alexander who is also a game changer as a punt returner. I believe Bobby Petrino will be cashing in a ticket back to Charlotte to play in the ACC Championship game representing the Atlantic Division. |
Euan McCreath Archives
November 2018
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