A-State Spring Practice Update

[Seminole Indian]

Based on various reports from observers and their coaches the focus during the first half of spring pratice this year has been in getting more physical in the trenches on both sides of the ball, and of course developing depth.

Most observers, and the A-State coaches seem to think they have made the most progress on the defensive side of the ball where a quartet of newbie's have muscled themselves into contention to comprise  the 2-deep at the 2 interior positions( their biggest weakness last year), even though A-State returns all but one player from last year.

Robert Mondie (300lb, SR,UAB transfer), Waylon Robertson(340lb, Jr,JC), Jake Swalley (290lb, Jr,JC), and Marcus Hudson (265lb, Rs-Fr, who was ineligible last year), have made their presence felt early, and enabled A-State to move Darrius Rosser (285lb, Jr), and Chris Odom (234lb, Jr) to DE, where there is already an abundance of talent, and depth. 

Returning players Chuks Ota (285lb, So, who started several games as a true),  E.J. Sutton (275lb, So), and Clifford Thomas (285lb, So), who along with Rosser, Odon and graduated Sr Dexter Blackmon( 264lb) manned those 2 inside spots last year, all face an uphill climb to hold their spots on the 2-deep.

The hoped for progress on being more physical the OL, where they lost 2 starters, has been a little less obvious, but they have a lot of candidates, and they are moving players around on an almost daily basis.

Upgrading the  center position seems to be  the biggest focus, and  Devin Mondie (291lb, Jr, returning starter at guard), Brandon Berg (275lb, Jr, JC), Daniel Keith (275lb, Rs-Fr,  who probably would have been a starter at some point as a true, if he had not got  hurt against Tennessee), are all getting a shot.

The presence of a healthy Kyle Harris(285lb, Sr, who had several starts during his time at South Carolina, and could end up at center),  and highly regarded JC transfer Joseph Bacchus (274lb) may allow the coaches to move returning 2 year starter Colton Jackson (274lb, Jr) from tackle to guard.

Because they only lost 2 players off their 2-deep in the OL from last year, there are a number of returning players with playing experience to put together a solid 2-deep, so improvement over 2015 is expected. Even so , many expect incoming freshman Dalton Ford (295lb) to have a shot at getting into the mix.

As far as the skill positions, A-State returns most of their already talent loaded 2-deep, on both side of the ball, so it has been a case of  player improvement, and mixing in some newbie's to improve depth.

The main focus seems to be at QB (the # 2 spot at QB opened up when back up QB Stephen Hogan decided not to return for his senior year) where   Cameron Birse (215lb, So), and James Tabary (195lb, Rs-Fr), are in a close race to backup returning starter, and All--SBC QB Fredi Knighten (185lb, Sr).

Based on what they have seen thus far this spring, almost everyone agrees that the 2015 version of the Red Wolves should be noticeable better than the  2014 version.

[DeltaBoy]

ASU should be even better this fall.

[Seminole Indian]

I think they will be one of the most improved teams in all of college football.

[Rooka]

Will be fun to see the progress under Blake Anderson. Thanks for the update.

[Seminole Indian]

I dropped by their scrimmage yesterday, but to be honest spent most of my time checking out the stadium improvements.  Very impressive.

As far as their team, all you could tell was they are athletic, have very good speed overall, and  have players on both sides that can make big plays( good thing on offense because they are not a grind it out team at all). Pretty much the same as the last few years, but the overall talent level of their program gets better every year.

I do agree with those that have been saying their DL is  drastically improved over last year. Fact is they basically have last year DL still there (lost only 1 player) but they are regulated to  backing up the newbie's.

Knighten did not play so their backup QB's Cameron Birse, and James Tabary  took all the snaps.  Both appear to be above average in the passing game, and pretty mobile.

They do have the talent to be a very good team, and should be noticeably better than last year.

[Seminole Indian]

Wanted to read what others thought about Fridays scrimmage but to be honest not much out there.

The recap  in the Sunday addition of the Jonesboro Sun was just another report on the improvement everyone is seeing in their DL. The DL, and kicking field goals were really the only real weak areas last year, and in the case of the DL really just for the last half of the season when the 'injury bug' took a big bite out of them.

Because they returned all but one player on the DL  from last year, and had a couple of players sitting out, improvement was expected regardless. Not sure anyone anticipated that they would bring in a bunch of  newbie's at mid-term who would muscle their way past the guys already on campus, but it appears that may be the case.

Their DC was quoted as saying "We're so much better up front and were more athletic at safety."

The play of the defense, and the fact that they are moving the players on the OL around in an effort try and shore up the center position, and get the best 5 on the field has made evaluating the offense this spring difficult.

Based on comments by their coaches, developing  a more physical run game was their primary goal this spring. It  will probably be fall practice, when they decide on who their starters in the OL are, and stop moving them around, before anyone can tell if they succeeded. The coaches have said they feel they have the talent to have a solid 2-deep.

What is obvious is that they have a lot of talent on their offense, which was expected because they return basically everyone from the #20 ranked offense in FBS.

What is also obvious is that this team has a chance to be better than last years, and probably a lot better.

[Two Socks]

At the end of last season the defense was one of the worst in Division 1.  Witness the game with AppState, ULL, Texas State, and Toledo.  They even gave up 30+ points to lowly New Mexico State.   The lack of depth was really exposed by the multiple injuries in the defensive front.    Having the additional bodies this season can only help.

[DeltaBoy]

More Quality Bodies on the DL will win them 2-3 more games this fall.

[Dropkick]

More Quality Bodies on the DL will win them 2-3 more games this fall.

that would mean 9 or 10, that will be tough

[Seminole Indian]

that would mean 9 or 10, that will be tough

No doubt whatsoever they were on track to win at least 2 more regular season games last year had they not been devastated by injuries and not just in the  DL. Probably would have won their bowl game.

I'll stick with my 8 +/- 1 win prediction this year, but 10 is not out of the question. They are the most talented team in the SBC. Still young in places but very talented.

[Two Socks]

  If the Red Wolves can reduce those silly unforced turnovers,  especially by Knighten,  and both the OL & DL strengthen their units this team has a solid chance to win every game except USC.

[Seminole Indian]

Their OC said both backup QB's,Brice and Tabary, are ahead of where Knighten was last year so unlike last year they may sit him down if turnovers persist.

I think both lines will be very solid this year unless there are again a lot of injuries.

I think the biggest issues left to be resolved is in the kicking game, and depth at corner and LB.

They did not offer the walk-on Logan Spry who finished the year as their starter, and reports are he will not be with the team. They really don't need to go down the same road again they did last year with Luke Ferguson, and not have someone ready to step in immediately if he again fails to take his practice game into a real game.

They also have not shown thus far they have a solid 3-deep at LB and corner, where they are a little undersized and thus subject to getting banged up.

While many  feel the Turner kid will return at LB this fall,if I were the coaches I would still be looking to bring in a corner, and LB if at all possible for this fall.

[DeltaBoy]

Sure they can find some bodies to plug in .

[Seminole Indian]

Bodies I agree with but it was not having the right kind of bodies that killed what was shaping up to be an outstanding season last year.

There are a few other options at LB if Turner does not make it back, and/or injuries mount there.

They have already moved a player from A-Back to corner, that was recruited to play either, and had a lot of experience playing the position in HS.

[Seminole Indian]

Had the Spring Game last night, and offense won 55/47.

Lots of key players on both sides of the ball either not playing or limited but still a entertaining game.

This summary is from their Official Site:
http://www.astateredwolves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7200&ATCLID=210030283