Appalachian State Mountaineers 2010 Review

2010 Record: 10-3 (7-1), Tied 1st Southern
2010 Postseason: Lost 2nd Round to Villanova, 42-24
2010 Schedule/Results: @ Chattanooga, W 42-41, Jacksonville, W 45-14, North Carolina Cantral, W 44-16, @ Samford, W 35-17, Elon, W 34-31, Citadel, W 39-10, @ Western Carolina, W 37-14, Furman, W 37-26, @ Georgia Southern, L 21-14, Wofford, W 43-13, @ Florida, L 48-10, Western Illinois, W 42-14, Villanova, L 42-24

REVIEW

     Just when you though that Appalachian State HC Jerry Moore would be settling in for a small rebuilding effort, he proves how dominant his program really is. Was this a perfect version of App. State football in the modern era? Not a chance, but it was damn good as being what it was. 
     DeAndre Pressley became the latest QB poster child of ASU football by tearing up the field in 2010. Pressley passed for 2631 yards and 21 TDs against just 7 picks in 343 attempts. He also decided to take charge in the rushing game as well, as he led the team with a line of 162-947-13. Every single year Moore goes out to his QB pile and picks a winner, and this season was no different, as Pressley was a finalist for the All-Bilo FCS QB of the Year. Pressely averaged 202.4 yards per game passing, while picking up another 72.8 yards per game with his feet. He averaged over 3 TDs per game combined.
     With Pressley dominating like he did in 2010, RB Travaris Cadet only had to be a complimentary piece to the offense, and was just that. He rushed for 620 yards and 6 TDs on the season. Devon Moore added 350 yards rushing, but his specialty was short yardage and redzone, as he scored 10 times. Cedric Baker rushed for another 5 TDs on the season, while Rod Chisholm and Jamal Jackson each added one score.
      Brian Quick was the man at receiver for the Mountaineers in 2010. Quick averaged 18 yards every time that he touched the football, and ended the season with a line of 47-844-9. Matt cline also busted out with 42 grabs, but his role was as the under guy, as he had 42 receptions, but only picked up 415 yards, less than half of what Quick had. Ben Jorden was 2nd on the team with 6 TD receptions, while CoCo Hillary had a solid 13 yard per grab average on the season as the #3 receiver.
      While ASU did a solid job against the pass (allowed 180.8 yards per game), they lacked a little energy against the run (allowing 166.9 yards rushing). If Moore has any real work to do to improve this football team, it's along the front 7 in shoring up the rush D. There will be problems in doing so, as the team's leading tackler, DJ Smith, was a senior, and leaves a 144 tackle void iin his wake. No other ASU defender came within the stratosphere of that number.
     Another huge hole will be felt up front in 2011 with the loss of DL Jabari Fletcher, who finished 3rd in the SoCon with 20 total TFLs in 2010. LB Justin Wray, a sophomore in 2010, will have to step up and take the lead in pressuring the backfield, as he finished 6th in the SoCon with 16 TFLs. No other Mountaineer player appraoched double figures, which is something that Moore will have to develop in the spring. Fletcher also finished 3rd in the conference with 10 sacks.
     Ed Gainey, Mark Legree, and Troy Sanders were all busy guys in a secondary that allowed under 200 yards per game passing in 2010. Gainey finished with 9 pass breakups, Legree with 8, and Sanders with 7. Even Fletcher got into the act here with 5 passes knocked down in 2010. Legree finished with 5 picks on the season, and Dominique McGuffie got into the act as a sophomore by picking off 4 passes.
     Jason Vitaris was as solid as they come at PK in 2010. Vitaris knocked in 11 of his 12 FG attempts for a 91.7% success rate on the season. He will be difficult to replace, as he now moves along. Sam Martin can afford some improvements at Punter, as he averaged only 39.23 yards per punt.

FINAL NOTES

Appalachian State is in no way ready to hand off their title winning ways to Wofford, or anyone else for that matter in the SoCon. ASU wis always a playoffthreat, but this team had some big holes to fill coming into the season, and Moore was masterful in making it work for another season. There are some concerns on defense for 2011, but as was said, Moore is that master at replacing great players with other great players, and ASU is an elite FCS program. Some would say that they are still living off of that win at Michigan, but I would say that they are living off of year to year greatness.