2010 Record: 5-6 (4-5), 4th SWAC West2010 Post Season: None
2010 Schedule/Results
@ UTEP, L 31-10
@ Alabama State, L 38-31
Clark Atlanta, W 35-19
@ Southern, W 41-23
Prairie View, L 21-6
Alabama A&M, W 21-14
@ Alcorn State, W 39-35
Grambling, L 35-25
Mississippi Valley State, W 49-20
Jackson State, L 52-30
@ Texas Southern, L 20-13
OFFENSE
385.2 yards per game
There were few QB/WR combos in the country that were better than that of Qb Josh Boudreaux and WR Raymond Webber, both seniors in 2010. Let's start with the QB, as we tend to do here. Boudreaux was essentially the second best QB in the SWAC next to Casey Therriault at Jackson State. Boudreaux passed for 2750 yards and 21 TDs. His problem, which seems to be a recurring theme in the SWAC, was tossing the ball into too many crowds, ending up with 13 picks on the season. Boudreaux did average 250 yards per game, which one could call perfectly fantastic.
Raymond Webber was the main reason that Boudreaux was so good at times in 2010. Webber was the best receiver in the FCS, and was named as the national and SWAC All-Bilo WR of the Year. Webber caught 101 passes for 1429 yards and 10 TDs. Webber averaged 14.1 yards for every catch, and picked up 129.9 yards per game on the season. Webber should absolutely play professional football on some level in 2011. I would expect the NFL to give him a serious shot, because he has earned it.
Justin Billings, Dhabion Woodfin, and Adrian Moore shared the load at RB during the season, with Billings leading the way with 370 yards and 3 scores. Moore and Stephen Jones both rushed for 5 scores on the season, but for obvious reasons, the rushing game was not a focal point on the season.
DEFENSE
383.6 yards per game allowed
The defense had some struggles in 2010. It was fairly easy enough to pass against the Lions. Teams tossed the football at a clip of 219 yards per game agains UAPB. The problem was that they weren't very good at halting the rush either, letting teams run at a pace of 164 yards per game. The defense gave up just under 4 TDs per game on the season, not a sustainable total to have a winning season.
The bright spot on the line was the play of Ibrahiam Abdulai, who finished 3rd in the SWAC in TFLs. When it came to that particular stat, nobody else ranked in the top 30 in the conference, making the line a virtual open door for backs to run through. Abdulai racked up 20 TFLs on the year, an amazing number when nobody else on the line was up to the task.
The LBs were much better, with a freshman leading the way in Jerryan Harris. Harris racked up 129 tackles on the year, averaging 11.73 per game. Derrick Timber also had a solid effort in 2010, as he picked up 83 tackles. The LBs had to work significantly past the line of scrimmage due to the line not holding their ground, which meant that the LBs were not freed up to make plays behind the line.
The secondary didn't seem to big on making plays this season. The Lions did not have a major ballhawk or playmaker working for them in 2010. James Harrell did manage to pick off 4 passes on the season, but nobody produced double figues in passes defended, or anywhere near it for that matter.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Chris Ewald had a rough run as a junior. He only managed to hit 10 of 17 FG attempts, so there are issues here, as well as at punter, where Kent Black only averaged 34.73 yards per punt, which is not getting it done with a defense that is known for not being dominant by any measure. In short, the special teams are anything but.
FINAL NOTES
What a shame. The offense had a gem of a player in Raymond Webber, one of the best receivers in the nation, but the defense and special teams totally dropped the ball for the most part, and so Webber's efforts were mostly wasted on the team. Webber and Boudreaux are now gone, so the Golden Lions must replace an enormous amount of talent and production. Not good. The defense and special teams must find some new talent to provide a more aggressive approach, which means finding players in the spring and fall that can kick it up several notches. Finding a new QB and WR that can even emulate the numbers of Boudreaux and Webber would be nice too.
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