Appalachian State Mountaineers 2018 Football Preview

Appalachian State Mountaineers 2018 Football Preview

Opening Statement: The Mountaineers finished 9-4, and were one point away from a 0th win over Wake Forest after losing to the rising Demon Deacons 21-20. More of the same should be on tap for App State in 2018, as a run against Arkansas State should be fun to watch in the Sun Belt. Finding a new QB, some standouts from a young receiver corps, and stabilizing the line will be priorities on offense, and replacing Eric Boggs at LB will be a major priority on defense, but there is talent returning, for certain, and enough of it to make another magical run.

Breakdown Offense: App State scored 33.5 points per game last fall, and passed for 216.2 yards per game, while rushing for 223.62 yards per game.
A big issue for the Mountaineers will be finding a replacement for Taylor Lamb at QB. It seems like forever since they have had to have a QB battle, but that is the reality heading into fall camp. Sophomore Zac Thomas has the edge out of spring ball, with Jacob Huesman battling it out with him. That battle will carry over into the fall, and won't likely culminate until the week before the opener, if then.
Jalin Moore will carry the load in the run game after rushing for 1037 yards and 12 scores last fall. He averaged 5.67 yards per carry last season and averaged over 94 yards per game. He did miss two games to injury, however, so he will have to remain healthy. Marcus Williams rushed for 500 yards as the backup, and returns in that role after averaging 5.15 yards per carry. Deatrich Harrington will likely shore up the RB3 role, with Demarcus Harper and DeVonta Smith looking for carries as well.
Leading receiver Ike Lewis is gone, leaving a hole at the top of the receiving corps for 2018. Thomas Hennigan and Malik Williams are slated in as starters. Hennigan posted a line of 45-585-7, while Williams caught 19 passes as a reserve last fall. The Z receiver spot is open for battle in camp, and depth is not what it is in the run game. Jalen Virgil should be the leader for the Z position, but there is a void of production beyond him.
Collin Reed is back at TE, but caught just 8 passes last fall. Devin Papenheim is slated to step in at the TE2 spot after the departure of Levi Duffield.
The line has 3 starters returning. Victor Johnson is slated to return at LT, but the RT job is wide open as we head into the summer. Nate Haskins is slated to backup at LT,but could swing into the starting job at RT as well. Ryan Neuzil and Cole Garrison are the starters at OG, while Noah Hannon is the starting C. There is little depth, however, which could create some issues.

Breakdown Defense: App State had a solid year defensively, allowing just 20.2 points per game. Teams passed for 205.1 yards per game against them, and the Mountaineers allowed just 137.46 yards rushing per game.
Okon Godwin and Chris Willis have the DE spots locked up heading into the summer. The two combined had 8 TFLs last fall, so more will be expected out of them. Myquon Stout is the starter at NT, and finished with 3 TFLs. Demetrius Taylor should provide some depth at DE, and could push for a starting spot at either end, while Markell Clark is the backup at NT, and will get plenty of time on the field.
Tim Frizell and Akeem Davis will be the starters at OLB in the 3-4 set. Neither did much last fall, and will be expected to carry a huge load with the departures of Boggs and Rashaad Towns. Anthony Flory and Jordan Fehr are the starters inside. Flory finished 2nd on the team with 87 tackles last fall, while Fehr is another former reserve trying to step into a starting job. Edward Davis backs up inside, but depth is an issue right now at the OLB spots. Edward Davis finished with 19 tackles a year ago.
Clifton Duck is one of the best corners in the nation, and finished with 6 INTs last season, and will return to man one CB spot, with Tae Hayes set to start opposite Duck. Hayes picked off 4 passes last fall, good for 2nd on the team. Hayes led the team with 12 total PBUs. Shaun Jolly and Jean-Charles Shemar will back them up. Austin Exford is projected to start at SS, while Desmond Franklin is projected to win the FS job. Exford finished with 33 tackles last season, while Franklin finished with 49 tackles.

Breakdown Special Teams: Chandler Staton is the returning starter at PK after hitting 8/9 FG attempts last season. Michael Rubino hit just 9/15 tries, and returns as well. Xavier Subotsch is back at Punter, but had his struggles as a freshman, averaging 39.87 yards per punt. App State ranked 118th nationally in punting a year ago, so this is an area of concern.
Clifton Duck is projected to take the PR job away from Thomas Hennigan this season. Duck averaged 9.44 yards per return, with Hennigan averaging 6.8 yards per return.
Hennigan will also be battling Malik Williams for the KR job.

Final Analysis: If App State can find a QB who can manage the game and not make mistakes, and allow the ground game to dominate, as it can, the Mountaineers should be just fine. There are decent receivers returning that can make the transition easy for the new QB. Depth also must be found on the line for the offense to thrive once again. Defensively, there are decent, but not great options on the line, but the LB group will be trying to find their footing, and must do so early on. Look for the secondary to be one of the better units in the nation. All in all, there is enough going on here to make me believe that the Mountaineers should be able to make another great run through the Sun Belt if all of things come together. There is no reason to believe that they cannot go through another 10 win campaign this fall, one win better than last season.