Appalachian State 2010 Football Preview (Part 1 Of 3)

The following article is the first of a three-part preview, taking a look at the 2010 campaign for five-time defending Southern Conference champion Appalachian State. This article will take a look at the quarterbacks and running backs entering the 2010 campaign for the Mountaineers.

2010 Appalachian State Football Preview:

Appalachian State fans know the feeling all to well. In fact, in 2006 it was an uneasy feeling, as the Mountaineers looked to defend the school’s first of what would become three national titles on the Football Championship Subdivision gridiron (FCS).

 

The concern that season centered around having to replace quarterback Richie Williams, who was looked at as a proverbial hero around the town of Boone, N.C., and one of the most-significant reasons the Black and Gold was able to win their first national crown. If you magnify that feeling about a 1,000 times, that is the feeling of most surrounding the ASU program entering the 2010 season. The question is, how do you replace a legend like Armanti Edwards?

 

Edwards, after all, was the only player to win two Walter Payton Awards (2008 and ‘09) and helped the Apps to two national titles, four league crowns and finished his career second all-time in NCAA history in total offense (14,753 yds.)

 

But despite the loss of Edwards, the Mountaineers may be even more talented this season, returning 16 starters to the fold for the 2010 season. Though Williams will never be forgotten for his accomplishments at ASU, Mountaineer were quick to forget their preseason worries in the third week of the ‘06 season, as Edwards started his first game in the Black and Gold.

 

Thirteen wins later, the Mountaineers had successfully defended their crown. Mountaineer fans hope that scenario can repeat itself four years later.

 

The Offense:

Since ASU made the transition to the spread offense in 2004, scoring points and amassing ridiculous yardage totals has been the norm for this multi-faceted attack. The Mountaineers have consistently ranked among the top offenses at the FCS level since that transition and the potent attack will now enter its seventh season since its implementation, and will have its third different starter at quarterback.

 

The Mountaineers are coming off an ‘09 season, which saw them rank third nationally in total offense (465.1 YPG), 10th in rushing offense (206.3 YPG) and 12th in scoring offense (33.2 PPG). The Mountaineers have now ranked in the top five in total offense each of the past four seasons, while also ranking in the top 10 in rushing offense over that same four-year period. ASU returns nine starters from that talented unit last fall.

 

Quarterbacks:

 

There were a couple of contenders for the starting quarterback responsibilities in the spring, and both DeAndre Presley and Jamal Jackson were the leading candidates coming out of the spring.

Presley is the veteran of the duo, as the a 5-11, 180-pound junior native of Tampa, FL. has logged a fair amount of action during his Mountaineer career. He spent much of his sophomore season playing wide receiver for the Apps, though he began the season as the Mountaineers’ backup field general.

 

Presley was called upon right away in ‘09, as he would start the season opener at East Carolina, due to a pre-season injury that Edwards suffered while cutting grass at an off-campus facility. Presley struggled a bit in the opener, and ASU was nearly rescued by third-string quarterback Travaris Cadet, who came in and helped ASU score 17-second half points in a 29-24 loss.

 

As a true freshman, Presley provided glimpses of what he could do in ASU’s regular-season finale against Western Carolina. Starting once again for an injured Edwards, Presley would go on to enjoy the performance of his career in a 35-10 win over the Catamounts in the ‘Battle For The Old Mountain Jug’, accounting for 314 yards of total offense (158 passing, 156 rushing) and four TD responsibilities in the win. For his efforts, Presley was cited as the SoCon’s Offensive Player of the Week.

 

For his career, Presley has connected on 38-of-60 passes for 468 yards, with two touchdowns and a couple of interceptions. As a rushing threat, Presley has racked up 480 yards and eight scores on 85 rushes.

 

Though he wasn’t all that impressive in the spring, Presley has the athleticism to be effective leading ASU’s high-octane offense and also has an accurate arm, but his downfield arm strength remains a bit of a question mark heading into fall camp.

 

Jackson has been the player that many around the program was being groomed to replace Edwards from the time he arrived on the ASU campus last August. The 6-3, 185-pound product of Atlanta, GA., was a highly-touted recruit coming in last season, out of North Atlanta High School. Not only does Jackson have great athleticism and speed, he also has a big-time arm. If Jackson ends up being the starter for ASU this fall, the Mountaineers will lose little in the way of arm strength.

 

Jackson came to Appalachian rated as a two-star recruit by rivals.com. Some close to the program has at least the tools, both athletically and mentally, to give the Mountaineers’ high-octane offense the same potentcy which they enjoyed under the direction of predecessors Edwards and Richie Williams.

 

As a prep standout during his senior year at North Atlanta, Jackson connected on 66-percent of his throws and finished his senior season throwing for 1,652 yards and 20 TDs. He also aquitted himself as a reliable dual-threat under center by rushing for 276 yards and five TDs on 35 attempts.

 

The third and some would say the ‘wildcard’ candidate in the quarterback mix entering the 2010 season is Kalik Barnes. Barnes is a player everyone is anxious to get a look at and one that many Mountaineer fans feel could be the second coming of Edwards.

 

The 6-0, 190-pound native of Atlanta, GA., played his high school football at Parkview HS, where he finished as the school’s all-time leading passer in just two seasons as the starting quarterback.

 

Barnes finished his senior season, passing for 1,398 yards, 15 TDs and five interceptions after only playing in six full games. Barnes suffered a broken jaw in the fifth week of the regular-season.

 

The starter won’t be decided until well into fall practice, but the candidate that is likely to win the nod by the time the Mountaineers take the field for the season-opener is Presley, as a result of his experience and versatility. It would be unwise to count out Barnes, however, as we know how Moore has been quick to turn to a true freshman in the past. All one needs to do is look back to 2006.

 

Running Backs:

 

The strongest component of the ASU offense entering the 2010 season is likely the offensive backfield, which returns senior Walter Payton Award candidate Devon Moore. Moore is a player that has maybe the best combination of skills at the running back position in school history, and that includes greats such as Chip Hooks, John Settle and the school’s all-time rushing leader, Kevin Richardson.

 

Moore has been beset by some injuries during his career, namely a severely broken ankle he suffered against James Madison in 2008. Prior to that, Moore, who would have been a starter at any of the other seven SoCon schools at the time, spent his freshman and sophomore campaigns serving as Richardson’s understudy.

 

Last season, Moore offered quite a response to the questions surrounding his durability and health as the Mountaineers’ feature running back, posting the school’s sixth-best single-season rushing total in school history and the best season by a Mountaineer running back since ‘05, as he rushed for 1,374 yards and 19 TDs on 256 attempts (5.4 YPC).

 

The durable Moore also proved he could catch the football coming out of the backfield for the Mountaineers last fall, as able to haul in 36 passes for 282 yards, averaging 7.8 YPR. Moore gives the Mountaineers versatility coming out of the backfield and will take plenty of pressure off of either Presley or Jackson in the starting role this fall. Another player that will be a factor for the Mountaineers will be Rod Chisholm.

 

The 5-9, 190-pound sophomore from Charlotte, N.C., is being groomed to be the running back of the future for the Mountaineers. Chisholm is a powerful, low-to-the-ground runner, who also catches the ball fairly well coming out of the backfield for the Black and Gold. In ‘09, Chisholm rushed for 133 yards on 21 attempts, averaging 6.3 YPC.

 

Also returning to give the Mountaineers even more depth in the backfield are Cedric Baker and Devin Radford. Baker is a powerful runner that excels as a blocker, while Radford gives the Black and Gold backfield the speed element, both as a straight-ahead runner and as a receiving threat coming out of the backfield.

 

Baker, a 5-9, 185-pound junior from Wilmington, N.C., saw his fair share of action in action as a reserve for the Black and Gold as a reserve behind Moore last fall, and will likely assume the role as the Mountaineers’ second-string running back once again this fall. He finished the ‘09 season, rushing for 233 yards and a TD on 45 attempts last fall (5.2 YPC). Baker caught five passes for 39 yards (7.8 YPR) last fall. Radford, who transferred in from Virginia Tech a couple of summers ago, is a player that can change a game with his speed. Although he saw his playing time severely diminish last fall, it only takes one time for him in the open field to change a game.

 

The 5-9, 190-pound senior from Fayetteville, N.C., is coming off a season in which he rushed for 233 yards and a TD on 45 attempts (5.2 YPC) and a TD. As a receiving target coming out of the backfield, caught just one pass last season, but two years ago, Radford hauled in five passes for 178 yards and a couple of scores (35.6 YPR).It’s another strong contingent of running backs returning for the Black and Gold for the 2010 season, and its a position the Mountaineers have been able to maintain a high degree of talent at since the graduation of Kevin Richardson in ‘07.

 

The only season in which the Apps had trouble maintaining order in the backfield was in ‘08, but have been able to, but have more depth and perhaps as much talent in the backfield in the five-consecutive championship seasons.