With just under 2 weeks to go until the kickoff for the 2011 season, I figured it would be a good time to roll out a Sac State outlook. Since I already posted the departing and returning players, their stats, and a win-loss prediction in my BSC Outlook (seen here: http://hornets.bigskyfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1345), this will be more of a list of observations and expectations for this Hornet program this season.
It’s put up or shut up for this Hornet program under Coach Sperbeck. Sperbeck and Co have been steadily building this program brick by brick and it’s time to see this program elevate itself to the next level. The pressure is on and we are going to see what this program is really made of. There is no better time than now for this program to live up to the occasion and prove to its fans and its city that it truly is a contender and not a pretender. Failure is not an option. (Insert other “get it done” cliché here.)
This season has a lot of hype, potential and promise surrounding it. With that said, this season should be full of some accomplished firsts for this program if it can take care of business every Saturday:
Health
The success of the Hornets will depend largely on their health. Keeping key players healthy has been an issue the past few seasons and this team can ill afford to lose players early. With the tragic loss of Coach Brooks over the offseason, this issue may rear its ugly head again as I have no idea what Sperbeck and Co did to fill the Strength & Conditioning Coach void. Will the players be in their best physical condition heading into the season and will their conditioning and strength be maintained throughout the season? This will be something to keep an eye on as the season progresses. We will know the answer to this sooner rather than later because of the…
Schedule
The Hornets will be on the road for 5 of the first 6 games and won’t have a home game until week 4 when the Hornets face a team they have never beaten. The Hornets will be in some very physical and tough match-ups from the get go so it will be imperative that the Hornets take this season week by week and focus on taking care of business. There is not much room for error because if the Hornets stumble out of the gate, it won’t be easy playing catch up and a season with this much potential and promise can be completely squandered by a couple of bad weeks in a row. This team has the talent to beat anyone but conversely they don’t have the talent to win games just by showing up.
I’ll now run through a brief breakdown of the positions and make an attempt at listing a depth chart. Some of these are pretty obvious based on who is returning, but some areas are total guesses especially when it comes to redshirts. Hopefully some of the posters who have been attending the fall camp practices and scrimmages can post a more accurate depth chart based on who is getting more time.
Offense
With what is returning, a lot is expected from this unit. Fleming preformed exceptionally and what is more impressive is that he was only with the team for a week or two before last season began. The offensive line is the only position with a few spots to fill so they will need to get things together immediately. This offensive group needs to move the ball and put up points consistently. My concern here is that Sperbeck will be calling the offense without an offensive coordinator again. My fear is that this team gets a lead and then the offense packs it in and goes into an uber-conservative and ultra-predictable mode with the play calling (run, run, pass, punt type sh!t). This offense (and its play calling) will need to keep the foot on the throttle for 60 minutes every week (except week 7).
Quarterback
Jeff Fleming is obviously going to be the starter. The offense depends on his execution and leadership. He progressed beautify last season and proved himself on the field. He is coming off of an injury but it sounds like everyone is expecting him to be ready to rock come week 1.
Wide Receivers
There are a slew of talented and experienced receivers returning to this Hornet team. With the injury of Hendershott and Reed last season, this allowed for the emergence of Deadder and Norrise. All of these players are returning with the addition of a handful of talented and tall receiver via recruitment and redshirt. I assume the Hornets will typically use 3 WR’s in their base set.
Tight Ends
There are also quite a few tight ends returning for this Hornet offense but they lack experience. Quite a bit was lost due to graduation so a couple of these guys are going to have to step up. There is plenty of size here so this should be one of the interesting battles to watch during fall camp.
Running Backs
A solid stable of running backs are available for use this season. These guys will need to perform and live up to the expectations of a traditional Hornet running attack. The Hornets are top heavy here and it will be interesting to see if a few of the young inexperienced RB’s will find some playing time this season or if they will be redshirted.
Offensive Line
The Hornets return 3 of 5 starters and have plenty of young and sizable players who are no doubt competing for the opening spots on the line. A lot will depend on this unit getting its chemistry together and being a coherent group that can execute each play. Here are my guesses at the starting group:
Defense
This defense saw an emergence under a new scheme from Coach Parker last season. This new scheme brought a new aggression that this defensive unit was seriously lacking from previous seasons. This defensive unit improved immensely and its toughness and new found attitude made it one of the best defensive units in the conference last season. This unit also lost some key players at each level of the defense so although the voids to fill are few, the contributions by those who left was very significant. The defensive unit will need to prove that they are for real this season.
Defensive Line
This defensive line was rock solid last season. With the focus on Christian Clark from the tackle position, Zach Nash was able to make an FCS leading 13 sacks from the end position. He will no doubt have a lot of attention on him this season so the other linemen will need to step up and continue the tradition of tormenting opposing quarterbacks:
Linebackers
This is an interesting position in the new scheme. Peter Buck was moved from the defensive backfield to a linebacker position last season and he thrived in it. With his loss, this will be a vital role to fill as an aggressive yet agile and quick player will be needed to solidify the front 6. Badger will now be thrust into the leadership role of this linebacking group; his wingman spot will be up for grabs:
Defensive Backs
This unit lost more than I realized. Obviously the loss of the sure tackling and hard hitting strong safety Zach Schrader will be a big void to fill, but the other safety position lost some experience with Dana Willis’ departure. The Hornets do return both cornerbacks with experience as well as a few other DB’s who saw action; however the strong safety position will be a key position to fill as the SS is instrumental in supporting the run defense. Here are my DB depth chart gueses:
Special Teams
The special teams units had a very productive season last year. There were not many mishaps but they did occur and hopefully the special teams units can improve over last season. These units will need to be flawless and not allow any game changing plays by their opponents as well being able to have the ability to provide a spark via a long return or a blocked punt.
Punting
Augie Heath isn’t coming off of a great season however he will need to make sure that he executes when he is called upon. Hopefully Heath isn’t called upon much this season but he will need to be more accurate and he must be able to pin opposing offenses deep inside their own zone. The punt coverage team will also need to make sure it contains opposing returners such that a big play is not allowed. They did an excellent job at this last season and they will need to maintain that level of play this season. The punt block unit was very exceptional last season and it will need to maintain its high pressure style of play and produce some more punt blocks. These punt blocks create a lot of momentum for the Hornets which this team feeds on.
Kicking
Chris Diniz was a solid kicker and hopefully his younger brother can produce the same consistency as he takes over the kicking duties. The kicking game is a vital role so Diniz II is going to have to step up his game immediately. This team cannot afford to miss scoring opportunities with missed field goals and PAT’s. The kick coverage team will also have to maintain its stellar play and make sure that no momentum changing returns are allowed.
Punt/Kick Return
These units saw some limited successes and were hit or miss throughout last season. There were some mishaps that cost the Hornets some crucial games and that will need to be cleaned up this season. Both of the return teams will need to see significant improvement and generate some better return yardage.
Overall this Hornet team is pretty stacked heading into the 2011 season. There are some voids to fill but the coaching staff has built some depth into this program so someone should be able to step up and fill in the voids. In my mind, it’s a now or never season. With the offensive weapons returning as well as an experienced defense, this program needs to make some serious noise this season. If the coaches can keep these players focused on the task at hand, this team should meet these expectations.
Go Hornets!
It’s put up or shut up for this Hornet program under Coach Sperbeck. Sperbeck and Co have been steadily building this program brick by brick and it’s time to see this program elevate itself to the next level. The pressure is on and we are going to see what this program is really made of. There is no better time than now for this program to live up to the occasion and prove to its fans and its city that it truly is a contender and not a pretender. Failure is not an option. (Insert other “get it done” cliché here.)
This season has a lot of hype, potential and promise surrounding it. With that said, this season should be full of some accomplished firsts for this program if it can take care of business every Saturday:
- • 1st win over Weber State in Ogden
• 1st win over Montana
• 1st win over Montana State since ‘04
• 1st win over Eastern Washington in Sacramento
• 1st Big Sky Conference Championship
• 1st D-1 playoff appearance
• 1st D-1 playoff win
• 1st D-1 National Title
- • 1st win for Southern Utah over a BSC opponent under HC Ed Lamb
• 1st BSC road win by Idaho State since ’06
• 1st loss to Northern Colorado
Health
The success of the Hornets will depend largely on their health. Keeping key players healthy has been an issue the past few seasons and this team can ill afford to lose players early. With the tragic loss of Coach Brooks over the offseason, this issue may rear its ugly head again as I have no idea what Sperbeck and Co did to fill the Strength & Conditioning Coach void. Will the players be in their best physical condition heading into the season and will their conditioning and strength be maintained throughout the season? This will be something to keep an eye on as the season progresses. We will know the answer to this sooner rather than later because of the…
Schedule
The Hornets will be on the road for 5 of the first 6 games and won’t have a home game until week 4 when the Hornets face a team they have never beaten. The Hornets will be in some very physical and tough match-ups from the get go so it will be imperative that the Hornets take this season week by week and focus on taking care of business. There is not much room for error because if the Hornets stumble out of the gate, it won’t be easy playing catch up and a season with this much potential and promise can be completely squandered by a couple of bad weeks in a row. This team has the talent to beat anyone but conversely they don’t have the talent to win games just by showing up.
I’ll now run through a brief breakdown of the positions and make an attempt at listing a depth chart. Some of these are pretty obvious based on who is returning, but some areas are total guesses especially when it comes to redshirts. Hopefully some of the posters who have been attending the fall camp practices and scrimmages can post a more accurate depth chart based on who is getting more time.
Offense
With what is returning, a lot is expected from this unit. Fleming preformed exceptionally and what is more impressive is that he was only with the team for a week or two before last season began. The offensive line is the only position with a few spots to fill so they will need to get things together immediately. This offensive group needs to move the ball and put up points consistently. My concern here is that Sperbeck will be calling the offense without an offensive coordinator again. My fear is that this team gets a lead and then the offense packs it in and goes into an uber-conservative and ultra-predictable mode with the play calling (run, run, pass, punt type sh!t). This offense (and its play calling) will need to keep the foot on the throttle for 60 minutes every week (except week 7).
Quarterback
Jeff Fleming is obviously going to be the starter. The offense depends on his execution and leadership. He progressed beautify last season and proved himself on the field. He is coming off of an injury but it sounds like everyone is expecting him to be ready to rock come week 1.
- 1. Jeff Fleming, SR
2. Garrett Safron, RFR
3. Tommy Edwards, SO
4. Redshirting: Jake Geringer, Colin Burnett both FR
Wide Receivers
There are a slew of talented and experienced receivers returning to this Hornet team. With the injury of Hendershott and Reed last season, this allowed for the emergence of Deadder and Norrise. All of these players are returning with the addition of a handful of talented and tall receiver via recruitment and redshirt. I assume the Hornets will typically use 3 WR’s in their base set.
- 1. Chase Deadder, SR
2. Brandyn Reed, SR
3. John Hendershott, SR
4. Morris Norrise, SO
5. DeAndre Carter, FR
6. Nnamdi Agude, FR
7. Keonte Howard, TSR
8. Chris Broadnax, RFR
9. Justin Chastain, RJR
10. Redshirting: Ashton Collins, Justin Cox, Shane Harrison, Blake Robertson all FR
Tight Ends
There are also quite a few tight ends returning for this Hornet offense but they lack experience. Quite a bit was lost due to graduation so a couple of these guys are going to have to step up. There is plenty of size here so this should be one of the interesting battles to watch during fall camp.
- 1. Reese Heaslet, JR
2. TJ Knowles, TJR
3. Marcus Mosi, FR
4. DJ Maciel, SO
5. Jimmy “likes” Bobak, JR
6. Redshirting: Jon Kirkman, FR, Brian McKeon, JR
Running Backs
A solid stable of running backs are available for use this season. These guys will need to perform and live up to the expectations of a traditional Hornet running attack. The Hornets are top heavy here and it will be interesting to see if a few of the young inexperienced RB’s will find some playing time this season or if they will be redshirted.
- 1. Bryan Hilliard, SR
2. Curtis Shaw, SR
3. Jake Croxdale, SR
4. Sam McCowan, JR
5. Stephen Tezanos-Pintos, SR (short yardage back)
6. Redshirting: Gary Ferman, Jordan Matanane, both FR
Offensive Line
The Hornets return 3 of 5 starters and have plenty of young and sizable players who are no doubt competing for the opening spots on the line. A lot will depend on this unit getting its chemistry together and being a coherent group that can execute each play. Here are my guesses at the starting group:
- • LT: Vince Weaver, JR
• LG: Aaron Gasper, JR
• C: Clay DePauw, JR
• RG: Tyler Worthley, SO
• RT: Nate Doverspike, SR
• OL: William Fukofuka, RFR
• OL: Devonte Martin, RFR
• OL: Matt Shinn, SO
• OL: Dustin Pfaff, SR
• OL: Julio Regla, RFR
• OL: Derek Stickney, RFR
• Redshirting: Tyler Blank, Chauncey Centeno, Spencer Klew, Lars Hanson, Aleksandar Milanovic, all FR
Defense
This defense saw an emergence under a new scheme from Coach Parker last season. This new scheme brought a new aggression that this defensive unit was seriously lacking from previous seasons. This defensive unit improved immensely and its toughness and new found attitude made it one of the best defensive units in the conference last season. This unit also lost some key players at each level of the defense so although the voids to fill are few, the contributions by those who left was very significant. The defensive unit will need to prove that they are for real this season.
Defensive Line
This defensive line was rock solid last season. With the focus on Christian Clark from the tackle position, Zach Nash was able to make an FCS leading 13 sacks from the end position. He will no doubt have a lot of attention on him this season so the other linemen will need to step up and continue the tradition of tormenting opposing quarterbacks:
- • DE: David Coleman, SR
• DT: Matt Lawrence, JR
• DT: Alesana Laban, JR
• DE: Zach Nash, SR
• DL: Matt Agaiava, SR
• DL: Trent Askew, SO
• DL: Maika Maumau, SR
• DL: John Bloomfield, TJR
• DL: Ben Cowger, RFR
• DL: Marques White, RFR
• Redshirting: Nathan Castro, Trevor Kelly, Josh Latham, Andrew Roots, John Taylor (no, not that one ), all FR
Linebackers
This is an interesting position in the new scheme. Peter Buck was moved from the defensive backfield to a linebacker position last season and he thrived in it. With his loss, this will be a vital role to fill as an aggressive yet agile and quick player will be needed to solidify the front 6. Badger will now be thrust into the leadership role of this linebacking group; his wingman spot will be up for grabs:
- 1. Jeff Badger, JR
2. Cody Allen, SO
3. Todd Davis, SO
4. Henry Fernandez, SO
5. Redshirting: Ronny Camacho, Tyler Gomogda, Diante Lee, all FR
Defensive Backs
This unit lost more than I realized. Obviously the loss of the sure tackling and hard hitting strong safety Zach Schrader will be a big void to fill, but the other safety position lost some experience with Dana Willis’ departure. The Hornets do return both cornerbacks with experience as well as a few other DB’s who saw action; however the strong safety position will be a key position to fill as the SS is instrumental in supporting the run defense. Here are my DB depth chart gueses:
- • CB: Kyle Monson, SR
• SS: Ryan McMahon, TJR
• FS: Joe Larche, SR
• NB: Evander Wilkins, SR
• CB: Osagie Odiase, SO
• DB: Marquese Smith, SR
• DB: Markell Williams, SR
• DB: Robert Beale, SO
• DB: Corey Vanderbeek, SO
• DB: Manasa Kikau, TJR
• DB: Randey Peterson, SO
• DB: Dexter Alcala, RFR
• Redshirting: Joshua Armstrong, Jacoby Carter, Nicholas Payne, Antoine Pickett, Corey Sims, all FR
Special Teams
The special teams units had a very productive season last year. There were not many mishaps but they did occur and hopefully the special teams units can improve over last season. These units will need to be flawless and not allow any game changing plays by their opponents as well being able to have the ability to provide a spark via a long return or a blocked punt.
Punting
Augie Heath isn’t coming off of a great season however he will need to make sure that he executes when he is called upon. Hopefully Heath isn’t called upon much this season but he will need to be more accurate and he must be able to pin opposing offenses deep inside their own zone. The punt coverage team will also need to make sure it contains opposing returners such that a big play is not allowed. They did an excellent job at this last season and they will need to maintain that level of play this season. The punt block unit was very exceptional last season and it will need to maintain its high pressure style of play and produce some more punt blocks. These punt blocks create a lot of momentum for the Hornets which this team feeds on.
- 1. Augie Heath, SR
2. Jimmie Bobak, JR, long snapper
Kicking
Chris Diniz was a solid kicker and hopefully his younger brother can produce the same consistency as he takes over the kicking duties. The kicking game is a vital role so Diniz II is going to have to step up his game immediately. This team cannot afford to miss scoring opportunities with missed field goals and PAT’s. The kick coverage team will also have to maintain its stellar play and make sure that no momentum changing returns are allowed.
- 1. Jason Diniz, RFR
Punt/Kick Return
These units saw some limited successes and were hit or miss throughout last season. There were some mishaps that cost the Hornets some crucial games and that will need to be cleaned up this season. Both of the return teams will need to see significant improvement and generate some better return yardage.
- • PR: Kyle Monson, SR
• KR1: Curtis Shaw, SR
• KR2: Sam McCowan, JR
Overall this Hornet team is pretty stacked heading into the 2011 season. There are some voids to fill but the coaching staff has built some depth into this program so someone should be able to step up and fill in the voids. In my mind, it’s a now or never season. With the offensive weapons returning as well as an experienced defense, this program needs to make some serious noise this season. If the coaches can keep these players focused on the task at hand, this team should meet these expectations.
Go Hornets!
8-3 is a reach for this squad, but after no breaks going our way last year, you never know, we could have some built-up good karma working in our favor. This record would mean a losses to OSU and MSU on the road with a third loss either at PSU or at home against EWU IMO. This record would come by way of a victory of UM, finally. 8-3 would certainly earn a playoff game appearance, perhaps even a hosting opportunity depending on the final shakeout.
9-2 or better would be a minor miracle for this team, program and city. This is the kind of year that would push attendance for conference games to 12-15K and a sellout Causeway Classic. To have a record like this we would have to win all the games against inferior teams and the "push" type games with a multiple upsets mixed in (OSU, MSU, UM). 9-2 is definitely a playoff berth and maybe a round one bye.