An early look at the MAC East

An early look at the MAC East

NCAA analyst Brock Murphy takes a look at the teams in the Eastern division of the Mid-American Conference and weighs with his opinion on which players and teams fans should keep an eye on once summer drills begin.

Defensive Star Potential:  No fewer than seven different MAC defenders from seven different MAC schools made the preseason watch list for the Bronco Nagurski Award, which is awarded annually to the nation's top defensive player.  The MAC candidates are: 1) Dirayl Briggs (DE, Bowling Green); 2) Barry Church (SS, Toledo); 3) Larry English (DE, Northern Illinois); 4) Londen Fryar (CB, Western Michigan); 5) Daniel Holtzclaw (LB, Eastern Michigan); 6) Clayton Mullins (LB, Miami (Ohio)); and, 7) Andre Neblett (DT, Temple).

Miami's Mullins was the MAC's leading tackler in 2007 with 11 tackles per game (143 total tackles) and he added four sacks and 13.5 tackles for a loss to his season-stats. EMU's Holtzclaw was hot on Mullins' tail, finishing 2007 with 125 tackles of his own. Briggs posted five sacks and 6.5 tackles for a loss last year for Bowling Green.  Impressive numbers, indeed, but they paled in comparison to the 10.5 sacks and 17 tackles for a loss posted by the Huskies' English. Fryar picked off only one pass but defended sixteen different passes last season. Finally, Neblett's position in the interior prevents him from posting obscene numbers but, even hidden inside, he put up 4.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for a loss in 2007. Toledo's Church was a do-everything defender who posted 92 tackles, three interceptions and four defended passes.

Going Bowling: The MAC was represented by three different teams in post-season bowls. Curiously, sophomore quarterbacks (Dan LeFevour, CMU; Nate Davis, BSU; and, Tyler Sheehan, BGU) captained all three teams -Central Michigan, Ball State and Bowling Green -.

LeFevour tossed four touchdown passes and 292 yards while rushing for 114 yards and two more scores in Central Michigan's 48-51 shootout loss to Purdue in the Motor City Bowl. The Chippewas gave up only 41 rushing yards to the Boilermakers' but Purdue was able to squeeze three touchdowns out of that small bit of real estate.

Davis led an effective passing attack against Rutgers in Canada's International Bowl, finishing with 291 yards and three scores. Unfortunately, the Cardinals had no answer to Ray Rice, who ran for 280 yards and four touchdowns, while leading the Scarlet Knights to a 52-30 win.

Bowling Green had to worst luck of the MAC teams which went bowling last winter. In Mobile Alabama's GMAC Bowl, the Falcons ran into a buzzsaw against Tulsa's Paul Smith. Smith finished 2nd-nationally in total offense with 370 yards per game in 2007 but threw for "only" 312 yards against Bowling Green, Unfortunately, he turned five of his 27 completions into touchdowns. Tulsa finished with no turnovers while the Falcons lost four fumbles on the day as Tulsa cruised to an easy win (63-7).

While none of the three teams posted bowl victories, the experience of each of the teams (and their experienced quarterbacks) was invaluable.

Run, Jarvis, Run: Everyone is familiar with the nation's 5th-leading rusher from 2007, right?  Eugene Jarvis of Kent State?  Anyone?  Anyone?   Bueller?  The four rushers who finished ahead of Jarvis were all taken in the first three rounds of this year's NFL Draft so, having posted 1,669 rushing yards, Jarvis is the nation's leading returning rusher from last season. He is all of five-foot-five and 170 pounds, yet he still rambled for 130 yards or more eight times last season - defenders tend to lose him behind his blockers until he positively explodes through a just-created hole or cut-back lane. The 84 yards he posted against Ohio State may not sound ground-breaking until you consider that it was one yard more than the Buckeyes allowed entire teams to rush for last year.

MAC-East:

Akron:  Having finished 4-8 last year, the Zips finished 10th or worse in the MAC in every single offensive category, including total offense, where its 312 yards per game was good for 111th, nationally. Akron's passing attack ranked 103rd in efficiency (54% completion rate; 14 interceptions; and, 15 touchdowns).

Quarterback Chris Jacquemain will likely start for the third consecutive season but 99 starters in Division-I were more efficient than he last year and Jacquemain's favorite target, Jabari Arthur (86 catches; 1,171 yards), just graduated.

Holes in the secondary and lack of receiver depth led to some interesting offseason moves. Last year's leading rusher, Bryan Williams (728 yards), moved to the secondary while Andre Jones, last year's starting free safety, move to receiver. Both experiments works as Williams picked up 11 tackles and a sack in the spring game while Jones caught five passes for 71 yards.

The team had the freedom to move Williams to defense due to the return from injury of Dennis Kennedy, who had nearly 1000 yards in 2006 but netted only eight carries in the last eight games of 2007. Kennedy is healthy and hungry now and the starting spot appears to be his to lose based on the 117 yards and two scores he posted in the spring game.

Kennedy (in 2006) and Williams are two of the five Zips who have earned past All-MAC honors. The others are LT Chris Kemme, DE Almondo Sewell and linebacker Kevin Grant.

Sewell (6-2, 260) and Iowa-transfer, Ryan Bain (6-2, 305), at nose-tackle, should help form a solid front to the Zips' 3-3-5 scheme. Bain spent nearly the entire spring in the offensive backfield and may often command inside double-teams.

The Zips open their brand-new, on-campus, InfoCision Stadium on September 19, 2009 against the Big-Ten's Indiana Hoosiers.

Bowling Green: The defense features nine returning starters, including All-MAC defensive-end, Diyral Briggs (6-4, 230), who posted five sacks in the spring game matching his 2007 season total. Briggs joins no fewer than seven linemen who enter 2008 with substantial playing experience so depth in the trenches should be no problem.

Linebacker depth is a problem due to off-the-field issues and injuries. Only Erique Dozier is certain to return from last year's starting linebacking unit but, as the middle linebacker, his presence is critical. Every 2007 defensive-back starter returns to the Falcons, including junior safety, P.J. Mahone (5-11, 201), who nabbed seven interceptions and four broken-up passes last year.

Following a 2007 season where he posted a 64% completion-rate, passed for 3,264 yards and 23 touchdowns, junior Tyler Sheehan (6-3, 226) returns at quarterback. He completed 25 of 38 passes for 238 yards in the spring game, an indication that he was managing the complex offensive scheme well, but also that he was not stretching things downfield. Sheehan will be pushed by JUCO-transfer, Andrew Beam (6-4, 230), and, whoever wins, will line up behind three new offensive-line starters next year.

Anthony Turner, Willie Geter and Chris Bullock were the top-three rushers last season and, after running for a combined 1,435 yards in 2007, they all return for 2008. Turner (6-2, 229), a former-quarterback, showed his versatility in the spring game when he tossed the game-winning touchdown on a halfback-option play. Yet, as spring ended, Turner found himself second on the depth-chart to Geter (5-8, 170).  

In his sophomore season, Freddie Barnes (6-2, 212) caught 82 passes for 962 yards and nine scores last year and is, obviously, the premier player in this year's receiving corps. Crafty veteran Corey Partridge is also back after snagging 46 catches for 453 yards in 2007, including an amazing 12-catch, 100-yard effort against Boston College. A knee injury cut his spring short but he is expected back by fall.

Buffalo:  Turner Gill's Bulls finished 5-7 last season, an improvement from their 2-10 record in 2006, to be sure.  However, the overall record was misleading as their 5-3 record in MAC play led Buffalo to finish 2007 as the MAC-East co-leaders.

The passing attack was not necessarily lethal (16 touchdowns) but it was very efficient (68.6% completion rate; 6 interceptions). Drew Willy enters his senior year off of a season that saw him go his final seven games without throwing an interception while tallying 11 touchdown passes. Against Akron, better than one out of every four of Willy's completions went for a score (11-14; 125 yards; 3 touchdowns).

The most talented offensive player is probably junior Naaman Roosevelt (5-11, 184), who enters this season as the top receiver though he is not beyond lining up under center at times. He nabbed 63 catches (for 766 yards and four touchdowns) last season to go with ten punt returns, 21 kickoff returns and six carries.

Leading rusher, junior James Starks (6-2, 210), was often average but, when he was good, he was great (70 carries, 414 yards, 5 touchdowns, combined, in consecutive games against Ohio and Toledo last year). He finished 2007 with 1,103 yards and 12 scores. Sophomore Brandon Thermilus (5-11, 226) had an outstanding spring and assures the Bulls of depth at the position next season.  Fortunately, they will each line up behind a line which returns four starters from last season.

As a freshman free-safety, Davonte Shannon (6-1, 180) had a break-through season last year, leading the team in tackles (123), nabbing three interceptions, causing three fumbles and breaking-up five passes despite starting just nine games. He is the headliner in a backfield that returns every starter from last season - the payoff for the growing pains which came last year from starting two freshmen and two sophomores at those critical positions near the end of last season.

Linebacker is the team's most glaring weakness. Graduation robbed the team of two starters and the most likely list of candidates includes several freshmen. True freshman, Obi Ezemma (6-0, 215) enrolled early and his eagerness paid-off as he had a very solid spring. He and former-defensive-back, Justin Winters (5-10, 190), a sophomore, could end up starting when Buffalo opens the season, at home, against a scrappy UTEP team.

 Ten different defenders missed spring practice due to injury which certainly did not enhance the team's ability to develop defensive depth.

Kent State: As a team, the Golden Flashes completed fewer than 52% of its passes last season for a shade under 2,000 yards (1,997) and fewer touchdowns (13) than interceptions. All the more reason to honor the accomplishments of tailback Eugene Jarvis (1,669 yards and 10 touchdowns).
Jarvis was, in a word, the Kent State offense in 2007. He was the team's leading receiver (23 catches, 306 yards, three touchdowns) as well as leading rusher.  Make no mistake, defensive coordinators knew about the 5-foot-five, 170-pound, Jarvis early last season and designed schemes to keep him controlled. Yet, Jarvis delivered time and time again.

Unbeknownst to the public at the time, the team's passing game took a hit - literally - in week two when starting quarterback, Julian Edelman (6-0, 198), tore the PCL ligament of his left knee against Kentucky. He battled through six more weeks with the injury before missing the rest of the season with a broken right-wrist suffered against Bowling Green. Edelman produced a 100/100 game against Bowling Green prior to suffering the injury (104 rushing yards; 128 passing yards) but, for the season, he had thrown only seven touchdowns and nine interceptions.

The week after Edelman went down, Giorgio Morgan (6-4, 200), a sophomore at the time, took over and threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns against Central Michigan. He definitely stretched the field, vertically, with five completions of 20-yards or more. Sure enough, Jarvis had fewer carries that game (19) but they went for 156 yards and a score. Unforunately, Morgan went down with his own injury the following week.

Edelman and Morgan battled throughout the spring.  Simply stated, there is depth at quarterback but, while Edelman's versatility and tenacity is hard not to like, Morgan's vertical threat seems to be what the team needs to move the offense away from being a one-pony show. Jarvis can certainly tote the load but a balanced attack should be nitrous-oxide to his lethal capacities.

Kent State's defense collected all of fifteen turnovers in 2007 - equal to the number of interceptions the team threw. Their (-.92) turnover margin was one of the worst (110th) in the nation last season. Often, teams burned by the turnover one season benefit the next so watch for the ball to bounce the Flashes' way in 2008.

Having surrendered 19 touchdowns and a completion rate of 66% last year while picking off only nine passes, the pass defense must improve. The backfield was riddled with injuries last season which caused players to move around and youngsters to get thrown into the fire. The team will look for continuity there this fall.

Head coach Doug Martin loves his senior linebackers and the overall depth in his front-seven. Strongside-linebacker, Derek Burrell (6-3, 240), returns after leading the team in tackles (112) last year while Monte Simmons (6-3, 220), made a strong spring push (named spring's most improved defensive player), which permits a talented rotation with Keith Hogan (6-3, 223) at his defensive-end position.

Miami (Ohio):  The Redhawks tied with Buffalo as the MAC-East champions (their 31-28 win over Buffalo broke the tie). The formula was defense-defense-defense as Miami led the MAC in scoring defense and sacks and finished second against the pass and in total defense. As head coach Shane Montgomery noted after his defense dominated the spring game, his offense too often failed to come up with any big plays.

Nine starters return from last year's defense and few teams have more talent and depth at linebacker. It starts with outside linebacker Clayton Mullins (6-2, 235), who is a preseason Bronco Nagurski candidate and the MAC's leading tackler last year (11 tackles per game). Mullins, as well as fellow starting-linebackers Joey Hudson (6-2, 240) and Caleb Bostic (6-3, 225), are all seniors and all fantastic. Their absence this spring opened the door for younger players to pick up experience and the biggest benefactor of those increased snaps may have been sophomore Alex Kaufman (6-2, 230).

As a sophomore last year, quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh (6-4, 214) did not start the first and fourth games last season but he took the majority of the Redhawks' snaps and finished with 2,431 passing yards along with a dozen touchdowns and interceptions. He finished the season with a three-game slide during which he threw seven picks and only two scores.

Raudabaugh battled redshirt-freshman Clay Belton (6-5, 231) all spring and threw ten fewer passes in the spring game (15-21; 78 yards). Belton's numbers were not mind-boggling (19-31-193, 1 TD) but few Redhawk fans were emboldened by Raudabaugh's inability to squeeze 80 yards out of his 15 completions.

Head Coach Shane Montgomery claims the quarterback battle will continue into the fall. He challenged Raudabaugh's consistency and his statement that Belton needed to develop confidence seemed a harbinger of things to come.

The top three tailbacks from last year's team (Cory Jones, Austin Sykes and Brandon Murphy) were each injured and graduated after combining for 1,150 yards and seven touchdowns. Thomas Merriweather (5-10, 200) led the team in rushing touchdowns last year (four) and had the most carries (40) of any of next season's tailback candidates. However, junior Andre Bratton (5-11, 182) was high on last year's depth chart before a knee injury ended his season early and newcomers Dan Green

Ohio:  The Bobcats played solid defense in 2007 but lost the guts of the unit to graduation, including interior linemen Landon Cohen, Brett Sykes and Alan Goff, middle-linebacker Taj Henley and free-safety, Todd Koenig. Fortunately, though, full depth returns at their end and outside linebacker positions and three of their four starters in the defensive backfield also return.

Injuries (including linebacker, Noah Keller) kept the staff from answering too many questions this spring but strongside-linebacker Michael Brown (6-3, 230) was moved to the middle to help solidify the unit's center. Junior Ernie Hodge (6-2, 271), who missed 2007 but was MAC-East Defensive Player of the Week following Ohio's 2006 win over Kent State, excelled this spring after moving from end to defensive tackle.

Offensively, Frank Solich's crew must figure out how to progress without the services of record-setting tailback Kalvin McRae (1,434 yards and 19 touchdowns in '07; 4,398 yards and 45 touchdowns in his career). So much did they rely on McRae's as their tailback threat that the Bobcats' second- and third-leading rushers were their quarterback (Theo Scott, 120 yards) and a wide-receiver (Chris Garrett, 99 yards).

As a freshman last year, Vince Davidson (5-11, 190) was the second-leading tailback with 47 yards off of seven carries. He and L.J. Flintall (5-10, 180) appear to have the upper-hand in grabbing McRae's snaps for 2008.

Whoever takes over for McRae will have to run behind a line featuring two new starters given the graduation of David Shelby and Matt Miller (who played right tackle and guard, respectively).   

Junior quarterback Theo Scott (6-1, 197) shared snaps with Brad Bower last year (Bower finished with twice as many pass attempts) and it was nearly predetermined that Scott would quarterback the troops in 2008. However, JUCO-transfer Boo Jackson (6-2, 190) pushed Scott late in the spring (Scott threw two picks out of his first three passes in the spring game) and will continue to battle for snaps when fall rolls around. In one extended scrimmage, Jackson completed five of seven passes for 116 yards and two scores (he went 16 of 20 for 190 yards and no scores in the spring game). That kind of vertical game would obviously take pressure off of the new tailbacks and bring welcome balance to the overall attack.

Temple: Temple was, literally, the youngest team in football last season. Having lost not one single starter, the team obviously feels primed to improve on last year's 4-8 record (4-4 in MAC).

After four straight 200-yard passing games, then-junior quarterback Adam DiMichele (6-1, 185) went down in week eight with a broken leg. He had by then thrown for 1,595 yards and a dozen touchdowns along with 10 interceptions. The Owls lost three of their last four games with Vaughn Charlton (6-4, 225) under center as Charlton managed to throw only three scoring passes following DiMichele's injury.

DiMichele's leg fracture caused him to miss spring practice but that allowed Charlton (a rising-junior) to mature (he threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in the spring game) and for redshirt freshman Chester Stewart (6-3, 195) to gain some valuable snaps. Stewart gained the respect of his entire team in the spring game when, after spraining his thumb in the first possession, he returned to action to throw for 123 yards.

Head Coach Al Golden wants his Owls to develop a durable running game to try to win the time of possession battle. With his young but experienced defense looking to improve on last year's #1 conference ranking in pass- and total-defense, Golden sees ball-control as a potentially effective formula for success in 2008.

Given the focus on the ground game, it was curious to see the team switch positions for each of their top two rushers from 2007. Junior Jason Harper (5-9, 195) led the team with 585 yards and five scores last season but took spring snaps at receiver while Daryl Robinson (5-9, 175) was lined up at cornerback after picking up 347 rushing yards last year.

Their position switches left the tailback spot open for three candidates: 1) JUCO-transfer Jared Williams (5-9, 190); 2) bruising senior Marcellous Grigsby (5-11, 220); and, 3) talented redshirt-freshman Joe Jones (5-11, 200) who injured his knee before 2007 even began. Lamar McPherson (5-10, 210), a Syracuse-transfer, was moved from linebacker to running-back where his aggressive play may pay dividends in short-yardage situations or as a blocking fullback.

Junior Andre Neblett (6-2, 285) is a preseason Bronco Nagurski candidate and anchor of a defense that returns everybody from last year's unit - which was the best in the conference. The pass defense ranked 21st, nationally, and that was due to a combination of solid pressure (Junior Galette returns after tallying 7.5 sacks last year) and aggressive backfield play (free-safety, Dominique Harris, picked-off three passes and broke up four more last year).

A solid defensive line grew even deeper when Elijah "Peanut" Joseph (6-1, 225) was moved from linebacker to defensive-end and had a solid spring. He posted eight tackles in the spring game and will surely see snaps in the defensive-line rotation next season.

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