2007 CFN Conference USA Preview
Team Previews,
Offenses, Defenses & Depth Charts
East
East Carolina |
Marshall |
UAB |
UCF |
Memphis |
Southern Miss
West
Houston |
Rice |
SMU |
Tulane |
Tulsa |
UTEP
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2007 CFN Conference USA Preview
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CFN All-Conference USA Team &
Top 30 Players
- C-USA Team-by-Team
Capsules
- Conference USA Unit
Rankings
- Conference USA Schedules &
Predictions
By
Richard Cirminiello
Wide open. It describes some of the offenses in Conference USA and this
year’s race for conference supremacy.
In a little over a decade, the league has failed to establish much of a
national identity, periodically taking in an eclectic mix of programs
like an emergency shelter. However, parody and some prolific passing
attacks have quietly made it one of the more entertaining non-BCS
conferences and a haven for future NFL players. The upcoming season
figures to follow that script.
Save for Memphis, Tulane and UAB which are in transition, every member
will enter the season believing it can win a crown or at least earn a
bowl invitation. That’s nine schools without a dramatic gap between
them.
Out of the East Division, Southern Miss returns enough starters on both
sides of the ball to be the favorite to return to the league
championship game. East Carolina, however, is a program on the come and
beat the Eagles in Hattiesburg last year. Marshall has been recruiting
well for awhile and houses two of the best NFL prospects in defensive
end Albert McClellan and center Doug Legursky. UCF is an enigma with
enough talent to win it all or enough turnovers to flop for a second
straight year.
The West won’t be won until the final weekend of the season. It’ll be
that tight. Tulsa gets the benefit of the doubt because of the return
of quarterback Paul Smith, however, Steve Kragthorpe is in Louisville
and most of Smith’s protection has graduated. Houston will defend its
championship without quarterback Kevin Kolb or his top back and
receiver. SMU will be the story of the year if it can get back to the
postseason for the first time since 1984. Rice wants to prove it can
keep the momentum cranking without departed head coach Todd
Graham.
This year’s Conference USA champ? It’ll be a tug-of-war which is one
more reason to pay attention to the league in 2007.
Team That'll Surprise
East Carolina – After just two seasons in Greenville, Skip Holtz has
gradually begun building something positive at East Carolina, gaining
confidence with wins over Virginia, Southern Miss and NC State. Step
one was ending a four-year bowl drought last year. Step two will be to
dethrone the Golden Eagles and win the league’s Eastern Division. Sure,
the program has put out an APB for playmakers in 2007, however, both
lines return virtually intact which will help mask concerns in the
backfield and the secondary.
Team That'll Disappoint
Rice – Last season was pure magic as Rice overcame about a million
hurdles to make an improbable return to the postseason for the first
time in 45 years. A repeat, however, is unlikely. It’s not as if the
Owls have suddenly closed the talent gap on the rest of the conference
and how long can you win with a defense that allows 30 points and 400
yards a game? Oh, and after one season as the lead magician, Todd
Graham bolted for an opportunity to coach Tulsa. Last year was
memorable, but it’s back to a bowl-less December for Rice.
Offensive Player of the Year
RB Damion Fletcher, Soph., Southern Miss – Fletcher is the poster boy
for late bloomers. Almost completely ignored coming out of high school,
he exploded as a freshman for 1,388 yards and 11 touchdowns, despite
missing time with a knee injury. Just 5-10 and 180 pounds, Fletcher is
a slippery back that hits the hole quickly and will pick up six or seven
yards even when it looks like he was stopped. He’s added a few pounds
of muscle to handle the rigors of being the feature back of a
ground-oriented offense.
Defensive Player of the Year
DE Albert McClellan, Jr., Marshall – Three years ago, Jonathan Goddard
shredded opposing linemen in an All-America season. McClellan is
better. A 6-2, 245-pound blur coming off the edge, he was literally
unblockable at times in 2006, racking up 77 tackles, 20 tackles for loss
and 11.5 sacks. McClellan’s first step and overall athletic ability is
no match for Conference USA tackles who are forced to hold the junior
rather than watch their quarterback treated like a piñata. He’ll bolt
for the NFL after this year where he projects as an outside
linebacker.
5 Big-Time Players Who Deserve a Bigger Spotlight
DE Albert McClellan, Jr., Marshall
RB Damion Fletcher, Soph., Southern Miss
WR Jarett Dillard, Jr., Rice
QB Justin Willis, Soph., SMU
TE Cody Slate, Soph., Marshall
Coach on the Hot Seat
Tommy West, Memphis – No one is in imminent danger in Conference USA so
this is relative to a league that has four first-year coaches and
stalwarts, such as Jeff Bower, Mike Price, George O’Leary and Art Briles
that aren’t going anywhere. West has elevated Memphis, but over the
past 26 games, the Tigers have won just nine and last season was a
disaster. West canned Joe Lee Dunn in September, took over the defense
himself and led the program to two wins and the country’s 111th-ranked
defense. A repeat will test the administration’s confidence.
5 Non-Conference Games Conference USA opponents had better take very,
very seriously
1. Southern Miss at Boise State, Sept. 27
2. East Carolina at Virginia Tech, Sept. 1
3. Texas Tech at SMU, Sept. 3
4. Oklahoma at Tulsa, Sept. 21
5. Houston at Oregon, Sept. 1
5 Best Pro Prospects
1. DE Albert McClellan, Jr., Marshall
2. C Doug Legursky, Sr., Marshall
3. WR Jarett Dillard, Jr., Rice
4. TE Shawn Nelson, Jr., Southern Miss
5. S Quintin Demps, Sr., UTEP
5 Biggest Shoes to Fill
1. Blake Joseph or L.J. Castile for Kevin Kolb, QB Houston
2. Chubb Small for Ahmad Bradshaw, RB Marshall
3. Joe West for Johnnie Lee Higgins, WR UTEP
4. Patrick Handy for Justin Rogers, DE SMU
5. Ryan Hebert for George Batiste, G Southern Miss
5 Bold Predictions
1. The clock is ticking on Skip Holtz’s tenure at East Carolina.
After fielding lots of interest from bigger schools last December, he’ll
accept a promotion and pay bump shortly after leading the Pirates back
to the postseason.
2. The bloom will officially be off UTEP coach Mike Price’s rose at some
point this season. No doubt he did a magnificent job changing the
culture in El Paso, however, the Miners have flopped at the end of the
last three seasons and are facing massive turnover from a team that went
5-7 in 2006.
3. Even without Kevin Kolb, the Houston offense is going to be a handful
for the rest of the league to handle. Art Briles has his spread attack
clicking and third-year sophomore Blake Joseph is set to be his new
triggerman with the help of a speedy group of playmakers and five
starting linemen.
4. By the midway point of the season, Arkansas fans will be wondering
how in the world Gus Malzahn was allowed to leave an SEC school for
Tulsa. While he doesn’t quite have the right mix of personnel, the
program’s new coordinator will gradually transform the Hurricane offense
into a powerhouse.
5. After
coming so close in 2006, SMU will finally break through for its first
bowl berth in 23 years. Rising star Justin Willis will help quarterback
the program to its most important moments since the pre-NCAA Death
Penalty days.
What Will Happen
- East Carolina will beat Southern Miss in its Conference USA opener and
will survive a late-season loss at Marshall to be better than expected.
However, in the end, the Golden Eagles will prove to be the class of the
league as the season goes on, and will make it look easy at times along
the way.
- Tulsa will be the class of the West by far wrapping up the title by
mid-November after a win over Houston. The Golden Hurricane will go on
to lose to Southern Miss in the title game.
- UTEP will collapse again, Rice will go back to being Rice, at least
record-wise, for a year, and Tulane and UAB will battle on October 13th
for the honor of being the league’s worse team.
- Tulsa, Hosuton, East Carolina, Southern Miss and SMU will go bowling.