2008 Spring Preview
Key MAC Questions Answered
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2008 MAC Spring Analysis
Is
the Ball State coaching staff planning on making the offense balanced and varied,
or is it going to go with its star and make it Nate Davis, Nate Davis,
Nate Davis?
From Doug Schrader,
Publisher BallStateInsider.com
The entire offense is returning with considerable depth and
experience as compared to last season. MiQuayle Lewis will be returning
for his junior season at RB after suffering an injury that ended his
year at Nebraska. He's a good back and started as a freshman, but
suffered injuries his freshman and sophomore years. The injuries at RB
last season did create a considerable amount of depth that has big game
experience which should really give the already potent offense a big
boost. Cory Sykes a small but extremely quick RB from Harvey, Illinois
(Thornton HS) enrolled in January and will challenge immediately
veterans Lewis and Frank Edmond's. Coach Hoke said Cory may be the
fastest guy on the team which is saying something as this team has good
speed.
There will also be additional help for the offensive line which
is full of 3 and 4 year starters with good size that are very
experienced but should be challenged by a couple of red shirt freshman
that are also very talented. Receiving corps is very solid with the
return of Dante Love and Darius Hill, but has quality depth and speed to back them up
as well.
Offensively, Ball State should be even more potent than last year as Nate
will have another year of experience and his leadership will come to him
naturally this year. Davis has been steadily improving in his decision
making and ability to read defenses, but in my view has also begun to
develop into much more of a threat to run when the pass is not there. We
really started to see that the last half of the year. With a stable full
of quality RB's with experience Ball State will be much more balanced
offensively as long as they stay healthy. Even if they loose a couple of
backs this season they have the depth and experience to continue to make
the running game a threat. Last year that was not the case and it made
it much more difficult on the passing game which still managed to put up
a lot of yards on quality opponents. They'll still remain pass oriented
primarily due to the skills, strong arm and decision making Nate
displays so that will be their orientation first.
Talk around Indiana is this is the best offensive team Ball State has
ever had, but I guess only time will tell. They have size, speed, skill
and experience and a schedule that is very favorable. The senior
leadership on this team has experienced some of the best competition
major college football has to offer and have played against the likes of
Iowa, Auburn, Boston College, Purdue, Indiana, Michigan, Navy, Nebraska,
Illinois and Rutgers. If the defense is as improved as many believe it
will be it could be a terrific year for Ball State football fans.
Anything short of a win over rival Indiana University, a conference
championship and bowl victory will be a disappointment so expectations
are as high as I can ever remember and I have been following this
program since 1967.
Is there going to be more
scoring from the Miami offense?
From Alex Dombroff, RedHawkInsider.com
With the exception of the oft-injured Brandon Murphy, Miami
lost no offensive threats of consequence to graduation. Thus, based
on the experience coming back, Miami should be expected to have a
much better scoring statistics next season. They return a group of
dynamic receivers in Chris Givens, Eugene Harris, Armond Robinson,
and Jamal Rogers, as well as their most impressive tailback down the
stretch, Thomas Merriweather. Of those five, four will be
sophomores; Robinson will be a junior. The biggest wildcard looking
towards next season is weather or not redshirt freshman Clay Belton
will be able to displace Daniel Raudabaugh as starting quarterback.
Raudabaugh did well in leading Miami to the MAC Championship game
after starter Mike Kokal got injured, but Shane Montgomery probably
can't afford to sit on Belton, who comes in with tremendous hype.
That said, Montgomery has shown unflappable loyalty to players in
the past, Kokal being a prime example, so expect the position to be
wide open well past spring practice.
Can the line finally start
producing after two lousy years?
The RedHawk O-Line showed immeasurable
improvement last season after giving up the most sacks in the
country in the season prior. Like the skill positions, the offensive
line has a lot of youth, and should continue to get better with
experience and continuity.
Where will the team find its
leadership?
The linebacking corps will have the tough task of anchoring
the defense on the field, and providing leadership off it. Rising
senior Clayton Mullins anchors that group as the returning MAC
Defensive Player of the Year, but he might face competition for that
title from close by on the field. Joey Hudson, also a senior-to-be,
was the darling of the RedHawk defense coming into last season, but
battled injury all year. He still managed 99 tackles, and was tied
for second on the team with 2 interceptions. Finally, Caleb Bostic,
who will will be a junior, was just as important a cog in the
linebacker machine as Mullins and Hudson last season, amassing 103
tackles, second on the team behind Mullins. The talent of those
three on the field must translate into solid leadership off the
field, or else the RedHawks might lack focus with all the young
talent on the other side of the ball.
