Arkansas Sports 360.com - July 2008 - (Page 23) selection with 23 passes caught for 404 yards and four touchdowns over the last two seasons. Senior Vernon Caitlin and juniors J.T. Jordan and Trevor Gillott are also expected to contribute at tight end. The offensive line for the Red Wolves is anchored by senior Matt Mandich, who was touted as one of the top linemen in the Sun Belt Conference last season. Mandich has started every game for ASU in three years and is on the preliminary Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List. Despite losing four players up front, ASU is looking at senior Brandon Ciaramitaro and senior Mark Clemons at the tackle and center positions, while Dominic Padrta, Alfred Louis, Drew Hilton and Anthony Jackson are battling for guard positions. Bradley Guillory, Derek Newton and Kano Prater are expected to contribute on the Red Wolves’ line. “Our offensive line and our secondary has to come through,” Roberts said. “We can’t afford injury and we have to click on all cylinders.” Among the wide receivers, Thompkins and senior Kevin Jones are top candidates. With addition of Taylor Clements and Jahbari McLennan, along with junior Jarriel Norman, the Red Wolves’ receiving corps is solid and deep. Defensively, ASU return Bryan Hall, Stanley Porter, Levi Thompson and Khari Mays are at the tackle positions. The defensive end position is led by senior All-Sun Belt Conference performer Alex Carrington and senior Brian Flagg. The two ends combined for 82 tackles in 2007. Flagg was a First Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Vi selection. The Red Wolves also have adequate depth at the position as redshirt freshman Bamidele Ayoola and junior Stanley Wakwe play back-up roles. “Ben Owens is a leader on the defense for us and he can get the job done,” Roberts said. “We’re going to go out and we’ll compete to the best of our abilities each week in every game. That mindset is very important for us to be successful.” At linebacker, Ben Owens had a career-high 96 tackles last season, good for a No. 5 ranking in the Sun Belt. Along with Owens, Javon McKinnon started last season and returns at outside linebacker. He finished with 41 tackles last year, including 11 against Tennessee. Other linebackers giving depth to the position will be sophomore Darious Glover, redshirt freshman Demario Davis, junior Greg Hardy and redshirt freshman Elroy Brown. in the secondary, senior Dominique Williams and junior Daylan Walker have both started multiple games. Williams has 62 career tackles and five interceptions, while Walker was 30 tackles. Cordarious Mingo, Walter Moody and Leroy Trahan are sophomores who can be of worth in the secondary for ASU as well. Mingo was a 2007 First Team NJCAA All-American selection. Junior Evan Van Dolah and sophomore M.D. Jennings are expected to fill the roles at safety for the Red Wolves, but they’re replacing two of the best safeties in ASU history in Tyrell Johnson, who was drafted in the NFL, and Khayyam Burns, who signed as a free agent with Kansas City. Van Dolah and Jennings both saw playing time in all 12 games last year and combined for 57 tackles, two sacks and an interception. Junior Marcus Brown returns from a year off along with the addition of freshman Kelcie McCray and sophomore Marquette Williams. Brett Shrable took over the punting duties in 2006 and averaged 41.7 yards per punt in 2007, which earned him the second-best average in the Sun Belt Conference and 37th nationally. Junior Josh Arauco kicked a career-high 15 field goals last year for ASU, while Thompkins ranked 46th nationally in his average kickoff returns. Senior Kevin Jones averaged 11.4 yards on punt returns, as well. “Six of our eight games are on the road,” Roberts said. “We are 22-7 at home and that’s an incentive to win more at home. We’re going to do what it takes and it makes it more important than a name change. “We’ve embraced it, ‘we are the Red Wolves.’” m lEonArd lookS to StAy HEAltHy MiChaeL Pirnique PoiNtiNg tHe Way: Corey Leonard is a good fit for asu’s no-huddle attack. Corey Leonard returns for his junior season at Arkansas State University as one of the most feared quarterbacks in the Sun Belt Conference. Leonard used his fleetness of foot and speed to set a school record by throwing 16 touchdowns and passing for 2,235 yards, the most since Cleo Lemon, now playing in the National Football League, threw for 2,721 yards in 1998. This season, Leonard is a conference preseason first-team selection. “Corey is a very gifted quarterback with a lot of athleticism,” Arkansas State coach Steve Roberts said. “He’s beneficial most of the time and harmful some of the time, too. He can get out of trouble with his scrambling ability, but sometimes he gets into trouble with it. If he continues to improve, he could be one of the best in the country.” Leonard is the first to put all the success on his teammates. He considers himself just another Red Wolves teammate. “It’s all about the team and we had a good one my first year,” Leonard said. “Last year we had a lot of depth on offense and defense. We had good drives, but we ran out of energy especially in our opener with Texas. It caught up with us again when we played Middle Tennessee State University. We had a lot of guys fatigued, but with the JUCO players coming in, that will give us depth in the long run. We’ve had the talent the last two years, but teams like Troy hit us at a bad time.” Leonard managed to make a fine fit of the Red Wolves’ no-huddle offense last season and is expected to sharpen his skills more in 2008. “Last year was the first time for us to go to the no-huddle, which made for quicker tempo and worked well to our strengths,” Leonard said. “We moved the ball very well and this year, Reggie [Arnold] and I feel comfortable with the team. We’re not like a big school, but you don’t want to underestimate us.” Leonard is ready to get started this year. “You don’t know how nice it is to have Reggie back there, who ran for over 1,000 yards -- he gives us some room to work,” Leonard said. “They better get ready for both of us. In 2005, the guys came in to change things around and ever since, we’ve shown glimpses of greatness. “We’ve got to continue to focus on what we’re doing on the field. We’ve got a good opportunity this year and it’s like we’re starting with a clean slate now that we’re the Red Wolves.” Leonard has a goal to set the school passing record this season and see his teammate Arnold rank among the top three runners in the conference again. “I’d love to have an eight- or nine-win season and personally I think we can do it,” Leonard said. “We have some different talent, but it’s the same game. The more I can produce the better it’s going to be for the team, but we all have to stay healthy. If we do that, it’s going to be a good road. “I’d love to go through the conference undefeated and upset Texas A&M for our second coming in Texas.” m — By Martin Couch HeaD of tHe Pack: arkansas state head football coach steve roberts. July 2008 ArkansasSports360.com 23 http://ArkansasSports360.com
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