Todays News and Observer
Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 10:58 am
2016 could be huge for Appalachian State football program
Zach Matics' game-winning field goal didn't only push Appalachian State to victory over Ohio in the Camelia Bowl, it also pushed expectations sky-high on what will be one of the most anticipated football season in history for the Mountaineers in 2016.
Depending on how bowl games shake out, App State could find itself in this season's top 25 polls.
The Mountaineers (11-2) figure to have 15 starters back on 2016, with three of the departing seniors coming from a wide receiving corps that rarely leaned on just one player. App State's defense, ranked in the nation's top 20 in a number of categories, will lose just two starters -- but key starters -- in defensive end Ronald Blair, the Sun Belt's defensive player of the year and safety Doug Middleton.
The number of departing seniors -- 22 overall -- isn't huge, but filling the leadership roles will be among the Mountaineers' biggest challenges of the offseason.
Players like Jesse Chapman and Simms McElfresh, both walk-ons turned team captains, don't come around often. There's no plug-and-play solution for Blair, who is likely to be taken in the upper-half of the NFL draft.
But perhaps more important in App State's culture, those players helped guide the program through the two year transition that wasn't easy on anyone.
Despite those losses, the reason for optimism is because of the returning talent -- some of which didn't see much of the field.
Quarterback Taylor Lamb set a new school record for touchdown passes with 31 and ranked among the nation's most efficient passers. Marcus Cox, the Camelia Bowl MVP, figures to return after a 1423 yard season, joined be Jalin Moore.
Defensively, App State will get back it's two leading tacklers in Eric Boggs and John Law to go along with Latrell Gibbs, who is tied for third in the nation with seven interceptions.
The talented group of returners will have every opportunity to prove itself on the national stage early in a season opening visit to Tennessee before playing host to Miami and new coach Mark Richt two weeks later in Boone.
Going into the offseason on an emotional victory in the Camelia Bowl will only help the Mountaineers, according to Satterfield.
from the News and Observers December 23, 2015
Zach Matics' game-winning field goal didn't only push Appalachian State to victory over Ohio in the Camelia Bowl, it also pushed expectations sky-high on what will be one of the most anticipated football season in history for the Mountaineers in 2016.
Depending on how bowl games shake out, App State could find itself in this season's top 25 polls.
The Mountaineers (11-2) figure to have 15 starters back on 2016, with three of the departing seniors coming from a wide receiving corps that rarely leaned on just one player. App State's defense, ranked in the nation's top 20 in a number of categories, will lose just two starters -- but key starters -- in defensive end Ronald Blair, the Sun Belt's defensive player of the year and safety Doug Middleton.
The number of departing seniors -- 22 overall -- isn't huge, but filling the leadership roles will be among the Mountaineers' biggest challenges of the offseason.
Players like Jesse Chapman and Simms McElfresh, both walk-ons turned team captains, don't come around often. There's no plug-and-play solution for Blair, who is likely to be taken in the upper-half of the NFL draft.
But perhaps more important in App State's culture, those players helped guide the program through the two year transition that wasn't easy on anyone.
Despite those losses, the reason for optimism is because of the returning talent -- some of which didn't see much of the field.
Quarterback Taylor Lamb set a new school record for touchdown passes with 31 and ranked among the nation's most efficient passers. Marcus Cox, the Camelia Bowl MVP, figures to return after a 1423 yard season, joined be Jalin Moore.
Defensively, App State will get back it's two leading tacklers in Eric Boggs and John Law to go along with Latrell Gibbs, who is tied for third in the nation with seven interceptions.
The talented group of returners will have every opportunity to prove itself on the national stage early in a season opening visit to Tennessee before playing host to Miami and new coach Mark Richt two weeks later in Boone.
Going into the offseason on an emotional victory in the Camelia Bowl will only help the Mountaineers, according to Satterfield.
from the News and Observers December 23, 2015
