| ||
Courtesy: SWAC.org
|
2015 Football Preview: Grambling State
Courtesy Sam Peshek
Sat, August 15, 2015
Aspiring to build on a monumental turnaround, the Grambling State Tigers aim to continue their progress in Year 2 of the Broderick Fobbs era.
Taking over at his alma mater, Fobbs inherited a team coming off of unprecedented one-victory campaigns. Regrouping from an 0-3 start, the G-Men rattled off seven straight victories en route to a 7-5, 7-2 finish.
GSU's six-victory improvement did not go unnoticed. Edging out Southern by two points, the Tigers were picked to win the SWAC West in the conference's preseason media poll.
Riding the arm of Johnathan Williams, the Tigers ranked 12th nationally while leading the SWAC in passing with 277.2 yards per game.
GSU was fourth in the league in scoring with 32.2 points per game and sixth in total offense with 403.9 ypg.
Appearing in nine games as a junior, Williams threw for 2,454 yards and 18 touchdowns vs. seven interceptions. A dual threat, he led the team in rushing with 118 carries for 484 yards and eight scores.
Returning its top three receivers — senior Chester Rogers (53 receptions, 712 yards, 4 TDs), sophomore Chad Williams (45-572-5) and junior Verlon Hunter (30-574-7) — the passing game should thrive once again.
Grambling is looking for more production from a running attack which ranked eighth in the conference (126.7 ypg). Junior Jestin Kelly (97-271-4) is the top returning running back.
Defensively, the Tigers graduated four of their top five tacklers from a unit which led the SWAC in sacks (45) while ranking fifth in scoring defense (32.2 ppg), eighth in total defense (435.7 ypg) and fourth in rushing (169.4 ypg). The main area of concern is the secondary as the Tigers ranked 108th nationally out of 121 Football Conference Subdivision teams in pass defense (266.2 ypg).
Linebackers Aaron Breed and Steve Orisakwe leave big shoes to fill after combining for 16.5 sacks and 44 tackles for negative yardage.
Senior defensive back Nicholas Peoples (64 tackles, 2 interceptions) was fourth on the team in tackles, tops among the holdovers.
Other returnees of note include senior DB Mike Roach (52 tackles, 1 INT, 7 pass breakups), senior lineman Jamison Goins (39 tackles, 8.5 TFL, 3 sacks) and junior linebacker Arkez Cooper (36 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks).
A pair of seniors, LB Henry Taylor (19 tackles) and lineman Jevonta Williams (23 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks) are coming off promising springs.
Both specialists return in sophomore Marc Orozoco (12-of 17 field goals, 44-of-47 PATs) and junior Jonathan Wallace, who punted 66 times for a 38.2-yard average with 24 kicks killed inside the 20.
GSU kicks off the season at California on Saturday, Sept. 5.
GRAMBLING STATE SCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT TIME
Sept. 5 at California Noon
Sept. 12 Bethune-Cookman 4:00
Sept. 19 at Alabama State* 6:00
Sept. 26 Prairie View A&M* (at Dallas) 6:00
Oct. 3 at Jackson State* 2:00
Oct. 10 Alabama A&M* 3:00
Oct. 17 Alcorn State* (HC) 2:00
Oct. 24 Mississippi Valley* 2:00
Nov. 7 Texas Southern* (at Shreveport) 2:00
Nov. 14 at Arkansas-Pine Bluff* 2:30
(Bayou Classic at New Orleans)
Nov. 28 Southern* 1:30
No comments:
Post a Comment