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Arkansas State Football 2018-19

Started by Redwolves8526, August 27, 2018, 11:01:23 am

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Redwolves8526

Joe Cauthen, Norval McKenzie, and Bryan Early leaving as well.

OB11

Quote from: Redwolves8526 on January 15, 2019, 09:24:45 am
Joe Cauthen, Norval McKenzie, and Bryan Early leaving as well.

Our 3 best assistants IMO. This is going to hurt us. Almost a completely new staff next year. Was really hoping the defensive staff would stay intact.

Redwolves8526

Quote from: OB11 on January 15, 2019, 10:24:28 am
Our 3 best assistants IMO. This is going to hurt us. Almost a completely new staff next year. Was really hoping the defensive staff would stay intact.

Was not happy Early or McKenzie left. But, they are leaving for better jobs (Houston, Louisville) so I cannot blame them.

OB11

Quote from: Redwolves8526 on January 15, 2019, 10:38:41 am
Was not happy Early or McKenzie left. But, they are leaving for better jobs (Houston, Louisville) so I cannot blame them.

Absolutely! We were lucky to hold on to them as long as we did.

Redwolves8526

Still will have a lot of talent next year. I'm hoping with Heckendorf that recruiting will not take a hit, and that our O will improve. Our receivers/rb's will be plenty talented enough to have the best offense in the Sun Belt. Cauthen was a good DC, but I couldn't say he just overly impressed me. I think he is replaceable. Hopefully Anderson makes a lot of good assistant hires. It could make or break his ability to keep his job


OB11

Quote from: Redwolves8526 on January 15, 2019, 10:50:44 am
Still will have a lot of talent next year. I'm hoping with Heckendorf that recruiting will not take a hit, and that our O will improve. Our receivers/rb's will be plenty talented enough to have the best offense in the Sun Belt. Cauthen was a good DC, but I couldn't say he just overly impressed me. I think he is replaceable. Hopefully Anderson makes a lot of good assistant hires. It could make or break his ability to keep his job

Completely turning the offense over to Heckendorf will be huge.

dirtybird12

Losing Early is huge. He had established a recruiting pipeline in the Kansas community college circuit. (Hansen, Bonner, and more prominent players found in this pipeline).

Also was a top end teacher of the game. D Line has been our strongest defensive unit in his tenure.

Redwolves8526

Quote from: dirtybird12 on January 15, 2019, 11:09:38 am
Losing Early is huge. He had established a recruiting pipeline in the Kansas community college circuit. (Hansen, Bonner, and more prominent players found in this pipeline).

Also was a top end teacher of the game. D Line has been our strongest defensive unit in his tenure.

They hired former Arkansas State and Cincinatti Bengal player Brandon Joiner to coach defensive ends. Doesn't have much experience but has a great personality and was one heck of a player. I think he'll be a great recruiter and even better coach.

OB11

Quote from: Redwolves8526 on January 16, 2019, 08:05:24 am
They hired former Arkansas State and Cincinatti Bengal player Brandon Joiner to coach defensive ends. Doesn't have much experience but has a great personality and was one heck of a player. I think he'll be a great recruiter and even better coach.

Yes, I think that was a really good decision. He has been there as a GA the last couple of years so I think it will be a pretty seamless transition. He's also a great guy. The players should have no trouble playing hard for him.

Redwolves8526

Quote from: OB11 on January 16, 2019, 08:59:34 am
Yes, I think that was a really good decision. He has been there as a GA the last couple of years so I think it will be a pretty seamless transition. He's also a great guy. The players should have no trouble playing hard for him.

Good move for sure. David Duggan was hired as Defensive Coordinator. Has worked with Anderson at a few stops so we will see if he can produce at the same level as Cauthen.

In other news, which was actually pretty significant in my opinion, Terry Mohajir was selected to be on the 2019-2020 College Football Playoff Selection committee. Nice honor for the AD

Lumberjackfan1978

Joiner should fit in well he was a great player

dirtybird12

Quote from: Redwolves8526 on January 16, 2019, 02:06:28 pm
Good move for sure. David Duggan was hired as Defensive Coordinator. Has worked with Anderson at a few stops so we will see if he can produce at the same level as Cauthen.

In other news, which was actually pretty significant in my opinion, Terry Mohajir was selected to be on the 2019-2020 College Football Playoff Selection committee. Nice honor for the AD

Great publicity for the University. Folks down in Orlando, and all other G5 cities are applauding this appointment.

dirtybird12

Predictions for A-State heading into 2019? Lots of strong units, but lots of unknowns. I would like to be positive and think they have a good shot at the conference title with the other powerhouses breaking in new coaches, but Anderson and crew have let me down several times before. SMU in the opener will be a great litmus test.

dc24

Quote from: dirtybird12 on July 11, 2019, 10:05:11 am
Predictions for A-State heading into 2019? Lots of strong units, but lots of unknowns. I would like to be positive and think they have a good shot at the conference title with the other powerhouses breaking in new coaches, but Anderson and crew have let me down several times before. SMU in the opener will be a great litmus test.

I feel like a lot will depend on QB play. I've heard great things about Logan Bonner, but I was not overly impressed when I saw him practice earlier in his career, but he showed flashes in some of the game time he got. Offensive line will be a huge key as well. Only one returning starter (C Jacob Still), but a few that played and we may have one of the biggest lines we've ever had, although that doesn't always translate to success. Skill positions may be the best we've ever had, which should make it easier on Bonner.

I'm interested to see how the defense will be with the new coaching changes. We lost some really good defensive coaches. The defensive line should still be very good, but linebackers will be interesting to see with mostly new guys and our defensive backs should be alright. I think the defense will be what determines if we win 5-7 games or 8-10 games. I think we will score quite a bit, even with a new QB, but I'm not as optimistic about the defense stopping teams, especially ones in the top half of the league.

Our punter may be our best player. We were the only team in FBS to allow negative punt return yards on the season (-15). Our kicking situation will be one to monitor though. Our kickers struggled and I'm not sure it will be any different this year. It lost us the bowl game and it may be the difference in losing a couple of games this year. I think we finally offered a scholarship to a kicker, but I think he's a 2020 kid so not here this year.

From what we've seen under Anderson I think you have to expect a 7-5 or 8-4 year. Solid, another bowl game hopefully, and 8-4 with a 6-2 record in conference could get you to the championship game from our division. We should at least have a fighting chance in 11 of the 12 games this year.

dirtybird12

Quote from: dc24 on July 19, 2019, 11:41:40 am
I feel like a lot will depend on QB play. I've heard great things about Logan Bonner, but I was not overly impressed when I saw him practice earlier in his career, but he showed flashes in some of the game time he got. Offensive line will be a huge key as well. Only one returning starter (C Jacob Still), but a few that played and we may have one of the biggest lines we've ever had, although that doesn't always translate to success. Skill positions may be the best we've ever had, which should make it easier on Bonner.

I'm interested to see how the defense will be with the new coaching changes. We lost some really good defensive coaches. The defensive line should still be very good, but linebackers will be interesting to see with mostly new guys and our defensive backs should be alright. I think the defense will be what determines if we win 5-7 games or 8-10 games. I think we will score quite a bit, even with a new QB, but I'm not as optimistic about the defense stopping teams, especially ones in the top half of the league.

Our punter may be our best player. We were the only team in FBS to allow negative punt return yards on the season (-15). Our kicking situation will be one to monitor though. Our kickers struggled and I'm not sure it will be any different this year. It lost us the bowl game and it may be the difference in losing a couple of games this year. I think we finally offered a scholarship to a kicker, but I think he's a 2020 kid so not here this year.

From what we've seen under Anderson I think you have to expect a 7-5 or 8-4 year. Solid, another bowl game hopefully, and 8-4 with a 6-2 record in conference could get you to the championship game from our division. We should at least have a fighting chance in 11 of the 12 games this year.

I agree with your assessment. My concern is the intangibles department. Anderson coached teams have never taken the field in the sun belt and been the less talented team. Yet, they always have found ways to lose games they shouldn't over the years. Maybe cleaning house will fix that and they will get the ship righted. Last year should have been a 12-1 or 11-2 season with the talent that we had. This year, although breaking in a new qb, we should still not be anything less than 9-3.

dc24

Quote from: dirtybird12 on August 01, 2019, 01:18:20 pm
I agree with your assessment. My concern is the intangibles department. Anderson coached teams have never taken the field in the sun belt and been the less talented team. Yet, they always have found ways to lose games they shouldn't over the years. Maybe cleaning house will fix that and they will get the ship righted. Last year should have been a 12-1 or 11-2 season with the talent that we had. This year, although breaking in a new qb, we should still not be anything less than 9-3.

I generally agree with you, but I do think some fans, and the coaching staff, have overestimated our talent level, especially as it pertains to our conference foes. I don't know if we've actually been more talented than Appalachian State the last few years, but it was close and the scores should have been closer, and I definitely agree we are more talented than some teams we lost to last year like Georgia Southern and Louisiana-Lafayette, but I don't think that gap is as far as people think it is, including our own staff.

I'm interested to see how it goes. Getting a healthy Dahu Green will be a huge deal to our offense. He looked unstoppable in fall camp last year before he got hurt in the SEMO game. The other thing here is that I don't think Coach Anderson's wife, Wendy, is doing too well in her battle with cancer. Anderson said that it was a distraction (how could it not be) and instead of handing off more responsibility to his staff he tried to gut through it and he felt like it cost us. I think with the new offensive staff he will feel more comfortable leaving things in their hands in case he needs to miss time.

Lots of factors as there always is. I feel like the next couple of years are extremely important in the program. We are getting further and further away from 2011 and 2012 when we really dominated the conference. The bowl games are nice but we have only won one bowl game under Coach Anderson. If he can have a couple of really good years, I'd say 9-11 win seasons then one of two things will happen, he will either leave for a bigger job and we get another up-and-coming coach or he can stay and really build the program. If we only hover around 6-8 wins and don't win bowl games, we really need to figure out if he's the guy for the job.

I'll be interested to see how it goes. I hate to put too much importance on a non-conference game and the first game of the season, but the SMU game may be the most important game of the year. It should be a good crowd and we can't afford to fall flat on our face right out of the gate because the fans won't come to the home conference games. If we win that one, I think it may carry us to a great season. If we don't, I'm not sure how it will go, and even if goes ok, the fan base won't be as excited. Just like when we lost to UCA a few years ago, we came back to have a really good season and won our only bowl game under Anderson, but losing that game along with the 31-10 drubbing by Toledo at home to open the season killed a lot of the excitement and interest.

dirtybird12

Quote from: dc24 on August 02, 2019, 04:52:48 pm
I generally agree with you, but I do think some fans, and the coaching staff, have overestimated our talent level, especially as it pertains to our conference foes. I don't know if we've actually been more talented than Appalachian State the last few years, but it was close and the scores should have been closer, and I definitely agree we are more talented than some teams we lost to last year like Georgia Southern and Louisiana-Lafayette, but I don't think that gap is as far as people think it is, including our own staff.

I'm interested to see how it goes. Getting a healthy Dahu Green will be a huge deal to our offense. He looked unstoppable in fall camp last year before he got hurt in the SEMO game. The other thing here is that I don't think Coach Anderson's wife, Wendy, is doing too well in her battle with cancer. Anderson said that it was a distraction (how could it not be) and instead of handing off more responsibility to his staff he tried to gut through it and he felt like it cost us. I think with the new offensive staff he will feel more comfortable leaving things in their hands in case he needs to miss time.

Lots of factors as there always is. I feel like the next couple of years are extremely important in the program. We are getting further and further away from 2011 and 2012 when we really dominated the conference. The bowl games are nice but we have only won one bowl game under Coach Anderson. If he can have a couple of really good years, I'd say 9-11 win seasons then one of two things will happen, he will either leave for a bigger job and we get another up-and-coming coach or he can stay and really build the program. If we only hover around 6-8 wins and don't win bowl games, we really need to figure out if he's the guy for the job.

I'll be interested to see how it goes. I hate to put too much importance on a non-conference game and the first game of the season, but the SMU game may be the most important game of the year. It should be a good crowd and we can't afford to fall flat on our face right out of the gate because the fans won't come to the home conference games. If we win that one, I think it may carry us to a great season. If we don't, I'm not sure how it will go, and even if goes ok, the fan base won't be as excited. Just like when we lost to UCA a few years ago, we came back to have a really good season and won our only bowl game under Anderson, but losing that game along with the 31-10 drubbing by Toledo at home to open the season killed a lot of the excitement and interest.

We can only hope that Wendy continues to fight and stay strong in this fight. It is a tough situation for the Anderson family and in light of all that, Coach Anderson has been commendable.

Smu is by far the most important game. Win that won and the fans stay interested and you will have 23k there instead of 15k.

Trojanbird

Yes Anderson has won a bowl game,. Getting farther in the rear view mirror!  To me he has under performed with good talent, thus the loss of fan support!  There is a reason some other school has not hired him away.  He is not much of a people person so to speak.

dc24

Quote from: dirtybird12 on August 02, 2019, 07:23:24 pm
We can only hope that Wendy continues to fight and stay strong in this fight. It is a tough situation for the Anderson family and in light of all that, Coach Anderson has been commendable.

Smu is by far the most important game. Win that won and the fans stay interested and you will have 23k there instead of 15k.

Exactly, if we are able to win that game and carry some momentum into conference play, there's no reason we won't have 23,000 there and we can push 25,000 if the games are important enough. If not, you're right it's back down to around 15,000.

Quote from: Trojanbird on August 02, 2019, 11:51:43 pm
Yes Anderson has won a bowl game,. Getting farther in the rear view mirror!  To me he has under performed with good talent, thus the loss of fan support!  There is a reason some other school has not hired him away.  He is not much of a people person so to speak.

I think it's fair to say we have under performed under Anderson, at least the last couple of years. The first couple of years was a struggle to get the program back in shape numbers wise with all the coaching changes and we were still able to make bowl games and contend for conference championship. He deserves credit for that, just as much as he deserves it for the last couple of years not being as successful as we could have been. The key to the season won't necessarily be Anderson though in my opinion, it will be the staff changes. It does come back to Anderson because he hired these new guys, but the offensive guys should be better than what we had and if the defensive guys are just as good as what we had that left and went to Houston, we should have a fine season. However, if not, then it will likely be another disappointing season, even if we do win 7 games, and I think you'll start to see the beginning of the end for Anderson's tenure.

I would disagree with your assessment of him being a people person. He's a very personable guy and always willing to speak to media, events around town, etc. However, I always tell people he's a great person, but just a good football coach. This year will show whether good trends closer to great or trends closer to average.

VHSCoach2

Just saw an article on ESPN that Coach Anderson is taking a leave absence to be with his wife, Wendy. Coach Duggan will assume the coaching duties while Anderson is away.

Head Lion

Quote from: VHSCoach2 on August 19, 2019, 06:22:49 pm
Just saw an article on ESPN that Coach Anderson is taking a leave absence to be with his wife, Wendy. Coach Duggan will assume the coaching duties while Anderson is away.
Some things are just more important than sports. 🙏🏼🙏🏼 For Coach Anderson & Wendy.

AirWarren

Awful to hear the news of Wendy passing.

God speed Coach Anderson and family. Prayers for peace and comfort during this awful time. 

bleudog

Quote from: AirWarren on August 20, 2019, 06:50:16 am
Awful to hear the news of Wendy passing.

God speed Coach Anderson and family. Prayers for peace and comfort during this awful time. 

https://www.kait8.com/2019/08/20/coach-andersons-wife-succumbs-cancer-no-more-pain/

Most gracious heavenly Father, please provide comfort and strength to those left among us who mourn the earthy loss of those now with you. Amen.


Redwolves8526

Sad day. Wendy was beloved by all who knew her.

NEA Razorback olfan


elvis26

My heart and prayers go out to the Anderson family!! God bless

VHSCoach2

Arkansas State has scheduled a game at Ohio State in 2022. The Red Wolves will receive $1.8 million for the contest.

OB11

Quote from: VHSCoach2 on August 22, 2019, 05:14:01 pm
Arkansas State has scheduled a game at Ohio State in 2022. The Red Wolves will receive $1.8 million for the contest.

Mohajir is the best G5 AD in the country at scheduling these money games. Consistently gets the biggest pay outs. I really think it's just a matter of time before some P5 school tries to hire him away. Only thing working for us is that ASU is his alma-mater. Just wish the other sports would follow suit and get better. I feel like all of our resources have been funneled into football (and for good reason) but now it's time to start with the other sports.

dirtybird12

Quote from: OB11 on August 23, 2019, 10:50:40 am
Mohajir is the best G5 AD in the country at scheduling these money games. Consistently gets the biggest pay outs. I really think it's just a matter of time before some P5 school tries to hire him away. Only thing working for us is that ASU is his alma-mater. Just wish the other sports would follow suit and get better. I feel like all of our resources have been funneled into football (and for good reason) but now it's time to start with the other sports.

Did you see the unveiling of the new football operations building last night? I think you would be hard-pressed to find a better Group of 5 football facility than that.

I agree though about bringing other sports up to par. If Astate wants to make a jump to the AAC, then they need to be more well-rounded. It hurts that Memphis is doing well in basketball and football.

Redwolves8526

Quote from: dirtybird12 on August 26, 2019, 07:54:55 am
Did you see the unveiling of the new football operations building last night? I think you would be hard-pressed to find a better Group of 5 football facility than that.

I agree though about bringing other sports up to par. If Astate wants to make a jump to the AAC, then they need to be more well-rounded. It hurts that Memphis is doing well in basketball and football.

The new facilities are actually unbelievable. Never I thought I would see them get to this level at ASU. Hopefully our other sports can catch up.

wildcat_x-mgr


Trojanbird

After a good game with SMU, we still aren't where we want to be! For some reason we just can't get over that proverbial hump! IMO

dirtybird12

Quote from: Trojanbird on September 01, 2019, 09:53:49 pm
After a good game with SMU, we still aren't where we want to be! For some reason we just can't get over that proverbial hump! IMO

Unfortunately, it was more of the same. Untimely mistakes, an abundance thereof. Really need to win against UNLV to avoid an 0-3 start.

dirtybird12

Quote from: dirtybird12 on September 04, 2019, 12:58:19 pm
Unfortunately, it was more of the same. Untimely mistakes, an abundance thereof. Really need to win against UNLV to avoid an 0-3 start.

Wow, I will eat crow. I am shocked at how good Astate looked in Vegas this weekend. Most complete game I have seen by them under the Anderson regime.

dc24

Quote from: dirtybird12 on September 09, 2019, 03:33:24 pm
Wow, I will eat crow. I am shocked at how good Astate looked in Vegas this weekend. Most complete game I have seen by them under the Anderson regime.

I'm not sure how good UNLV is, but wow, yeah that was pretty much domination from start to finish. Even if UNLV isn't that good, it's nice that we just really took it to them, and on the road too. We have played down to some competition in the past and that wasn't the case last week.

SMU beat North Texas pretty good too, 49-27 so SMU may be legit. They have TCU next week, so I'll be interested to see how that turns out.

I hope we can at least keep it competitive for a half this weekend, but most importantly get out of the game healthy against Georgia.

VHSCoach2

In a moment bigger than football, Georgia has put out a #WearPinkForWendy campaign when the Bulldogs host the Red Wolves this weekend in Athens. They are asking fans to wear some piece of pink clothing to show support.

I've always liked Georgia the most out of all the other SEC teams besides the Razorbacks, but that solidifies it even further.

JacketFan

Quote from: VHSCoach2 on September 10, 2019, 06:33:46 pm
In a moment bigger than football, Georgia has put out a #WearPinkForWendy campaign when the Bulldogs host the Red Wolves this weekend in Athens. They are asking fans to wear some piece of pink clothing to show support.

I've always liked Georgia the most out of all the other SEC teams besides the Razorbacks, but that solidifies it even further.
Class act, exactly why I have always respected Georgia as a top notch SEC program.

dirtybird12

Anyone catch the gamely piece done by Tom Rinaldi on the Anderson family? Moving stuff..

Good for the Red Wolves to get a win last night. Need to shore things up on the defensive side of the ball. Will know alot more after their road game against Troy.

OB11

Quote from: dirtybird12 on September 22, 2019, 01:02:01 pm
Anyone catch the gamely piece done by Tom Rinaldi on the Anderson family? Moving stuff..

Good for the Red Wolves to get a win last night. Need to shore things up on the defensive side of the ball. Will know alot more after their road game against Troy.

Losing Jacobs at corner hurt. They picked on his replacement. And have to eliminate the stupid penalties up front on the defensive line.

bleudog


Lumberjackfan1978

Quote from: JacketFan on September 10, 2019, 07:58:26 pm
Class act, exactly why I have always respected Georgia as a top notch SEC program.
Agree

dirtybird12

More and more adversity hits this squad.. Bonner out for the year.

JacketFan

Quote from: dirtybird12 on September 26, 2019, 11:09:05 am
More and more adversity hits this squad.. Bonner out for the year.
They got a outstanding backup in Layne Hatcher, that kid is a winner, he will do just fine leading that offense.

dirtybird12

Quote from: JacketFan on September 26, 2019, 11:29:35 am
They got a outstanding backup in Layne Hatcher, that kid is a winner, he will do just fine leading that offense.

He lit it up tonight! Subtract the int's and he played flawlessly. Really hope these injuries do not catch up with ASU. They are mounting.

GREAT START TO CONFERENCE SEASON!

Lumberjackfan1978


wildcat_x-mgr

So, just noticing... Our only two losses are to undefeated teams. Not to count any chickens before they've crossed the road, but this could turn out really well, could it not? Just imagine: stAte, SMU, and Georgia all winning out...

dirtybird12

Quote from: wildcat_x-mgr on September 29, 2019, 04:18:06 pm
So, just noticing... Our only two losses are to undefeated teams. Not to count any chickens before they've crossed the road, but this could turn out really well, could it not? Just imagine: stAte, SMU, and Georgia all winning out...
Hope so, but at this rate the cheerleaders and walk-ons will be starting. We lost starting all conference noseguard Forrest Merrill for the remainder of the season today.

wildcat_x-mgr

Quote from: dirtybird12 on September 30, 2019, 02:15:53 pm
Hope so, but at this rate the cheerleaders and walk-ons will be starting. We lost starting all conference noseguard Forrest Merrill for the remainder of the season today.

Ouch... Yeah, that's a tough one there, and injuries can change a lot. Hopefully there is someone good to step up into that spot.

dc24

It will be interesting to see what happens. The injuries are piling up and one would think that there will only be more along the way. This week against Georgia State will be interesting. You have a team that went in and beat Tennessee, but barely beat FCS Furman, although Furman appears to be pretty good as they lost by six to GSU and then 24-17 to Virginia Tech and have beaten three FCS opponents. Then Georgia State gets killed by Western Michigan 57-10 before losing to Texas State 37-34 in triple OT. Texas State has not been good the last few years. Georgia State is also coming off a bye week so we will see if that's an advantage for them.

I feel like we should win this game, but there's no guarantees with the amount of injuries we have.

dirtybird12

Quote from: dc24 on October 01, 2019, 05:03:07 pm
It will be interesting to see what happens. The injuries are piling up and one would think that there will only be more along the way. This week against Georgia State will be interesting. You have a team that went in and beat Tennessee, but barely beat FCS Furman, although Furman appears to be pretty good as they lost by six to GSU and then 24-17 to Virginia Tech and have beaten three FCS opponents. Then Georgia State gets killed by Western Michigan 57-10 before losing to Texas State 37-34 in triple OT. Texas State has not been good the last few years. Georgia State is also coming off a bye week so we will see if that's an advantage for them.

I feel like we should win this game, but there's no guarantees with the amount of injuries we have.

Agreed. If we find a way to win this one then I think we will be expected to win all remaining games, except maybe against ULL.

Fox 16 Arkansas Fox 24 Arkansas