C6 | Sunday, March 16, 2008 | THE DAILY NEWS JOURNAL | www.dnj.

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2008 MTSU SPRING FOOTBALL at a GLANCE

QB
Desmond Gee and Phillip Tanner are No. 1 and 1-A at tailback, and theyre likely the two fastest players on offense. Tanner had a monster game against Louisville last season, but was slowed by nagging injuries late in the year. Gee is a two-time all-league honoree as an all-purpose player. Hes better with the ball in space than between the tackles, but the backfield is thin until a couple of freshmen arrive in the fall. Gee will split time between RB and WR in spring and fall. Tanner may miss a practice or two to compete in the outdoor track and field season. Nevertheless, Tanner must develop more durability before assuming the No. 1 RB role. Sophomore Marquise Bran ton will play both fullback and tailback. Jacob Longoria returns as starting fullback, and freshman Wesley Hale will be limited by a shoulder injury.

MTSU TWO-DEEP
OFFENSE
9 Dwight Dasher 12 Joe Craddock Sophomore Senior Junior Junior Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Senior r-Freshman Junior r-Freshman Sophomore Junior Junior Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Senior Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore 5-10 5-11 5-8 6-0 6-2 5-11 6-2 6-2 5-10 6-1 5-9 5-9 6-2 6-5 6-4 6-3 6-4 6-4 6-0 6-2 6-3 6-4 6-4 6-6 198 200 168 212 235 217 170 200 180 190 173 182 240 240 300 260 295 340 297 300 285 287 265 312

RB
2 Desmond Gee 21 Phillip Tanner

FB
42 Jacob Longoria 34 Marquise Branton

WR
81 Wes Caldwell 39 Jeremy Perry

WR
13 Michael Cannon 15 D.D. Kyles

WR
17 Patrick Honeycutt Caleb Dugger

TE
82 Alvin Ingle 16 Gene Delle Donne

LT
72 Mark Thompson 78 Mike Williams

LG
76 Jamal Lewis 50 Colin Boss

C
71 Jake Padrick 63 Chris Ritter

RG
75 Chris Hawkins 62 Evon Lettsome

RUNNING BACK
The same competition that highlighted last season returns for spring practice. Sophomore Dwight Dasher returns following his record-breaking freshman season. He finished last season with multiple leg injuries, but returns around 100 percent. Senior Joe Craddock was last years opening-day starter, but he lost his position to Dasher due to an injury and then broke a few records of his own when he returned. Craddock is a reserve second baseman for MTSUs baseball team, so his attendance at spring practice will be day-to-day. As a result, talented walk-on Andrew Banks will postpone a possible move to slot receiver until Craddock is a full-time football player in the fall. Coach Rick Stockstill hopes either Dasher or Craddock will grab the starting job during spring, but hes willing to wait until fall if needed. Two freshmen also arrive in the fall.

RT
74 Mark Fisher 69 J.C. Moore

DEFENSE

QUARTERBACK

The receiving corps is perhaps its thinnest, in terms of experience, since coach Rick Stockstills arrival. Two WRs and two TEs graduated, WR Bobby Williams transferred and WR Walter Dozier was dismissed from the team. That leaves Patrick Honeycutt and Michael Cannon (43 catches combined in 2007) with the only sizable WR experience. Wes Caldwell had one catch as a freshman last season. He is playing baseball for MTSU, but may be temporarily sidelined from both sports with an illness. Desmond Gee is units best when hes not in the backfield. D.D. Kyles, when healthy, is among MTSUs fastest offensive players and his progress will be a focus of the spring. Kyles sat out his freshman year with a knee injury. Hes a straight-line sprinter with limited pass-catching experience, but his speed is needed. Athletic TE Alvin Ingle should be among MTSUs best receivers. His role will be expanded to compensate for limited WR experience. Freshman TE Byron McLeod will be held out of contact drills due to a shoulder injury. MTSU will add one to four WRs in the fall.

DE
98 Chris McCoy 51 SaCoby Carter Junior r-Freshman Senior Junior Sophomore Junior Senior Sophomore Senior Sophomore Junior Junior Senior Senior Sophomore Sophomore Junior Senior Senior Sophomore Sophomore Junior 6-4 6-2 6-1 6-4 6-1 6-1 6-2 6-2 6-2 6-3 6-0 6-1 6-1 6-1 5-11 6-2 5-9 6-1 6-2 6-1 5-10 5-9 263 235 285 258 280 310 260 220 220 210 240 217 230 215 168 175 163 190 218 191 175 200

WIDE RECEIVER

DT
97 Trevor Jenkins 95 Jonathan Presley

DT
47 Dwight Smith 92 Brandon Perry

DE
CANNON
56 Wes Hofacker 91 Emmanuel Perez

OLB
55 Andrew Harrington Jamari Lattimore

MLB
44 Danny Carmichael 30 Cam Robinson

OLB
29 Lonnie Clemons 27 Ivon Hickmon

CB
HONEYCUTT
6 Rod Issac Stuart Taylor

OFFENSIVE LINE
All-conference tackle Franklin Dunbars early departure for the NFL Draft slims down offensive line depth. MTSU should be solid, perhaps even strong, in its starting five, but questions arise beyond that. Two-year starter Mark Thompson moves from center to Dunbars vacant left tackle spot. Left guard Jamal Lewis and right tackle Mark Fisher return after starting as freshmen last season. Chris Hawkins steps up to right guard after an injury-plagued 2007 season. Jake Padrick, a 20-year-old redshirt freshman, starts at center, where he was slotted last fall before suffering a shoulder injury. Backup center Chris Ritter has played five games as the only reserve with decent experience. If Col in Boss slims down and Mike Williams beefs up, both have potential at guard and tackle, respectively. Offensive line depth arrives in the fall with 2008 signees.

CB
7 Alex Suber 25 Ted Riley

DEFENSIVE BACK
Three senior starters must be replaced, and talented youngsters will be pushed during spring to grow into leadership roles. Safety Jeremy Kellem and cornerback Rod Issac were part-time starters last season and will suddenly be key players in a young secondary. Kevin Brown also played as a true freshman. The trio had a hand in nine turnovers as freshmen last season. Brown will compete for snaps at safety with rising senior Anthony Glover. Cornerback Alex Suber is MTSUs best defensive back with 15 career starts and an All-Sun Belt honorable mention last season. He was second on the team with 59 tackles in 2007. Cornerback Ted Riley will likely be a valuable backup in his senior season. Like many other positions, MTSUs defensive backs should be solid as a starting unit, but there are still depth concerns. The secondary will still need immediate help from incoming signees in the fall.

SS
8 Anthony Glover 33 Kevin Brown

FS
20 Jeremy Kellem 28 Josh Gregory

SPECIAL TEAMS
K
37 David DeFatta Junior Junior 5-9 5-9 5-10 195 195 210

P
37 David DeFatta

LS
Sophomore 48 Adam Wade * Classes listed are for 2008 season.

Is there more offensive speed this spring?

About the Blue Raiders spring

QUESTIONS

1 2 3 4 5

DEFENSIVE LINE
DEs Erik Walden and Tavares Jones were perhaps the most dangerous duo in the Sun Belt last season. Both are gone, leaving a line shifting players to compensate. The line will be younger, but may be surprisingly strong. Trevor Jenkins is an all-league caliber tackle. Wes Hofacker moves from DT to DE. Chris McCoy is primed for a breakout season at DE, and Jonathan Presley will add DT depth. DT Dwight Smith and DE Emmanuel Perez played significant snaps as true freshmen last season and will vie for expanded roles. Smith is listed as a starter in Hofackers previous DT spot. DL Andre Wicker is out for the 2008 season with a torn ACL, DL Gar y Tucker will miss spring with a shoulder injury, and DT Brandon Perr y is limited with a foot injury. Lauded DE SaCoby Carter sat out his freshmen year with an injury, and talented junior college transfer Immaneul Chu debuts this spring.

If so, it will come from wide receiver D.D. Kyles, who brought blazing speed to MTSUs 2007 signing class but missed last season with a knee injury. Kyles knee is healthy, but coaches want to see if his confidence follows suit. Kyles is raw, but his speed could aid MTSUs vertical passing game.

Who are the new leaders on a young team?

SPECIAL TEAMS
David DeFatta returns as one of the leagues best punters and the teams best placekicker. He booted for a 40.9-yard average, including a conference-best 28 punts placed inside the 20-yard line. DeFatta also put a Band-Aid on early season placekicking problems, making 4-of-6 FGs. Kicker Matt King will likely handle kickoffs this season. DeFatta will be the punter. Incoming freshman Alan Gendreau will vie for the placekicker position, but he will not arrive until fall. Adam W ade returns as the teams primary deep snapper, the position he earned as a freshman last season. Former Blackman High standout Shane Adams is Wades backup. Kick and punt returners will be determined in the fall. Until then, there will be little special teams work.

Leadership seems overrated until you dont have it. With only 10 seniors and 13 juniors, veteran leadership could be in short supply. Suddenly secondyear players like safety Jeremy Kellem, offensive lineman Mark Fisher and quarterback Dwight Dasher will be expected to lead by more than example. Spring is the time to speak up.

Will a starting QB be named during the spring?

Coaches hope so, but it may matter less on this team than most. Last season showed that Dwight Dasher and Joe Craddock will likely both play. Dasher offers a few more athletic options. Craddock understands the offense better. Give Dasher the lead by an eyelash because Craddock will miss a few practices while also playing baseball, allowing Dasher to catch up in the playbook.

Who are coaches eager to see for the first time?

Linebacker was a position of inexperience and injuries last season. It must stabilize this year for MTSUs defense to move forward. Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz will coach linebackers, replacing Art Kaufman who went to Southern Miss. Middle linebacker Danny Carmichael is the units steadiest with 55 tackles last season (third best on the team). He will be backed up by Cam Robinson in the middle and flanked by Lonnie Clemons (seven tackles for loss in 2007) and Andrew Harrington at outside linebackers. Harrington and Ivon Hickmon both battled injuries last season, but their health will be vital this year. Jamari Lattimore arrives as a sophomore with one year of junior college experience. He could move to defensive end in time, but will push Harrington at outside linebacker for now. Redshirt freshman Landon Givers may be limited during the spring due to injury. Three more true freshman LBs arrive in the fall.

LINEBACKER

CARMICHAEL

DT Immanuel Chu, LB Jamari Lattimore and DE SaCoby Carter. Chu and Lattimore arrived on campus in January. Chu will especially grab attention. Coaches love his attitude and work ethic. If he delivers on on-field potential, Chu could play a lot on the d-line. Carter was among the most lauded 2007 signees, but was sidelined by an injury. A year later, Carter gets to make a healthy debut. Kyles is in the same category. See question No. 1.

What position carries the most urgency?

CLEMONS

Defensive end, and not just because Erik Walden and Tavares Jones must be replaced. MTSUs scheme is predicated on energy guys coming off the end. SaCoby Carter, Emmanuel Perez and Chris McCoy are spotlighted. McCoy can be a dominant DE, but he hasnt yet reached his potential. Perez is a youngster with upside. Carter is talented but untapped because he was injured last season.