 |
ADVERTISEMENT - Support our sponsors!
|
|
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT - Support our sponsors!
|
|
|
(August 22, 2007) When Matt Griffin took over as head football coach at Murray State the program was at its lowest ebb since the early 90’s. Back then MSU hired Houston Nutt to rebuild the team and he succeeded beyond everyone’s expectations. Even so he didn’t post a winning record until his third year. So while fans should expect progress this year, those expectations need to be tempered with a dose of reality. The Racers will be better, but with only 13 juniors and seniors they probably aren’t ready to contend for a championship. “We expect to be a better football team,” Griffin said. “We’ll play hard, we’ll play fast and we’ll be physical. Those are things we can control. “If we can eliminate some of the critical mistakes we made last year we’ll have a bunch more wins with a young group that will be juniors and seniors next year.” A lot was accomplished in 2006 as Murray State went from –24 in turnovers to –3 and penalties were all but eliminated as the Racers were only penalized 42.5 yards per game to their opponents 72.4 yards.
Two things need to happen for the progress
to continue. Griffin has to find some playmakers on offense and the
defense must improve. It was readily apparent that the young players needed to get faster and stronger and the team needed an injection of athleticism from the next recruiting class. Fortunately that’s exactly what happened. “Our guys worked hard all summer and they reported to camp in much better shape than they did last year,” Griffin noted. “And despite the heat they have worked hard throughout camp. There has been no grumbling at all. “And then we feel like we really helped ourselves with the class we signed. Several of those guys are ready to play right away.” Throughout camp speculation swirled around who the starting quarterback would be. That issue was finally settled as Griffin anointed redshirt freshman Jeff Erhrardt last Friday. “The quarterback situation has been resolved," Griffin said. "Jeff's really separated himself. He's bright and he's done a lot of things right since the first day he stepped foot on campus. It’s important to be relaxed and he is, especially when things get tight. He also has great athleticism and runs the ball very well.” It’s unclear who Erhrardt’s backup will be as Zach Barnard and Chris Franklin are both in the mix. Barnard played most of last year but redshirt-freshman Franklin seems to have had the edge during camp. True freshman Marcus Harris will probably take some snaps at quarterback too, although he will likely spend most of his time at wide receiver. He has shown breakaway speed in practice and has the potential to be a difference maker. Charlie Jordan and Josh Jones return at running back and both were effective as freshmen last year. Jordan is quick and elusive and with a year of experience should improve on last season’s 448 yards and 3.6 yard per carry average. “Last year at one point during camp Charlie looked, sounded and acted very tired,” Griffin said. “He was here all summer this year and he hasn't shown that fatigue. On the contrary, he's been enthusiastic and he's one of those players the other guys will follow. “He’s not a power back he’s a slasher, although if he heard me say that he’d want to fight me.” Jones totaled 269 yards while averaging 4.3 yards per carry and he provides a contrast in style. “Josh is a big powerful running back,” Griffin said. “He’s 6-3, 215 and he can run over people if he has to.” At times last year it seemed like Rod Harper was the only receiver on the team. He had more catches than the next three wideouts. “Rod is a talented guy,” Griffin said. “He’s very consistent and he's going to just keep getting better.” This year he’ll have some help though. “We have some extremely talented wide receivers,” Griffin declared. “A couple of young guys have jumped right in and made an impact - Atoinne Lightfoot and Marcus Harris. And I've been really pleased with Lee McGinnis and the way he's played through camp.” Harris was a second team all-state selection at Kirkwood High School in North St. Louis, Mo. last year. An explosive athlete, Harris threw for 1,800 yards while gaining b450 yards on the ground. He scored two touchdowns while running 111 yards in the 5A state championship game. In addition to playing football, Lightfoot was a track star at Henderson County High School where he finished seventh in the state in the 100-meter dash. A first team all-state selection, he ran for 1,126 yards last year and scored 23 touchdowns. He is the only player in school history to finish his career in the top 10 in both rushing and receiving yards and holds the school record with 54 career touchdowns.
Both Harris and Lightfoot are capable of
making an impact on kick returns too. The offensive line was shaky at times last year and their play has been uneven during camp. But Griffin is optimistic. “I think we've made great strides on the offensive line as we have in a lot of areas,” he said. “I know I'm more comfortable with who we have out there. The seven or eight that we have back from last year reported in good shape and I think we can count on those guys. Cody Morehead returns for his senior year after transferring from Kentucky last season. He is one of the team captains and is expected to anchor the line. At 6-4 340 he certainly has the size to do that “Cody is consistent and that’s what I like best about him,” Griffin said. “I've also been pleased with Vincent Rivers, a guy we redshirted last year. He's battling with Nathan Partain at one of the guard spots.
“Eric Ornella played 10 or 11 games for us
last year and I think he's going to be a special player if he keeps
doing what he's doing. Some of the other spots are up for grabs and we
have some freshmen who may be in the mix.” That was primarily due to an inexperienced defensive line. But last year’s weakness may be one of this year’s strengths as the D-line has played well during camp. “I’m excited about this group,” Griffin said. “We have eight defensive linemen that took significant snaps last year and four were pretty much full time starters as true freshman. So I think we're deeper than we were last year and I also think we're pretty good. “Will Roach, Blake Booth, Austen Lane and Tyler Sinclair are all good football players. Then Danny Blakemore has come into the mix and I think he'll have a pretty good year. “A couple of freshmen, Omre Harris and Jordan Maley have stepped in there and have been very competitive too.” The linebacker corps also seems to be solid with senior Nathan Williams and Tamar Butler anchoring the unit. Williams, is a senior and was MSU’s only preseason all-conference selection. He was second on the team with 100 tackles last year. “Nate is very productive,” Griffin said. “He’s quiet but he leads by example.” Butler was named to the OVC’s All-Newcomer team last year as a freshman. “Tamar has great instincts,” Griffin said. “He has that sixth sense as a linebacker that enables him to make plays others can’t. “I’ve played a lot of true freshmen at the two schools where I’ve been a head coach. And he’s been the best academically and athletically.” Wade Peters, Zach Kutch, Rod Jackson and Lamar Jones round out the unit. The secondary figures to be very good as starters return at safety and cornerback. “We have a couple of good safeties,” Griffin declared. “Taylor Lannigan is a real good football player as is Will Werner.” Lannigan started all 11 games as a freshman last year and Werner started the final five games of the season. “We also have a freshman, Marvin Robinson, who will definitely see some action at safety,” Griffin said. “He's been a pleasant surprise.” Derrick Parrot and Koji Farrington return at cornerback. “Derrick has played as well during this camp as he has since we've been here,” Griffin said. “He's really done a great job. “At the other corner we have a battle between Koji Farrington and a freshman, John Jean-Baptiste. That one has been back and forth and will probably go down to the wire.” Sean O’Brien and Tyler Weiss are battling for the punting and place kicking jobs. O’Brien played in seven games last year before a bout of mononucleosis ended his season. He averaged 54.5 yards on kickoffs and 29.7 yards on punts. Weiss made six of nine field goal attempts in high school last year, including a 42 yarder. He also connected on 30 of 34 extra points. The main problem in camp has been the long snapping. Far too many snaps are bouncing before they reach the kicker.
“We've had some problems with our punting
particularly,” Griffin said. “But we're getting better. The kickers have
kicked the ball better and our long snappers are doing a little better.” Home games against Lambuth and Austin Peay look like certain victories and the game at Southeast Missouri looks very winnable. If the Racers can win those three and split road games with Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State that gets them to four wins.
Three of the remaining games are at home
against Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State. The
fourth is at Tennessee-Martin. If the Racers can find a way to win two
of those they should have a winning season. |
|
|
|
