Montana @ Appalachian Football

Here we go with Week 2:

#12 Montana (1-0) @ #11 Appalachian State (0-1)

Time: 6:30pm

TV/Video: ESPN Gameplan/ESPN3

Radio: WKBC 97.3 Wilkesboro, Charlotte, Winston Salem, Hickory & High Country; WATA 1450 Boone, Blowing Rock; ESPN 730 Charlotte, Rock Hill, Salisbury; WCOG 1320 Greensboro, Winston Salem, WMFR 1230 Greensboro, High Point; WSML 1200 Burlington, Greensboro; WCMC 99.9 Raleigh, WZGM 1350 Black Mountain, Asheville; WPWT 870 Bristol, Johnson City; WTOE 1470 Spruce Pine, WDNC 620 Durham, WLON 1050 Lincolnton

Kidd-Brewer Stadium

Surface: FieldTurf

Capacity: 24,050

Jeff Sagarin Ratings: 


ASU: 61.71

UM: 66.77

Home: 3 points

Montana is favored by the Sagarin ratings by 2 points (rounded).

Series: Montana leads 2-0

Last Meeting: Montana 24, Appalachian 17, December 9, 2009, Missoula, MT

WXAPP’s Boone Gameday Weather Trends:

Most Cloudy to Cloudy Skies. Rain a strong possibility for the game

Kickoff: Temperatures in the upper 60’s

End of Game: Temperatures in the mid 60’s

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Last week, we compared two football programs and their ups and downs since their last meeting, which was three seasons ago. Similarly, the team that ended Appalachian’s season back in 2009 is the program they will face this weekend in their home opener. For only the third time ever, Appalachian and Montana, two of the best programs in FCS/I-AA history will play a football game. The previous two games were dandies, both basically decided on the games final play. Erasing the image of Jimmy Farris catching the game clinching touchdown over Appalachian All-American Corey Hall will always be tough. Perhaps even tougher, most of us watched Armanti Edwards play his final game as a collegian in a blizzard on television, thousands of miles from home. This time around, Montana finally hits the road to play the Mountaineers; the first such meeting between the two schools in the regular season. Montana was able to escape from South Dakota last week while the Mountaineers fell to East Carolina in a game that was much closer than the final score indicated. Montana seems to be the same team they always have been, a power running team that will dominate the line of scrimmage, while Appalachian looked much like its former self, compiling 419 yards of offense despite only scoring three times. Only once last year did Appalachian eclipse that yardage mark on the road: Jamal Jackson’s first start against The Citadel.

Appalachian has been performed well historically in home openers. Appalachian has won 75% of their home openers overall and are 20-3 under Jerry Moore. Those three losses are significant to Appalachian’s performance as the season goes on. In 1993, Appalachian fell to Liberty 20-14. That is the only season that Moore has coached an Appalachian football team to a losing record (4-7). In 2000, Appalachian lost to Troy State 34-28, but would exact revenge on the Trojans in the first round of the playoffs 33-30. Appalachian eventually lost to Montana in the semifinals. And most recently, in 2009, the Mountaineers fell to McNeese State 40-35, and guess what happened that year? Appalachian lost to Montana in the semifinals. So if Appalachian loses on Saturday, what can we predict for Appalachian for the remainder of the season? Well a 33% chance of a losing record, and 66% chance we make the playoffs and have to go on the road to eventually play Montana again.

It has been well documented, how Appalachian had to replace a lot of coaches since the end of the 2011 season. Montana may have had it worse than Appalachian. A rash of player misconduct off the field in Montana led to the eventual firing of former football coach Robin Pflugrad and athletics director Jim O’Day. Several players were disciplined which included some dismissals. The Boone and Missoula communities are very alike, in that the towns revolve around football, and negative press is not something than many know how to deal with. Hopefully this weekend, both schools can put it all behind them and enjoy the game of football once again.

Montana’s win over South Dakota last weekend was a little eye opening. Not because it was a good win, but because the Griz had to come back from a halftime deficit to win. South Dakota is in their first year as a playoff eligible team in 2012. Their high point in 2011 was a win over Eastern Washington, but it is tough to judge statistics from last season’s schedule, one that was full of creampuffs and money games. Regardless, Montana ran for 315 yards against the Coyotes and advanced the ball in the air for another 253 yards. The Griz racked up 34 first downs, and had two players hit the century mark on the ground, but turned the ball over three times.

Redshirt sophomore Trent McKinney was 26/32 passing the ball for 214 yards which included two touchdowns and one interception. McKinney also ran the ball thirteen times for 65 yards in his first career game. Peter Nguyen averaged 5.4 yards per carry on his nineteen rushes and Dan Moore averaged 5.5 yards per carry on his twenty seven attempts. Both running backs scored a touchdown. Nguyen and Moore are also capable targets out of the backfield, combining for six catches against South Dakota. Wide receiver Sam Gratton caught five passes for forty-two yards and also threw a touchdown pass, a 39 yard score to Bryce Carver. Sean Hayes added another five catches for fifty three yards. The intermediate passing game from Montana could provide some issues for the Mountaineers with their injury concerns. Although the Mountaineers looked good against East Carolina, it was the tight ends and backs that did the most damage against Appalachian.

The Mountaineers fared better than the final score against East Carolina on Saturday. The game brings back memories from the Marshall game in 2002. A one possession ball game late in the third quarter in both instances got out of hand on one play. In 2002, Josh Jeffries was all over a Marshall fumble that would have given the Mountaineers the ball deep in Herd territory down only six points. Jeffries couldn’t possess the ball before it went out of bounds, and on the very next play, Marshall scores on a long touchdown pass and the rout was on. After pulling within a point Saturday, Appalachian gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown and any momentum the Mountaineers gained was lost in the heat and humidity of Greenville.

Jamal Jackson looked good even despite his one interception. The interception wasn’t a bad throw, it must have slipped out of his hands, but he had a receiver open behind the defense and was trying to make a play. He scored the only Mountaineer touchdown on a four yard run in the first quarter and finished the game with 300 yards passing. If there is a concern in Jackson’s eight career starts, it is that he has thrown at least one interception six times. In both instances where he did not throw a touchdown pass in a game, Appalachian lost on both occasions; the other being Furman last year.

The big story coming out of Greenville was the injuries the Mountaineers suffered. Rod Chisholm was lost to a broken hand until the leaves change colors and Doug Middleton was lost for the season due to a broken bone in his foot. At both positions, running back and defensive back, Appalachian was already suffering some injuries, with Stephen Miller working his way back into shape and Rodger Walker dealing with his illness.

Appalachian owes Montana one after all these years. A regular season win over Montana may not heal the wounds of the past, but it will do a great deal for Appalachian team that needs a marquee win over a team of relevance in the FCS. However, Montana’s record east of the Mississippi is about as bad as Appalachian’s is west of the muddy waters. Montana will not feel the effects of the time difference as it would in an earlier game, but they may have played right into Appalachian’s hand. Many have been witnesses to night games at The Rock, and for whatever reason, it brings out a different type of Mountaineer team. Some of the most special nights, and higher points totals in recent memory were games that started in the early to late evening. We know them simple as one name. Richmond. Halloween. Will Montana be added to that list? It all depends on the play from the Appalachian defense. With a freshman on the road for his first start in a hostile environment, Montana will most likely try to kill the crowd and the clock with long drives by establishing a run game. Jeremy Kimbrough, Brandon Grier, Troy Sanders and Patrick Blalock must be ready to attack the line of scrimmage and force the Grizzlies into long yardage situations. Those four combined for 40 of 80 total tackles and 21 of the 40 solo stops against East Carolina. In fact, all of Grier’s nine tackles were solo stops. In those long yardage plays, Ronald Blair, Davante Harris and Deuce Robinson need to apply pressure and make McKinney throw the ball when he does not want to. The Appalachian offense needs to find a rhythm early and attack the Montana defense straight on. In a game of this magnitude, the team that plays with a greater passion and desire will come out on top. Hopefully, those players will have big block “A” on their helmets.

The First Pick:

Care Bears 24

Mountaineers 28

Appalachian Football @ East Carolina

Here we go with Week 1:

 #6 Appalachian State @ East Carolina

Time: 12:00pm

TV: Fox Sports Net

Viewing Parties

Radio: WKBC 97.3 Wilkesboro, Charlotte, Winston Salem, Hickory & High Country; WATA 1450 Boone, Blowing Rock; ESPN 730 Charlotte, Rock Hill, Salisbury; WCOG 1320 Greensboro, Winston Salem, WMFR 1230 Greensboro, High Point; WSML 1200 Burlington, Greensboro; WCMC 99.9 Raleigh, WZGM 1350 Black Mountain, Asheville; WPWT 870 Bristol, Johnson City; WTOE 1470 Spruce Pine, WDNC 620 Durham, WLON 1050 Lincolnton

Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium         

Surface: Natural Grass

Capacity: 50,000 


Jeff Sagarin Ratings: 


ASU: 63.56

ECU: 66.95

Home: 3 points

East Carolina is favored by the Sagarin ratings by 6.5 points (rounded).

Series: Appalachian leads 19-11

Last Meeting: East Carolina 29, Appalachian 24, September 5, 2009, Greenville, NC

WXAPP’s Greenville Gameday Weather Trends:

Mix of Clouds. Chance for an afternoon storm. Muggy. Stay Hydrated.

Kickoff: Temperatures in the mid 80’s

End of Game: Temperatures in the upper 80’s to low 90’s

 

            Almost three years ago, when Appalachian and East Carolina kicked off the 2009 season, much hype surrounded the game. Appalachian was one year removed from a historical three year run of national championships and the most decorated player to wear the black and gold was coming back for his senior season. East Carolina had just finished its best year under Skip Holtz, going 9-5 in 2008 and had won Conference USA’s Eastern Division. It had been thirty years since the last time the in-state foes had played. East Carolina was favored again to win Conference USA in 2009 and Appalachian was poised for their final season with Armanti Edwards. However, a decision to mow the lawn in sandals left Appalachian without their star player and for much hope of pulling off a victory. The Pirates raced to a big halftime advantage and looked to cruise to a lopsided victory. Travaris Cadet and the Mountaineers staged a furious comeback in the second half, but fell short by five points. Something else happened that day beyond what occurred on the field. The eyes of those with power witnessed something that day that is still somewhat in the works. East Carolina was amazed by the Mountaineers that showed up the day, on the field and in the stands. Appalachian sold out its allotment of tickets to alumni and students and travelled to Greenville in full force. It was later revealed that Appalachian bought more tickets than any other travelling Conference USA opponent for East Carolina that season. The landscape of college football was slowly evolving with realignments in the not so distant future. East Carolina became in interested in Appalachian and vice versa. To this day, Appalachian is still looking for the right moment to leave FCS football and East Carolina is still trying to convince the schools in their conference that Appalachian belongs in the world of FBS football. In the years since their last meeting, much has changed at both schools. Skip Holtz left for South Florida and the Pirates have struggled under Ruffin McNeill the past two seasons. Replacing Edwards and assistant coaches who slowly migrated to better situations has also been tougher than expected for Appalachian. An 8-4 season used to be the old Jerry Moore status quo from the late 90’s and early 2000’s, but that is no longer acceptable on the mountain. For Appalachian, enter an era of change that is basically the same. Our beloved former walk-on quarterback and offensive guru Scott Satterfield has returned with his up tempo offense that brought Appalachian their many accomplishments from the last decade. A group of players who did not know how to behave and some assistant coaches who surely did not help matters have also moved on. The question remains whether a different culture and a new attitude will benefit the Mountaineers as the season progresses, but we can all agree that figuring it out along the way will be plenty of fun.

             Twice this season, the Appalachian coaching staff will face off against a group of very familiar faces, both wearing the same ugly color that is purple. East Carolina head coach Ruffin McNeill played for ECU in the late 1970’s when they won the Southern Conference championship in 1976. He was on Jerry Moore’s first coaching staff at Appalachian for three years as a linebackers coach. McNeill returned to Boone after a year at ECU in 1992 to coordinate the defense for four seasons. He helped coach Appalachian to six playoff berths and two Southern Conference championships during his stay. His youngest daughter Olivia is a senior at Appalachian.

John Wiley is the associate head coach and linebackers coach for ECU, entering his third year in that position. Wiley spent nineteen years in Boone as the defensive backs coach starting in 1989. Wiley left for two seasons beginning in 1991, but returned to Appalachian in 1993 to coach defensive backs and eventually defensive coordinator. Wiley was known for adjusting his defensive approach in the middle of the game to match up with opposing offensives. Wiley helped the Mountaineers to seven SoCon championships, twelve playoff berths and 87 all-conference performers. Recruiting Coordinator Donnie Kirkpatrick spent five seasons at Appalachian starting in 1984 under Sparky Woods. Kirkpatrick was the wide receivers coach at Western Carolina for two seasons in 2003-04. From 2000-02, Kirkpatrick was the head coach at Chattanooga. Current Mountaineers offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford was a graduate assistant for two years at East Carolina in 2008-09 while also playing for the Pirates from 1995-1998.

            Redshirt junior Rio Johnson (6-2, 203 lbs) was named the starting quarterback for East Carolina against Appalachian. Johnson won a four way battle that lasted from spring ball to fall camp. Johnson has the most experience of this teammate under center, but that experience is somewhat limited. Appearing in four games last year, Johnson completed 69% of his passes for 157 yards and one interception. His longest pass was 17 yards and he averaged 5.4 yards per passing attempt. Johnson completed 58% of his passes in his final two years of high school to go along with 29 touchdown passes and eight interceptions.           

            Johnson has a plethora of returning receivers to help him transition to the starting role. Justin Hardy hauled in 64 catches for 658 yards last season and corralled six touchdown receptions. Andrew Bodenheimer caught 46 balls for 484 yards. Reese Wiggins caught 29 passes for 432 yards. To compare, Appalachian’s returning leading receivers Tony Washington and Andrew Peacock caught 32 and 48 passes respectively. However, that is only part of the offense the Pirates run. The media guide officially calls their offense a “spread”, which is the formation, but not the style. There are several different variations of the spread attack. The Pirates style is an all out passing game of short passes that move the chains Imagine Georgia Southern moving the ball four and five yards at a time, but passing the ball. The Pirates ran 921 offensive plays last season and 524 (57%) of them were passes. However, with those passes, come interceptions; a total of twenty of them in 2011 for the Pirates.

            Appalachian returns one of its most successful sophomore quarterbacks ever. Jamal Jackson started seven games for the Mountaineers last season, posting a 5-2 record, and throwing for 2,001 yards, 15 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Unlike East Carolina, the starting role has been firmly in his hands since he took over at The Citadel last season in his first career start. Jackson will remind some of Richie Williams, with a slightly larger build, tipping the scales at 208 pounds. Jackson has been instrumental during the offseason getting players together for workouts and understands that what happened last season was not a good rendition of Mountaineer football. He has a big arm that he can use to stretch the field and is athletic enough to be able to run when flushed out of the pocket or on designed running plays.

            Jackson will need the help of some young talent to be successful this year. As mentioned, receivers Andrew Peacock and Tony Washington return, but gone are seniors Brian Quick and Ben Jorden and Travaris Cadet. Redshirt freshman Simms McElfresh and Sean Price will man the other receiver positions. Rod Chisholm will return to the field after a year away from football to be the starting running back while Sophomore Drew Bailey mans the tight end position. You will also see some speed from Stephen Miller assuming he is healthy and converted linebacker Michael Frazier in short yardage situations. If included on the travel roster, true freshman Tysean Holloway could see some carries as well, as he is the better all around back.

            Outside of four solid starters on defense, the Appalachian defense is equally as young. Linebackers Jeremy Kimbrough and Brandon Grier return as leading tacklers from a season ago. Strong Safety Troy Sanders was third on the team in tackles last season and defensive back Demetrius McCray led the team with five interceptions and fourteen defended passes last season. On the line, Appalachian might be even younger, with redshirt freshman at the nose tackle and right end positions. Ronald Blair returns at left end where he concluded his freshman campaign with 3.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss. Doug Middleton saw action last season as a true freshman and will man the other corner position opposite of McCray. The belief is Middleton might switch back to the “star” position after dealing with the Pirate receiving corps.  

            With so much newness on the field for Appalachian, one must wonder if this game will come down to the players or the coaches. Most of the rosters have turned over since 2009, as only six Mountaineers that played in the 2009 game remain, none of them on the offensive side of the ball unless you count the converted Michael Frazier. Question marks remain for Appalachian on the offensive side of the ball which include the consistency of the new receivers, and whether or not any of the Mountaineer running backs are in game shape. The one counter to the inexperience will be the speed of the offense between plays. Appalachian has always had a very well conditioned team, which could come into play this Saturday and on what appears to be a warm day. East Carolina was a little weary the last time around playing in similar heat and also choosing to wear an all purple uniform on that day. The Mountaineer defense is good where it needs to be, at linebacker and in the secondary, but depth is a huge issue. Most teams do not have four and five quality cornerbacks to match up against the “Air Raid” attack. Appalachian will need to get in the passing lanes when they can against ECU and apply pressure to the quarterback if a long yardage situation occurs. In 2009, East Carolina pummeled Appalachian on the ground, but the Pirates do not rely on the running back as much in this offense. However, the freshmen need to be up to the task when called upon for the Mountaineers. The matchup between Scott Satterfield and John Wiley will be interesting. Almost every play that Satterfield ran in his previous stint at Appalachian has been witnessed by Wiley several times over. He knows his strategy and his ways. The kicking game will also be interesting to watch. Appalachian has been inconsistent in camp with field goals. Kickoffs will also be fun to watch with the new rules in play. Teams will now kickoff from the 35, and touchbacks will result in the ball being placed on the 25.  There are a lot of unknowns for both teams and Appalachian’s recent performance against FBS teams has been subpar. I think this entire game depends on how much ECU has improved on defense and the turnover battle.

The First Pick:

Our mascot is named after a river                   31                   

Mountaineers                                                 20

Appalachian Soccer 1, East Tennessee State 0

Appalachian got on the board early in the match at the 13th minute mark. A quick offensive push led to a throw in for the Mountaineers to the left of the Buccaneer defense. The ball was played into the box and swiftly played to Matthew Melton on the touch. Melton found a cutting David Dodge who buried the ball into the back of the net. The play was drawn up and executed perfectly. For the remainder of the first half, Appalachian maintained possession and kept the ball in the middle third of the field.

The second half was all about the Mountaineer defense. Appalachian (1-0) had a couple of runs early in the second, but mainly packed the defense in for the final thirty minutes. East Tennessee State (0-1) could only get off eight shots for the game, with none of the shots getting on frame. The win was the first for the Mountaineers in their home opener and gives them their first of what will most likely be many clean sheets on the season. The next home match for the Mountaineers is Sunday, September 2nd at 3pm against UNC-Wilmington.

15 Days!!!

8-) ASU #15

Tony Washington

Image

Position: Wide Receiver
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 200
Year: Junior
City/State: High Point, N.C.
High School: T.W. Andrews

Tony is going to be an integral part of the offense this year. Will probably see an increase of 30-40% in production. Last season, Tony caught 32 passes for 355 yards and 2 touchdowns. We can easily see a 50 catch season near 600 yards and four touchdowns. Washington may also spend some time at punt and kick return.

Final Scrimmage held before Fan Fest

For about an hour, we were able to lay our eyes on the Mountaineers final tuneup before Saturday’s Fan Fest. The first string and second string team offenses and defenses faced off against each other, alternating possessions.

Doug Middleton started off  the scrimmage with a bang with a 50+ yard kickoff return, but the drive unfortunately stalled with a missed 38 yard field goal that was pushed wide right. The Mountaineers had a chance with a 3rd and 1, but a false start on the offense and missed throw by Jamal Jackson to Sean Price killed the drive.

The second string defense clamped down on their counterparts on the next possession forcing a three and out with Michael Frazier providing the only offense on the drive with a five yard run. Kameron Bryant was 0-2 on the drive.

Jackson and the first team offense took over after a 33 yard punt by Sam Martin and a block in the back penalty on the return team drove the offense back to the 29 yard line. This was the best drive by either offense in the first hour of the scrimmage. Rod Chisholm carried four times for 34 yards on the drive that concluded with a 15 yard touchdown run by Chisholm. Andrew Peacock hauled in two passes for 15 yards and Sean Price caught another pass for 16 yards. Jackson drew the defense offsides with a hard count on a 3rd & 4, but Peacock caught a pass for 11 yards on the free play.

The second team offense lost six yards on the following drive, but Sam Martin bailed them out with the first of his 50 yard punts. Paul Magloire was set to return the punt but misplayed the ball that was clearly over his head and he should have let bounce. A block in the back penalty and the ball careening out of bounds after Magloire’s muffed catch, forced the offense back to their seven yard line.

Jackson was sacked on the first play for a 3 yard loss, while walk on freshman Ricky Ferguson ran for 7 yards on second down. On 3rd & 6, Sean Price dropped a ball right at the first down marker.

Doug Middleton was back to receive the punt, and Sam Martin forced another tough run and catch that Middleton couldn’t handle. Martin unleashed another 50+ yard punt that was eventually recovered by the return team.

Kameron Bryant started off the next drive with a seven yard run on a designed QB sweep. Michael Frazier than ran for 14 yards and 1 yard on his next two carries. Bobo Beathard hauled in a pass for 6 yards to give the offense a 3rd & 3. Kameron Bryant took off again on an option play that gained 11 yards, but a holding penalty put the Mountaineers back into a 3rd & 5 situation. Bryant’s third down pass was intercepted by Brandon McGowan. Despite the turnover, the punt team came out and called a rugby style punt. A rugby style punt is used when the kicking team wants to limit the return and the punter runs to his right before punting the ball. It is very useful when you have a short yardage situation on 4th down and the punter can read the defense and may get the green light to run for the first down. Martin was punting from his own 43 yard line and the ball was not returned and rolled to a stop at the 6 yard line to give Martin another 51 yard punt.

The first team offense decided to be conservative with their shadows lingering in the end zone and ran the ball three straight times with Rod Chisolm and lost 2 yards on the drive. Martin punted with a shortened snap, his heels just inbounds in the back if the end zone and managed enough hangtime to force a fair catch at the 45 yard line, booming another 51 yard punt with no return.

The second team offense came out again and Ricky Ferguson took a first down carry for 25 yards down to the 30 yard line. Two consecutive passes to Beathard from Bryant only delivered 2 yards on one completion. However, the defense held Beathard’s facemask long enough to draw a flag that gave the second team the ball at the 14 yard line. Bryant was short on a pass to Malachi Jones on first down and Ferguson ran for 2 yards on second down. On third down, Bryant overthrew Jones in the end zone after scrambling around the pocket for a good two seconds. A thirty yard field goal attempt by Zach Matics was wide right.

On the next drive for Jamal Jackson’s group, Chisholm ran for two yards on first down. Drew Bailey dropped a pass that would have given the Mountaineers a first down. Tony Washington made the catch on third down for 11 yards after a holding penalty negated a much larger gain for the offense. Andrew Peacock hauled in a pass for five yards before Chisholm was stopped again for a four yard loss. Jackson scrambled for five yards on third down but it was not enough for a first down and the starters were forced to punt again. Mark Powell punted from the opponents 42 yard line and forced a fair catch on the 15 yard line.

Bryant and the second teamers took over again and Tysean Holloway broke off a 65 yard run on 2nd & 10 and a horse collar tackle placed the ball on the ten yard line. The second teamers than ran three straight times to get in into the end zone on a Bryant keeper.

On the final drive we witnessed on the afternoon, Sean Price dropped another pass on a first down play while Michael Frazier ran for 5 yards. Jackson was then sacked by Adam Scott for a 5 yard loss.  Sam Martin attempted another rugby kick, and while he did not get a lot of air time, the ball rolled long enough to credit him with another 49 yard punt.

So what can we take from this abbreviated scrimmage? Penalties are a concern with the offense being called back twice on first down gains. Running back Stephen Miller was missing. The drops are a concern, but likely, just a bad sample size. Would like to see Rod Chisholm stay inside the tackles more. Several times he was taken down for losses while trying to run east-west and not north-south. Sam Martin is a stud. He had one bad kick, but everything else looked good. With kickoffs being spotted on the 35 yard line, the kick coverage team did their best keeping the returners short of the twenty yard line and kicking the ball right to the goal line. Two different place kickers missing manageable field goals attempts is also a concern.

 

 

Tacoi Sumler added to roster

It is rare when a transfer comes into camp after one week of practice, but Tacoi Sumler will do just that when he hits the field on Wednesday. Sumler (5’9″, 173)redshirted last season at Oregon and actually played in their spring game earlier this year. His accolades are high coming to Appalachian. Most notable are his skills as a speedster, with his lowest 100 meter timed at 10.49 seconds. That would have been the third quickest time in the SoCon last year, and eight tenths of a second faster than another familiar football player.

 It will take some time for Sumler to learn the offense, and maybe as much time to earn some repetitions on the field. Slated to start at the wide receiver position for the Mountaineers are Tony Washington and Andrew Peacock, both redshirt juniors currently in their fourth fall camp with the Mountaineers. Sean Price is a redshirt freshman who is drawing comparisons to Brian Quick for his size, but Price was also a track star, and is much faster than Quick. Sumler is going to have to supplant Jonathan Shively, Bobo Beathard or Simms McElfresh in order to see any work on the field this year at receiver.

Most people assume you put fast guys in as a returner as well. Sometimes fast guys work there and sometimes not. Dexter Jackson was a decent punt returner, but his only returns for touchdowns were against Gardner Webb. Dexter was fast, but not quick which means he could run a straight line, but his first step was not the quickest. CoCo Hillary was a guy who wasnt the fastest on the team, but had a quick step when he changed direction. Sumler appears to have decent ball skills and its possible we could see him at kick return. I am sure the coaching staff would like to get Steven Miller off the kick return team as Appalachian is not incredibly deep or experienced at running back.

Injury Update

Within hours of our post about Dante Blackmon, GoASU released a more detailed injury report with three players that stood out with injuries that needed “further evaluation”. Blackmon was on the list that included redshirt freshman defensive tackle Thomas Bronson and reserve offensive lineman Tucker Lee.

Bronson may be our biggest concern among all of the injuries. At a position where two redshirt freshman look to split time, an injury that could lead to prolonged time on the trainer’s table versus being on the practice field is worrisome. Dan Wylie was easily the best nose tackles that Appalachian has fielded in several years, possibly going back as far as Ryan Watson.

Tucker Lee may not be as well known to some, but he did his best impression of Arian Foster, running back of the Houston Texans, by using several social outlets to inform the masses of his hand injury. It appears Lee may have broken his finger, but also has his arm in a sling, so we cannot be completely sure what his injury is.

True Freshman Alex Gray and Tyson Fernandez will both be out another 4-6 weeks. Hopefully these guys are both potential redshirt targets barring any more injuries at their positions. The injuries that are listed “day-to-day” do not concern us at this point, as we still have three weeks before the first game at East Carolina.

Football: Injury Concerns

A few days ago, a couple of freshman players suffered injuries in fall camp and one of those injuries has really raised some eyebrows. Dante Blackmon was a highly touted recruit from Covington HS in Georgia. According to the media guide, Blackmon was slated to be a return specialist and there were reports of him pushing for an opportunity to start in the defensive backfield.

Blackmon is a versatile athlete who played on both sides of the ball in high school. It can be rare for a true freshman at Appalachian to play a significant number of snaps, especially at a position which requires coaching and experience to play at a high level. As mentioned, Blackmon was penciled in as a returner, not knowing whether that means punt returner or kick returner. Appalachian has not returned a kickoff for a touchdown since the days of CoCo Hillary in 2007 at Wofford. The last time the Mountaineers returned a punt for a touchdown was when Dexter Jackson returned two punts for touchdowns against Gardner Webb in 2006.

Fan Fest 2012 featuring NEEDTOBREATHE

Information was released this afternoon about Fan Fest 2012. Although a complete round up of events is available here, we will hit the highlights below.

As usual, the events will start at 4pm with autograph sessions, meet and greets, on field access and inflatable rides and toys for the younger tailgaters.

At 6pm, the public will get its last look at the Mountaineers before the season opener at East Carolina with a scrimmage, which in the past, has lasted up to two hours.

At 8:30, Southern Rock Band  NEEDTOBREATHE will perform. This is the second consectutive year that Appalachian Marketing has offered a concert in conclusion to the scrimmage. Last year, Corey Smith performed. On Twitter, NEEDTOBREATHE has 137,000  followers while Corey Smith lays claims to 41,000 twitter fans.

Now, for the really important stuff. Just like last year, a $10 admission will be charged to those without a football season ticket. Only season ticket holders and students are granted free admission to the event.

Tailgating will now be allowed in certain lots. This has been a wish of ours for years and it has finally come to fruition. Tailgating will be allowed in the Champions, Raley, Greenwood, Stadium & Rivers Street Parking Decks areas.

Fans will be allowed to come and go the event as they please, which allows for obtaining the signatures of your favorite players and coaches and taking those precious items back to the car before checking out the scrimmage. Most likely there will be a small window of opportunity between the scrimmage and setting up for the concert that will allow for some bonus tailgating.