Avery Journal-Times
The 2008 season wasn’t the fairy tale season that the Appalachian State Mountaineers had hoped for. The Mountaineers came up short of their bid for their fourth straight FCS National Title last season, but they feel like they are still the team to beat this season.
“I feel like we are the hunted,” Jac
que Roman said. “Tradition never falls. Anyone who steps on this field right here knows that tradition never falls. So we are always going to have that target on our backs. One year doesn’t collapse everything. We have most of the same players coming back and everyone knows what we are capable of doing so I definitely feel like we are the hunted.”
On paper, the Mountaineers to most are the team to beat. The Mountaineers return 18 starters including 2008 Walter Payton Award Winner and All-American Armanti Edwards. The senior quarterback has the potential to be the first two-time winner of the Payton award as well as break every record associated with quarterback play in Appalachian and Southern Conference history.
“We have talked about it and we honestly think we can go undefeated,” Edwards said. “Even the year we beat Michigan we didn’t go into the season that confident that we could go undefeated. We feel we can only beat ourselves out here.”
Edwards received a setback as he injured his right foot in a mowing accident before the first fall practice.
Edwards will be joined in the backfield by a variety of options at the running back position. Devin Moore will be the starter on opening after missing last year’s final 11 games. Robert Welton, Devin Radford, Josh Jackson and Cedric Baker all saw action last season, and are competing for playing time.
At the wide receiver slot, CoCo Hillary, Brian Quick, Matt Cline, Blake Elder, Tavaris Washington and B.J. Frazier are all expected to take snaps at the position. Ben Jorden returns at tight end. Three of App’s starting offensive line from last season are also returning.
The Mountaineers return nine starters on the defensive side of the ball to one of the best defenses in the nation.
“My expectations are s so high for the defense this year because we are so experience,” left end Tony Robertson said. “Every year, we have always had in the back of the mind we are young and we don’t have the seniors or the leaders, but we can’t use that anymore because we are so experienced. We have been doing good with the youth we had, but now we are a bunch of old guys who played a couple years together.”
The App defense is led by senior linebacker Roman, the SoCon Defensive Play of the Year last year. Roman is joined by D.J. Smith as returning starters in the linebacking corps, and redshirt freshman Justin Lloyd is expected to fill the role left behind by Pierre Banks. The defensive line gets a boast from the return of Tony Robertson from injury last season. The secondary features once again Cortez Gilbert, Mark LeGree and Ed Gainey.
With all the returning starters and the caliber of players, Coach Jerry Moore can’t help but be excited by the season’s prospects, but knows that doesn’t translate into success.
"I think we have the potential to be as good as the championship teams,” Moore said. “But as I've said in the past, that doesn't get you anywhere if you don’t have the leadership and if you don’t have the intangibles."
The Mountaineers kick off the season on September 5th as they take on the East Carolina Pirates.
