Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Overall Rank: #35
#2 Big South
Coastal Carolina Team Page
2010 Record: (6-6, 5-1)
2010 Postseason: FCS Playoffs
Coach: David Bennett (56-25 at Coastal Carolina, 56-25 overall)
Returning Leaders:
Rushing: Aaron Jones, RB, 152 yards
Passing: Aramis Hillary, QB, 132 yards
Receiving: David Duran, TE, 472 yards
Tackles: Andrae Jacobs, LB, 104
Sacks: Dexter Holman, DT, 2.5
Interceptions: Marcus Lott, S, 2
After finishing 5-1 in Big South conference play, Coastal Carolina made a trip to the FCS Playoffs. They lost to Western Illinois in the First Round, but getting there is the accomplishment. Coach David Bennett has built a winning program and this is a school that did not have a team until 2003. Coach Bennett will have his work cut out for him in 2011 and this team will need to pull off an upset or two to make it back to the playoffs.
Strengths:
The defense is in good hands with Big South Defensive Player of the Year Andrae Jacobs leading the way. The junior linebacker tallied 104 tackles in 2010 and has turned into one of the most productive linebackers in the FCS. As an upperclassman, he should only get better. However, the key for this defense may be replacing Kent Harper and his 5.0 sacks. Dexter Holman is a fine interior lineman and Jacobs can get into the backfield from the linebacker spot, but the ends need to be more consistent with their pass rush. Desmond Steward will join Jacobs in the middle of the defense and those two alone would make this a defense that can compete with just about anybody. As good as the linebackers will be, the most talented player on the defensive side of the ball, and on the team for that matter, is in the secondary. Josh Norman is a shutdown corner who will likely be playing on Sundays in a year. Add safety Marcus Lott, who tallied 67 tackles and two interceptions in 2010, to the secondary and the Chanticleers will again have one of the best pass defenses in the Big South.
Weaknesses:
The offense was good last season, scoring over 31 points per game. However, there are a lot of new faces. Running back Eric O’Neal is gone. Dual-threat quarterback Zach MacDowall is gone. Receivers Brandon Whitley and Marquel Willis are gone. That leaves a lot of holes to fill. The most notable position battle is going on at quarterback where Aramis Hillary and Jamie Childers are battling it out. Hillary is the most experienced signal caller, while Childers is making the move from wide receiver. However, Hillary failed to secure the starting job and this battle could go well into the fall. The new quarterback will have to work in some young receivers as well. Matt Hazel figures to be one of those receivers. The 6-3 sophomore is a big target who only caught 20 passes last season. However, five of those were for touchdowns. The most seasoned pass catcher is tight end David Duran. He is one of the best in the conference and having two big targets for the new quarterback should help make things a little easier. But Coastal Carolina will need to find a speedster who can stretch the field and open up the short routes for Duran.
The Bottom Line:
The defense is good enough to win some games for Coastal Carolina, but the new skill players will not likely match the production of their counterparts from 2010. Losing MacDowall is a big deal, but it could have been much better if Hillary stepped up and took over the team in the spring. He may still do so, but it does leave a lot of questions around the offense. This is not a team that will likely score over 31 points per game again this year and that will keep them out of the playoffs.
Projected Postseason: none
2010 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 146.58 (59th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Passing Offense: 233.42 (29, 2)
Total Offense: 380.00 (36, 3)
Scoring Offense: 31.08 (21, 3)
Rushing Defense: 150.58 (59, 4)
Pass Defense: 182.92 (36, 2)
Total Defense: 333.50 (38, 3)
Scoring Defense: 25.17 (62, 2)
Turnover Margin: -.33 (80, 3)
Sacks: 2.08 (42, 2)
Sacks Allowed: .58 (3, 1)
