Western Illinois Fighting Leathernecks
Overall Rank: #19
#3 Missouri Valley
Western Illinois Logo
2010 Record: (8-5, 5-3)
2010 Postseason: FCS Playoffs
Coach: Mark Hendrickson (13-15 at Western Illinois, 13-15 overall)
Returning Leaders:
Rushing: Caulton Ray, RB, 1,075 yards
Passing: Wil Lunt, QB, 16 yards
Receiving: Terriun Crump, WR, 888 yards
Tackles: Kevin Palermo, LB, 52
Sacks: Ryan Demming, DE, 2.0
Interceptions: Chris Boone, CB, 1; Keith Enderlein, S, 1; Kieron James, CB, 1; Ryan Waldron, S, 1
Western Illinois had an amazing turnaround. In 2009, the team went 1-10. During Coach Mark Hendrickson’s first full season with the team, they went 8-5 and finished second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with a 5-3 mark. There are some pieces to replace, some big pieces, but this team returns enough talent to make another playoff push.
Strengths:
Last year the offense averaged 457.23 yards per game. That was good enough for third in the nation. They will not approach that number again, but the offense is still on solid ground. Running back Caulton Ray, a former Spartan of Michigan State, rushed for 1,075 yards and nine touchdowns. Bryce Flowers was right behind him with 804 rushing yards and eight trips to the end zone. The offensive line loses some quality players, most notably right tackle Mike Lamphear, but they do return quite a few linemen who have starting experience. This will not be a young and inexperienced group by any means. Jordan Valle, Jimmy Holtschlag and Enock Presendieu are all returning starters from the middle of the line and Ray and Flowers will not have a problem going right up the gut if they have to do so. Replacing Matt Barr at quarterback will be the offense’s biggest issue. Wil Lunt has some starting experience back in 2009 when Barr was hurt, but he is in the midst of a four way battle for the starting job. Lunt was not too impressive during his starting days, but he is a little older and wiser and should make better decisions. However, the fact that he did not secure the job in the spring does raise some questions. Whoever the quarterback may be, this team has plenty of talented wide receivers despite the loss of Lito Senatus. Terriun Crump will be the new go-to-guy after catching 56 passes for 888 yards and five touchdowns a year ago. Bryce Flowers, Charles Chestnut and Justin Morgan are all capable receivers as well, but without Barr there will not be as many passes to go around.
Weaknesses:
The Leathernecks rush defense was awful last season, but the good news may be that most of the front seven is gone. Tackle Dwight Harris and end Ryan Demming are a promising duo to build around. Former junior college transfer Brent Turner did not make much of a splash his first year with the Leathernecks, but he will need to be a senior leader this time around. The linebackers will really miss MVFC Player of the Year Kyle Glazier. Glazier tallied an amazing 167 tackles last year and added 9.0 tackles-for-loss, 2.0 sacks and two interceptions. Brandon Kreczmer was second in tackling and he too has run out of eligibility. That leaves a lot of questions in the middle of the defense. Ball State transfer Theon Dixon should help out, but the linebackers will not be nearly as effective and that means the rush defense could be even worse in 2011 than it was in 2010.
The Bottom Line:
Cornerbacks Chris Boone and Kieron James will anchor a very deep and talented secondary that led the conference in pass defense a year ago. Unlike years past when the pass defense put up good numbers Because the team was just bad and the opposition did not need to put the ball in the air, this unit was tested at times and performed very well in 2010. Yet, the biggest question is whether or not the Leathernecks can continue their success or if everything just happened to go right for one season. This group should certainly take a step back, but how big will that step be?
Projected Postseason: none
2010 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 190.69 (23rd in nation, 5th in conference)
Passing Offense: 266.54 (13, 1)
Total Offense: 457.23 (3, 1)
Scoring Offense: 32.54 (11, 1)
Rushing Defense: 195.31 (100, 7)
Pass Defense: 173.62 (23, 1)
Total Defense: 368.92 (78, 5)
Scoring Defense: 22.62 (43, 4)
Turnover Margin: .85 (10, 2)
Sacks: 1.46 (78, 7)
Sacks Allowed: 2.08 (71, 6)
Madness 2011 FCS Football Recruit Rankings:
#116 Luke Venegoni
