Central Arkansas Bears
Overall Rank: #14
#2 Southland
2010 Record: (7-4, 4-3)
2010 Postseason: none
Coach: Clint Conque (80-47 at Central Arkansas, 80-47 overall)
Returning Leaders:
Rushing: Terence Bobo, RB, 436 yards
Passing: Nathan Dick, QB, 2,589 yards
Receiving: Dominique Croom, WR, 446 yards
Tackles: Frank Newsome, LB, 100
Sacks: Markeith Gaines, DE, 4.0
Interceptions: Jestin Love, S, 6
Quarterback Nathan Dick turned the Central Arkansas passing game into one of the best in the nation. His steady and strong arm threw for 2,589 yards and 12 touchdowns. He completed over 63 percent of his passes and is poised to lead the Bears to their first playoff appearance since the team moved up to the Division I level.
Strengths:
Dick will lead a strong passing attack, but the defense will win games. The secondary was the best in the conference a year ago and should be strong again with safety Jestin Love leading the way. Add Radarius Winston to the mix and the Bears have plenty of talented and experienced safeties. Desmond Wilcox, Marcus Peters and Marcus Dumas will do a fine job at corner. The secondary was extremely young last year and they still did a great job. They will only be better with experience. The linebackers may not be quite as strong as the secondary, but Frank Newsome will have something to say about that. The senior tallied 100 tackles a year ago and will be joined again by Lamar Moore, Seth Allison and Justin Heard, among others in another unit that is very deep. Losing Markell Carter is a big loss. The First-Team All-Southland Conference defensive end tallied 62 tackles, including 13.5 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks. He will be missed and the pressure is squarely on Trey Lippe and Jermayne Lett to pick up the slack and keep the opposing quarterback on the move. If they fail to do so, the entire defense could take a step back and Central Arkansas cannot afford that if they hope for a conference title.
Weaknesses:
The offense has a solid quarterback, but there are some questions about the rest of the skill players. The Bears do return their entire stable of running backs, but none of them really stepped up and took control of the job. Terence Bobo is a nice short yardage back who punched in nine touchdowns last year and Jackie Hinton can break some big plays, but neither were all that consistent. This team will pass first, but having a running back or two that are bigger threats would open the passing attack. And the passing game may need a little extra help this year without wide receiver Kenneth Robey. Robey was Dick’s favorite target last year, catching 71 passes for 809 yards and six touchdowns. Nobody else on the team caught more than two touchdown passes. Isaiah Jackson can be a big play guy and Dominique Croom is a proven possession receiver, but nobody is going to be as big of a threat as Robey was in 2010 and all those double teams and safeties sneaking over to Robey’s side are gone.
The Bottom Line:
The offensive line could end up being the strength of this entire team. That is good news for Dick and the running backs. Austin Emerson will be missed, but just about every other lineman is back and that includes a few part-time starters who are ready to step into a full-time starting job. If they can pave the way for a better running game, this offense will be extremely dangerous. And the defense should again sport the best pass defense, and that is very important in a passing conference like the Southland.
Projected Postseason: FCS Playoffs
2010 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 119.00 (84th in nation, 5th in conference)
Passing Offense: 253.18 (17, 2)
Total Offense: 372.18 (41, 2)
Scoring Offense: 26.91 (44, 2)
Rushing Defense: 141.00 (45, 5)
Pass Defense: 204.18 (59, 1)
Total Defense: 345.18 (47, 2)
Scoring Defense: 21.18 (34, 1)
Turnover Margin: .73 (19, 1)
Sacks: 2.55 (20, 3)
Sacks Allowed: 1.55 (41, 3)
Madness 2011 FCS Football Recruit Ranking:
#50 Kyle Stouffer
#91 Wesleigh Foster
#147 Blake Gardner
