2013 Preseason Detmer Award Watchlist

[NT03]

DetmerAward

We'll be seeing a lot of these guys this year -

• Kenneth Dixon, RB, Louisiana Tech: As a freshman, he rushed for more touchdowns than any player in the FBS with 27. Dixon finished a shade below 1200 yards as the feature back in then-head coach Sonny Dykes’ air raid offense. Despite a coaching change, Dixon should not have to adjust too much with former Marshall offensive coordinator Tony Petersen bringing a similar philosophy.

• Cody Green, QB, Tulsa: Dual-threat quarterback Green came along nicely in the stretch run of Tulsa’s Conference USA championship season, throwing seven of his 17 touchdown passes in the Golden Hurricane’s final three regular season games. The Nebraska transfer also rushed for 283 yards and four touchdowns.

• Taylor McHargue, QB, Rice: Despite coming out of the Armed Forces Bowl early, McHargue was integral in leading the Owls to just their third postseason appearance since 1961. He ran the option offense for 667 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground, but added the extra dimension of an effective passing game (12 touchdowns, over 2200 yards passing).

• Jordan Parker, RB, MTSU: Benny Cunningham’s injury last season opened the door for Parker to emerge as the Blue Raiders’ rushing option. Parker made the most of the opportunity, accruing 851 yards on the ground. He also caught 10 passes for 102 yards for 8-win MTSU. His return, alongside experienced quarterback Logan Kilgore, makes the Blue Raiders immediate contenders upon joining C-USA.

• Cairo Santos, K, Tulane: You are reading correctly, a kicker is on the Detmer Award preseason watch list. Tulane’s Cairo Santos isn’t just any kicker, though; he’s the reigning Lou Gorza Award winner as college football’s premiere placekicker, coming off a 2012 in which he went 21-of-21 on his field goal attempts.

• Beau Blankenship, RB, Ohio: A top 10 ball carrier in 2012, Blankenship accrued the most yards of any MAC running back with 1604. He also notched 15 touchdowns.

* Jahwan Edwards, RB, Ball State: As a sophomore, Edwards broke out for 1410 yards and 14 touchdowns in the Cardinals’ run to the postseason

Edited May 1, 2013 by NT03

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Ugh...at minimum, four teams with great running games. Hopefully they lost many OLs. Our DL will be greatly tested this year. That will be the determining factor in whether we have a winning or losing season. I have this nightmare of us being ball controlled to death game in and game out.

[untjim1995]

Ugh...at minimum, four teams with great running games. Hopefully they lost many OLs. Our DL will be greatly tested this year. That will be the determining factor in whether we have a winning or losing season. I have this nightmare of us being ball controlled to death game in and game out.

I'll be shocked if La Tech is anywhere close to what they were a year ago. They lost so many players and their very successful head coach. No matter how good the replacement seems (Skip Holtz isn't bad, either), the new chemistry will take some time to develop, just from a standpoint of personnel on hand that is different from what I suspect Holtz's offense will look like.

The other teams, especially Ohio and Tulsa, they could get really ugly if we cannot stop their running games. I suspect that those two games in particular will be ass-kickings, actually. I'm hopeful that Ball State is a team we can compete with, since its at home and its early in the season, when the Texas heat will stay be a player. Rice could be ugly, too, but I'm hopeful again because we are playing them here. If that game was at Rice, I would predict a beatdown like I think Tulsa will lay down on us--again...

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

The upside against Tulsa is they graduated all four starting defensive linemen. The downside is we play them the last game of the season when they new starters will already have 11 games under their belts. I wish we played Tulsa early to maybe catch their new defensive line before they have a chance to figure it out.

The flip side is that we have to have sustained drives on offense this year. I believe our OL gives us a good chance for that. If we can keep Tulsa and a few others off the field with our own sustained drives, we can balance out our lack of depth and talent on the DL.

[forevereagle]

The upside against Tulsa is they graduated all four starting defensive linemen. The downside is we play them the last game of the season when they new starters will already have 11 games under their belts. I wish we played Tulsa early to maybe catch their new defensive line before they have a chance to figure it out.

The flip side is that we have to have sustained drives on offense this year. I believe our OL gives us a good chance for that. If we can keep Tulsa and a few others off the field with our own sustained drives, we can balance out our lack of depth and talent on the DL.

Couldn't the same be said for us?

[KRAM1]

Bring 'em on!