Filling Cooper's running back shoes big task for the Bulldogs

Five questions: Citadel Football

The Citadel takes the field today for the first day of fall practice with both optimism and questions aplenty.

An upward arc in football coach Kevin Higgins' first three seasons, including a 7-4 mark last year — the Bulldogs' best since 1992 — has caught the attention of both fans and prognosticators, some of whom have The Citadel ranked as high as No. 16 in the nation in the FCS.

But the Bulldogs also play in perhaps the toughest conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (The Citadel was picked to finish sixth in the Southern Conference), face a 12-game schedule that includes both Clemson and Florida, and have a lot of holes to fill in the two-deep.

Here are the top five questions facing the Bulldogs as practice starts today:

1.) Who will step up at running back?

Tory Cooper might have been the most under-appreciated player in the SoCon the last two years. The stocky kid from Effingham was probably the most versatile running back in the league last year, rushing for 1,041 yards and 19 touchdowns and catching 33 passes for 351 yards and two more scores. For those efforts, he was ignored by SoCon coaches in their voting for the all-conference team last year (the media put him on the second team).

But Higgins knows just how valuable Cooper was, and how difficult it will be to replace him. Sophomore Cody Wilson (6-0, 200) has a strong, straight-ahead style and averaged 5.1 yards per carry last season, but hasn't shown the quick feet or versatility of Cooper. Redshirt freshman Rickey Anderson has plenty of potential, but is coming off two ACL injuries that have kept him off the field for most of the last two years and remains a mystery. Higgins says at least two freshmen will play at running back — the three candidates are Terrell Dallas (6-0, 205), Asheton Jordan (6-0, 206) of Stratford High School and Ryan Williams L(5-11, 245). Competition in the fall will be intense.

2.) Is Bart Blanchard ready to be the man?

Blanchard, a redshirt sophomore from Rock Hill, proved plenty last year after starting quarterback Duran Lawson went down with a knee injury late in a loss to Georgia Southern. Blanchard, 6-2 and 200 pounds, piloted the Bulldogs to a 2-1 record over the last three games, hitting 54 of 83 passes (65 percent) for 788 yards and seven TDs with one interception in that span. He also ran 51 times for 196 yards and two scores.

But, as Higgins says, being the man week-in and week-out at QB for an entire season is a different proposition.

"Bart has good leadership skills, has a strong arm, is very competitive and has a lot of confidence," Higgins said. "The challenge for us is that we are losing a lot of third-down conversions from last year. We were pretty good on third down, and most of that was due to the play of Duran Lawson. We were able to run lot of quarterback draws on third-and-five, and he was able to scramble and make things happen.

"I'm not sure how many QB draws we can run with Bart back there, and now that teams know us better. So we're going to lose a chunk of offense based on what Duran could do with his feet, so we have to find a way to get that back somewhere. Bart is young, and he hasn't had to be the guy week-in and week-out, which is a little bit different."

3.) How do the Bulldogs replace their top three tacklers?

Middle linebacker Andrew Rowell, free safety Josh Lawson and defensive end Trevar Broughton combined for 270 tackles, 31 tackles for loss, eight sacks, three interceptions and five forced fumbles last year. That's a lot of plays that somebody else will have to make this season.

Higgins and defensive coordinator Isaac Collins will try to replace that trio with personnel and with tweaks to the defensive scheme. Spring practice was devoted to a 3-4 look with junior Jordon Gil-more and redshirt sophomore Reggie Rice at inside linebacker, and safety/linebackers Jonathan Vest and Mel Capers on the outside. That alignment has senior Kevin McCaskill (6-2, 255) sliding out to defensive end across from junior Dewitt Jones (6-3, 225) with junior Terrence Reese (6-0, 275) in the middle.

Sophomore Demetrius Jackson is set to step in at free safety, and you can bet Vest and Capers will still be on the field when the Bulldogs are in the 4-3. Lincoln Kling, a 6-6 sophomore, and sophomore Antonio Davison will look to recoup some of Broughton's 15 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks at end.

4.) Who will emerge as running mate to All-America receiver Andre Roberts?

Roberts broke out with 78 catches for 1,060 yards and 10 TDs and making third-team All-America while also being ignored by SoCon coaches in all-conference balloting. But the next three receivers from last year (Cooper, Ta'Mar Jernigan and Tim Higgins) are gone, leaving maybe 100 catches out there for somebody to make

Senior Josh Haney (18 catches a year ago) has made plenty of big grabs in his career from the slot, and Taylor Cornett and Alex Sellars make a dandy tight end combo. But the other wideout spot is wide open, with just 10 career catches for the quartet of Alex Carr, Scott Flanagan, Travis Ruff and Gibb Clark.

Freshmen should make an impact here, with speedy Kevin Hardy and Luke Caldwell top candidates.

5.) Who will kick the ball?

Mike Adams was reliable a year ago, making all 56 of his extra points and 12 of 20 field goals, setting a school record for most points by kick (92). Two redshirt freshmen, Jordan Panter and Sam Keeler, are vying for the job.

Reach Jeff Hartsell at jhartsell@postandcourier.com and check out the new Citadel blog charleston.net/blogs/bulldog_bites/.

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