Saturday's College Football Preview Capsules: E&H, ETSU on the road; UVa-Wise hosts night game
Coming in: First game for both teams
What to watch for: Following a 5-6 season, Emory & Henry was picked for ninth among 12 teams in the South Atlantic Conference preseason coaches poll. The Wasps feature six preseason All-SAC picks, including quarterback Kyle Short, running back Justin Hill, receiver Tmahdae Penn and lineman Ricky Dodson on offense. Safety Addison Knicely earned an all-conference nod on defense, while punter Ethan Muncy also made the list. The Wasps reported to campus July 31…“That’s a long time, but I’ve learned that we do have some leadership now,” E&H head coach Curt Newsome said. “I didn’t think we had a great summer of establishing leadership in terms of lifting and classes, but that improved once we started practice. We feel guys like Penn and Norfolk State transfer Kaleb Lundy at linebacker will be great leaders. We signed 32 athletes from Virginia and I feel we’ve done well in the recruiting process. We’re bigger, faster and stronger. We’ve had two and a half years of scholarships, so we definitely don’t look like we did when we played in the [Old Dominion Athletic Conference].”…University of Maryland transfer Clayton Allen (6-5, 320) and former Lee High standout Noah Sage (6-2, 305) have been impressive on the offensive line along with Wagner University transfer Andrew Crawley, Jr. (5-10, 280) on the defensive line. Look for 6-4 redshirt freshman Cam Abshire (Roanoke Northside) to earn a starting positon at receiver after missing all of last season due to injury. Newsome said that six freshmen will make the trip to Concord, including defensive end Connor Roberts from Graham. Sophomore Charles Mutter will start at quarterback…“I like the mix of running ability and arm strength with Charles,” Newsome said. “We have two solid quarterbacks. Kyle is very smart and has a lot of experience.”…Concord was picked for a fourth-place finish among 11 teams in the NCAA Division II Mountain East Conference preseason coaches poll. Behind an offense ranked top-five nationally with 485 total yards per game, the Mountain Lions (9-2) enjoyed their best season since the 2014 team went 13-1 en route to the national semifinals. While former Concord offensive coordinator Brian Ferguson was hired to replace former head coach Dave Walker in May, the Mountain Lions return record-setting quarterback Jack Mangel. The 6-2 senior from Atlanta passed for 39 scores and 3,667 yards last season. The Concord roster includes redshirt freshman receiver Jake Roberts from Elizabethton…“Mangel is a gunslinger,” Newsome said. “He’s an All-American and as good as any quarterback we will see all season. I’m concerned about Concord hitting big plays. We left way too many points in the red zone against in our game last season, so we need to take care of that and not give Concord any home runs.”…Concord owns a six-game win streak against E&H, including a 27-20 decision last season. That was the first meeting between the schools in 41 years.
ETSU at Jacksonville State
Game time: 2 p.m.
Radio: WXSM, 640 AM
Coming in: Season-opener for ETSU; Jacksonville State (1-0) beat Texas-El Paso, 17-14, last Saturday.
What to watch for: After a forgettable 3-8 season that concluded with five consecutive losses, George Quarles will try to get his second season as East Tennessee State University’s head football coach off to a better start. … It won’t be an easy task as Jacksonville State is in its first season as a NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program after competing for 30 seasons as a FCS school. The Gamecocks went 9-2 last season and won the Atlantic Sun Conference. … Jacksonville State beat ETSU by a 34-27 count in the first round of the 2018 FCS playoffs. … The Gamecocks earned a historic win last week, claiming their first Conference USA triumph with a tight win over UTEP (Texas-El Paso). The defense had two sacks and two interceptions. … Jacksonville State wide receiver Dallan Wright is a Virginia Tech transfer, while tight end Sean Brown was previously with Tennessee. … Rich Rodriguez is in his second season leading the Gamecocks. He has 173 victories between stints at Salem College, Glenville State, West Virginia, Michigan, Arizona and Jacksonville State. His 1996 Glenville State team lost a game to ETSU at the Mini-Dome. … Tyler Riddell has been named the starting quarterback at ETSU and the veteran has thrown for 5,179 yards, 38 touchdowns and 18 interceptions in his first four seasons. Will Huzzie has 1,979 receiving yards in 38 career games. Finding a reliable running back is a must for the Buccaneers. … Redshirt offensive lineman Nolan Wishon (Tennessee High) played in nine games last year for ETSU, while redshirt sophomore tight end Clayton Ivester (Sullivan East) appeared in two contests.
Union (Ky.) at UVa-Wise
Game time: 7 p.m.
Radio: WAXM, 93.5 FM
Coming in: Union (1-0) beat Cumberland University, 27-0, last Saturday; Season-opener for UVa-Wise.
What to watch for: These schools were once rivals in the NAIA’s Mid-South Conference and this will be the 15th all-time meeting between the programs. Union holds a 9-5 edge in the series and won the previous showdown with the University of Virginia’s College at Wise in 2013. … Both teams are trying to improve on dismal 2022 campaigns. UVa-Wise went 2-9, while Union won just one game. … Union has already matched its win total from a season ago as Tramonte Gardner made 11 tackles and Tusculum University transfer Walker Russell threw four touchdown passes in last week’s season-opening win against Cumberland University. … Redshirt sophomore Juwan Dent and West Alabama transfer Jake Corkren are both expected to see time at quarterback today for UVa-Wise. Dent threw for 1,019 yards with four touchdowns in 10 interceptions last season. … Shyheim Pannell has joined the UVa-Wise football team after previously playing baseball for the Cavaliers. He will get opportunities at running back behind starter Jaevon Gillespie. … A member of NCAA Division II’s South Atlantic Conference, UVa-Wise flattened NCAA Division III Ferrum in last year’s opener and should be heavy favorites against a NAIA opponent today.
