mat1992 Posted August 16 Report Posted August 16 We're about 11 days away from the opener on Thursday, Aug. 27 against Maine. Is Towson football ready for their breakout season under 4th-year head coach Pete Shinnick? Here are the keys to a successful (playoffs) season. Going 6-2 in the CAA and 2-2 in the OOC is a must. 1)PASS RUSH. The defense accumulated just 18 sacks last season. The leader was LB Ja'Mez Drummer, who had 4 sacks and 4 QB hurries. Branson Peters had 3 sacks and 7 QB hurries. Both are gone. 2)STOP THE RUN. The Tigers allowed a pitiful 171.5 yards per game on the ground last season and 4.4 yards per carry. Their top 12 leading tacklers are gone. Two key DL (Aaron Clark, JR Stegall) have moved on to FBS schools. 3)MUST BE ABLE to RUN the FOOTBALL. Towson averaged a pitiful 3.6 yards per carry. Some of that was due to defenses stacking the box. 4)OFFENSIVE LINE HAS TO BE BETTER. The O-line was experienced last season, but KJ Brooks, coming off a devastating leg injury, was not the same player and started the season at LG, before moving back to RT. The center position rotated last season with Jorden Nelson starting and Ian Markham-Miller filling in. Interior play was inconsistent. 5)THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS on DEFENSE has to IMPROVE. Last season, they allowed teams to convert 44.64% of their third downs and 68% (17 of 25) on fourth downs. The year before was 41.72% and 50% on 4th downs. 6)TIME OF POSSESSION was NOT GOOD LAST SEASON. Mainly due to a lack of running game, the Tigers averaged just 26:40 per game, while opponents averaged 33:20. 7)PASSING GAME ACCURACY. As Indorf evolves, he should improve his accuracy. Towson ranked 10th in the CAA at 58.71% completion rate. 8)TURNOVER MARGIN. Towson ranked 8th in the CAA last season with a 0 TO margin. They forced just eight interceptions and five fumbles, while fumbling nine times and tossing 4 picks. There will be 10 new starters on defense under a 4-3 scheme. Ben Kumpon, who played as a true freshman last season at linebacker with 33 tackles. CB Zakaa Brown (21 tackles, 1 INT, 3PBU). NG Shamir Boyd (20 tackles) is the lone returning starter. S TJ Sands, who had 15 tackles last season, is in the mix at safety. Cody Williams (9 tackles) is an expected starter at safety. Asaiah Hamond (7 tackles) will play a lot more this season at DT and Edge. The key is finding a pass rush. Added speed from returners in LBs Chris Koffi and Seth Chesnutt, who played sparingly in their first seasons. Middle linebacker Jayden Johnson is extremely impressive and has experience at Marshall and Lindenwood. He was one of the most impressive players in the spring. Seth Hampton isn't big (5-11, 220), but had 80 tackles at North Alabama last season. I would think that the additions of Dennious Jackson (6-3, 355), DE Weston Woodard (6-5, 270), Breydon Byrd (6-4, 275), Zach Dantzlerward (6-4, 290) and Seydou Konate (6-3, 295). Also add freshman Hayden Loveless (6-1, 290) and there is some serious beef. Now the key is whether they can set the Edge and will find more ways to get pressure from rushing 4 and more. On offense, Indorf should be better but the WRs corps is brand new. Cleveland Charlton and Jarvis Jones played last season but were limited. Aaron Enterline (Penn State) and Jashan Amin (Monroe CC) are going to be in the starting mix. Watch TE CJ Schaeffer (6-3, 260) to make a big leap this season. The biggest question then becomes the O-line. Will the transfers (RJ Adams, Aidan Johnson, Josh Gaffney) help improve the run blocking? Thought the pass blocking was solid last season. They're deeper at running back. Kemarrion Battles showed potential last season and should have started as a true freshman. Xavier Pugh has more size and power. Assuming they are 1-2 in some form or fashion and that Tristen Kenan and Caddy Phillips are also in the mix. The should be back to averaging over 4ypc. It will be interesting to see how some of the coaching changes will impact both sides of the ball. Victor Santa Cruz is the DB coach but also the Sp Teams coordinator. He was head coach at Azusa Pacific from 2006-19. He was DC under Shinnck there in 2004-05. Was also DC at Hawaii when they went to the New Mexico Bowl in 2020. Kal-El Statham is the new Edges Coach. He was assistant Dline coach at FAU last year. New TE coach is Nick Verna, who was recruiting coordinator at Furman and also coach ed the TEs. 1 1 Quote
Tiger93 Posted August 17 Report Posted August 17 15 hours ago, mat1992 said: We're about 11 days away from the opener on Thursday, Aug. 27 against Maine. Is Towson football ready for their breakout season under 4th-year head coach Pete Shinnick? Here are the keys to a successful (playoffs) season. Going 6-2 in the CAA and 2-2 in the OOC is a must. 1)PASS RUSH. The defense accumulated just 18 sacks last season. The leader was LB Ja'Mez Drummer, who had 4 sacks and 4 QB hurries. Branson Peters had 3 sacks and 7 QB hurries. Both are gone. 2)STOP THE RUN. The Tigers allowed a pitiful 171.5 yards per game on the ground last season and 4.4 yards per carry. Their top 12 leading tacklers are gone. Two key DL (Aaron Clark, JR Stegall) have moved on to FBS schools. 3)MUST BE ABLE to RUN the FOOTBALL. Towson averaged a pitiful 3.6 yards per carry. Some of that was due to defenses stacking the box. 4)OFFENSIVE LINE HAS TO BE BETTER. The O-line was experienced last season, but KJ Brooks, coming off a devastating leg injury, was not the same player and started the season at LG, before moving back to RT. The center position rotated last season with Jorden Nelson starting and Ian Markham-Miller filling in. Interior play was inconsistent. 5)THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS on DEFENSE has to IMPROVE. Last season, they allowed teams to convert 44.64% of their third downs and 68% (17 of 25) on fourth downs. The year before was 41.72% and 50% on 4th downs. 6)TIME OF POSSESSION was NOT GOOD LAST SEASON. Mainly due to a lack of running game, the Tigers averaged just 26:40 per game, while opponents averaged 33:20. 7)PASSING GAME ACCURACY. As Indorf evolves, he should improve his accuracy. Towson ranked 10th in the CAA at 58.71% completion rate. 8)TURNOVER MARGIN. Towson ranked 8th in the CAA last season with a 0 TO margin. They forced just eight interceptions and five fumbles, while fumbling nine times and tossing 4 picks. There will be 10 new starters on defense under a 4-3 scheme. Ben Kumpon, who played as a true freshman last season at linebacker with 33 tackles. CB Zakaa Brown (21 tackles, 1 INT, 3PBU). NG Shamir Boyd (20 tackles) is the lone returning starter. S TJ Sands, who had 15 tackles last season, is in the mix at safety. Cody Williams (9 tackles) is an expected starter at safety. Asaiah Hamond (7 tackles) will play a lot more this season at DT and Edge. The key is finding a pass rush. Added speed from returners in LBs Chris Koffi and Seth Chesnutt, who played sparingly in their first seasons. Middle linebacker Jayden Johnson is extremely impressive and has experience at Marshall and Lindenwood. He was one of the most impressive players in the spring. Seth Hampton isn't big (5-11, 220), but had 80 tackles at North Alabama last season. I would think that the additions of Dennious Jackson (6-3, 355), DE Weston Woodard (6-5, 270), Breydon Byrd (6-4, 275), Zach Dantzlerward (6-4, 290) and Seydou Konate (6-3, 295). Also add freshman Hayden Loveless (6-1, 290) and there is some serious beef. Now the key is whether they can set the Edge and will find more ways to get pressure from rushing 4 and more. On offense, Indorf should be better but the WRs corps is brand new. Cleveland Charlton and Jarvis Jones played last season but were limited. Aaron Enterline (Penn State) and Jashan Amin (Monroe CC) are going to be in the starting mix. Watch TE CJ Schaeffer (6-3, 260) to make a big leap this season. The biggest question then becomes the O-line. Will the transfers (RJ Adams, Aidan Johnson, Josh Gaffney) help improve the run blocking? Thought the pass blocking was solid last season. They're deeper at running back. Kemarrion Battles showed potential last season and should have started as a true freshman. Xavier Pugh has more size and power. Assuming they are 1-2 in some form or fashion and that Tristen Kenan and Caddy Phillips are also in the mix. The should be back to averaging over 4ypc. It will be interesting to see how some of the coaching changes will impact both sides of the ball. Victor Santa Cruz is the DB coach but also the Sp Teams coordinator. He was head coach at Azusa Pacific from 2006-19. He was DC under Shinnck there in 2004-05. Was also DC at Hawaii when they went to the New Mexico Bowl in 2020. Kal-El Statham is the new Edges Coach. He was assistant Dline coach at FAU last year. New TE coach is Nick Verna, who was recruiting coordinator at Furman and also coach ed the TEs. O-line and stopping the run feel like two of the top three priorities to me. Above average QB play is right there too. If we can be solid against the run and run it well on our own, I feel like that will take care of a lot of things. I think penalties (pre-snap), time of possession, running the ball and giving the QB time to be accurate are all byproducts of a good offensive line. It feels like when we have been good (as is the case with most teams) our offensive line has been very good. Turnovers can be such a random wild card and the defense needs to either make plays or be stout (preferably both, but that is a tall ask). During that 2011-13 stretch, those defenses didn't necessarily stop by teams, but they came up with turnovers and stops at big times. I don't think we will ever have a dominant defense, but I just want a defense that isn't awful and can make some big plays. Quote
TuTigers2012 Posted August 17 Report Posted August 17 1 hour ago, Tiger93 said: O-line and stopping the run feel like two of the top three priorities to me. Above average QB play is right there too. If we can be solid against the run and run it well on our own, I feel like that will take care of a lot of things. I think penalties (pre-snap), time of possession, running the ball and giving the QB time to be accurate are all byproducts of a good offensive line. It feels like when we have been good (as is the case with most teams) our offensive line has been very good. Turnovers can be such a random wild card and the defense needs to either make plays or be stout (preferably both, but that is a tall ask). During that 2011-13 stretch, those defenses didn't necessarily stop by teams, but they came up with turnovers and stops at big times. I don't think we will ever have a dominant defense, but I just want a defense that isn't awful and can make some big plays. Yes ok that second paragraph. We don’t turn teams over but don’t turn it over ourselves Quote
Tgr4life Posted August 17 Report Posted August 17 They better beat Maine or that Morgan game becomes VERY significant Quote
TuTigers2012 Posted August 17 Report Posted August 17 6 minutes ago, Tgr4life said: They better beat Maine or that Morgan game becomes VERY significant More than likely their only chance is to get the AQ meaning Maine is way more important than Morgan state. Coming off two straight FBS Games before Morgan could provide costly Quote
Tiger93 Posted August 17 Report Posted August 17 51 minutes ago, TuTigers2012 said: More than likely their only chance is to get the AQ meaning Maine is way more important than Morgan state. Coming off two straight FBS Games before Morgan could provide costly Both losses would do significant damage to any chance of an NCAA Tournament bid. This is a pretty absolute statement, but if the goal is to make the playoffs we likely need to be 9-3 and 7-1 assuming that Monmouth and Rhode Island are the only ranked teams we might be play, (right now those are two teams in the conference that are ranked while UNH and Elon are receiving votes), and we probably need to beat at least one of them to have a solid resume (Stony Brook could be ranked too at some point). With William & Mary and Villanova gone, we just have to assume this is a two-big league at best minus some surprises. That being said, it is too early to start making these proclamations (I know I am speaking out of both sides of my mouth). One game at a time. Quote
Blounge Posted August 18 Report Posted August 18 First game of the year is a MUST WIN Morgan State is a Can’t Lose Quote
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