ABILENE – The ACU Wildcats began spring drills Tuesday on a warm, windy day at the
Wally Bullington Practice Field, preparing for a 2011 season that they hope will see them extend their streak of NCAA Division II playoff appearances to six.
But to do that, seventh-year head coach Chris Thomsen and his staff will have to find replacements for several key performers on each side of the ball, including wide receivers Edmund Gates and
Kendrick Johnson, offensive linemen
Trevis Turner and
Royland Tubbs, defensive tackles Marvin and
Mike Jones, defensive end
Fred Thompson, and linebackers
Kevin Washington,
Eric Edwards,
Bryson Lewis and
Courtney Lane.
"We've got some spots to fill, but I'm excited about the young guys in our program who have been waiting their turn to help this team," Thomsen said. "I know those guys are anxious to show what they can do over the next few weeks."
The Wildcats will be on the field at 4 p.m. at ACU each Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday for the next three weeks with scrimmages set for each Saturday at 10 a.m. at Shotwell Stadium. The Purple-White Spring Game will be played at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 9, at Shotwell.
The biggest question entering last spring was the quarterback spot, a job eventually won by Mitchell Gale. He went on to post one of the greatest seasons by a quarterback in ACU history, throwing for more than 3,500 yards and a single-season record 38 touchdowns while leading the Wildcats to the first 11-0 regular-season record in ACU history, a Lone Star Conference championship and an 11-1 final record.
"Mitchell has really taken his leadership of this team to a different level," Thomsen said. "He's done an outstanding job leading this team through the off-season and into spring training. I'm very confident in not only his on-field ability, but also in his ability to lead this team. He'll be very critical to the success of this team next fall."
And while the ACU coaching staff must find a backup to Gale (
John David Baker would appear to have the inside track on that job), the biggest question mark on the offensive side of the ball is at wide receiver. With Gates, Johnson,
Raymond Radway and Dudensing having departed, the Wildcats lost 163 catches, 2,367 and 28 touchdowns of production the quartet produced in 2010.
But Thomsen is confident in returning sophomore
Taylor Gabriel, as well as
Darrell Cantu-Harkless, who led the Wildcats in rushing last year but will move back to slotback in 2011. Also returning will be
Austin Kessler,
Darian Hogg and redshirt freshman
Zack Agnew. ACU also added junior college transfer
Jamaine Sherman from Scottsdale Community College in February, and the coaches are excited to see what he'll add to the offense. Also added to the receiving corps is defensive back-turned-receiver
Kamaron Riley.
"Wide receiver is our biggest question mark," Thomsen said. "
Taylor Gabriel is the only receiver back with substantial experience at the position. I'm excited to see how Cantu-Harkless develops in that other slot position. We've got to develop some guys on the outside, but we believe we've got guys in place who can do the job. The entire group has the potential to be really good. Now they've got to show it on the field."
At running back, the Wildcats return
Daryl Richardson and
Charcandrick West and will also get
Reggie Brown back from a knee injury that cost him the entire 2010 season. Richardson (517 yards and seven touchdowns in 2010), West (350 yards and three touchdowns in 2010) and Brown (955 yards and seven touchdowns in 2009) will likely split carries again in 2011.
At the fullback slot,
Justin Andrews will slide into the starting role vacated by three-year starter Dudensing. Andrews last year played in all 12 games, catching eight passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns.
The Wildcats must replace two starters along the offensive line in Turner (right tackle) and Tubbs (left guard).
Blake Spears will get the first shot at Turner's spot, but who gets Tubbs' spot is still up in the air. ACU returns three starters on the offense line: center
Matt Webber, left tackle
Neal Tivis and right guard
Josh Perez.
Defensively the Wildcats lost a host of experienced players in the two Jones', Thompson, Lane, Washington, Edwards and Lewis. The Wildcats do return defensive end
Aston Whiteside as well as
Donald Moore to the other starting end spot, giving the Wildcats perhaps the best defensive end combination in the LSC.
Ryan Smith will fit into the tackle rotation, along with Sam Houston State transfer
Rob Boyd,
Brandon Dornak and
Kolby Rowe. At linebacker, Thomsen expects to see players like
Nathan Baggs,
Derek Odelusi,
Thor Woerner,
Cy Wilson,
Blake Rudd, Tony Battie,
Chris Jones,
Nick Richardson and
Chris Summers step into the lineup and rotation and provide the production the Wildcats have gotten out of the linebacker spot for the last two seasons.
Baggs will be a starter on the outside, while Odelusi is slated to start in the middle. Worner and Wilson will vie for the other spot inside, while the other outside spot is up in the air as well.
"We've got a lot of good quality guys at the linebacker position that have been in our program for a while," Thomsen said. "The linebacking corps will obviously be an entirely new crew, but I believe those guys are ready to play."
The secondary returns both starters at safety in
L.B. Suggs and
Darien Williams and backup safeties
Richard Havins and
Nate Bailey, but the coaching staff will be looking to replace both starting cornerbacks. David Lamour, who played cornerback last year, returns as does Bobby Chalk, who has been out for a couple of seasons.
ACU will have to find a new punter after
Mark Sprague completed his eligibility in 2010, but placekickers
Morgan Lineberry,
Spencer Covey and
Ryan Owens will all return in 2011.
The Wildcats will go through nine practices and three scrimmages with the final scrimmage on Saturday, April 9, serving as the annual spring game. That contest will begin at 10 a.m. at Shotwell Stadium. Here's the Wildcats' spring schedule:
Wednesday, March 23 – Practice, 4 p.m.
Friday, March 25 – Practice, 4 p.m.
Saturday, March 26 – Scrimmage, 10 a.m. (Shotwell Stadium)
Tuesday, March 29 – Practice, 4 p.m.
Wednesday, March 30 – Practice, 4 p.m.
Friday, April 1 – Practice, 4 p.m.
Saturday, April 2 – Scrimmage, 10 a.m. (Shotwell Stadium)
Tuesday, April 5 – Practice, 4 p.m.
Wednesday, April 6 – Practice, 4 p.m.
Friday, April 8 – Practice, 4 p.m.
Saturday, April 9 – Spring Game, 10 a.m. (Shotwell Stadium)
