A Detailed History of Furman Football

Building The Bear

MACON, GA.--The unceremonious exit at Furman following the 2010 football season set in motion a chain of events, which would eventually lead Lamb back to the Southern Conference. It was somewhat ironic that Lamb would find himself coaching at a school and at a program that held many of the same principles as important to it as his former employer, Furman.

The goal was always to eventually getting back into the Southern Conference, but when Georgia Southern and Appalachian State left for the Sun Belt Conference in March of 2013, it would set in motion the chain of events that would eventually lead to the Bears making a bid to become members of the tradition-rich league.

A beautiful on-campus facility was already being constructed for the Bears’ first football game, which would be as members of the Pioneer League in the 2013 season, and a plan was formu-lated and a vision was put into motion in 2012, as the athletic administration, Lamb, Director of Athletics Jim Cole and president Bill Underwood would put together what would be an enticing combination of facilities, academics and success that would make the middle Georgia school more than just an attractive option for the league.

In fact, it was also an uncanny confluence of events that would also play a big role in allowing Mercer to be able to join the Southern Conference, as other programs began to have success just as the athletic staff was beginning to put the package together to showcase Mercer as a potential Southern Conference candidate for membership.

Prior to joining the Southern Conference, Mercer had been proud, charter members of the Atlantic Sun Conference, which was formerly known as the Trans-Ameri-ca Athletic Conference, or the TAAC.

In 2011-12, the Mercer basketaball program, which hadn’t been all that successful over about a three-decade span outside the 2002-03 season, which saw the Bears win the regular-season A-Sun title, would start to turn things around, and it turned out to be a case of perfect timing for Bob Hoffman’s Bears basketball team, with so much else going on to try and get the Bears ready to make a solid resume’ together for inclusion in the SoCon.

As many already know who follow intercollegiate athletics, basketball in the SoCon, like football, is a serious thing. It’s a conference with both a rich history on the college basketball hardwood, and it’s known as the league that implement-ed the first conference basketball tournament, as well as ushering the era of the three-point shot, with Ronnie Carr’s long-range effort against Middle Tennessee State on Nov. 29, 1980, as Western Carolina won a 77-70 contest over the Blue Raiders.

Just a few years earlier, VMI, which re-joined the SoCon just this year, became one of the Cin-derella stories in the more pre-modern era of the college basketball tournament, as the Keydets made it to the Elite Eight of the 1976 Tournament, dropping a 91-75 decision to Rutgers in a tournament that, at the time,featured just 32 teams.

Then there was Davidson’s recent run back in 2007-08, which saw Bob McKillop’s Wildcats take the nation by storm, led by a star shooter named Stephen Curry, which put the Southern Conference on cloud nine. Wins over Gonzaga (), Georgetown () and Wisconsin () as the No. 14 seed captured the imagination of the entire nation. The Wildcats eventually would lose in heartbreaking fashion, with a 56-54 loss to Bill Self’s eventual national title-winning Kansas Jayhawks. Like Appalachian State and Georgia Southern did on the gridion, Davidson would

Mercer Basketball Won 2012 CIT Tourney

do on the hardwood, as the Wildcats were invited by the Atlantic 10 to join last fall, and will begin play in that league in No-vember. The news came down after Elon, Georgia Southern, Appalachian State and College of Charleston had already jumped ship.

Prior to all that, Hoffman’s Bears would begin to have some success, and with the Atlantic Sun basketball tournament tak-ing place in the immaculate surroundings of the University Center (now Hawkins Arena), if the Bears could experience any kind of success during the regular season, they would have a chance to make just their second appearance in the NCAA Tournament in school history and first appearance since the mid 1980s and just the program’s third overall.

The Bears would finish the regular-season as the runner-up to former A-Sun power Belmont in the league’s final standings, and would head into the tournament as the No. 2 seed. After suffering a loss in the semifinals to No. 6 Florida Gulf-Coast, the Bears would fail to garner a bid to the NCAA or NIT tournaments, however, the CollegeInsider.com Tournament did come calling, and the Bears would gladly accept the invite.

The Bears had a good mix of youth, size and athleticism, which would make the Bears a force in the A-Sun in its final few years. Players like 6’11 Daniel Coursey, who set the single-season and career blocked shots records during his time in the Orange and Black, two-time A-Sun Player of the Year Langston Hall, who was a lock-down defender, combo guard/forward Jakob Gollon, who was the guy who could do a number of things, including getting the loose ball or the key rebound-to-knocking down the key perimeter shots, and Colorado’s Mr. Basketball Bud Thomas, who was most known for his prowess as a perimeter threat.

However, if there was one thing the former Oklahoma University and Kelvin Sampson assistant Hoffman knew, it was defense, and not many teams have defended as well in the nation over the past three years as the Bears have. In the CIT, Bears would play exceptionally well, taking down Tennessee State (68-60), Georgia State (64-59), Old Dominion (79-73), Fairfield (64-59) and Utah State (70-67) to claim the A-Sun’s and school’s first postseason tournament title. The Bears, who finished with a 27-15 record, posted their most wins and most games in a single season in school history.

In 2012-13, the imrprovement continued on the hardwood, as the Bears dominated in the regu-lar-season to capture the A-Sun title, as the Bears would do so by posting a 14-4 regular-season mark to edge out Florida Gulf-Coast and USC Upstate in the league’s final standings. The Bears went into the conference tournament as the top overall seed, however, in the title game against Florida Gulf-Coast, the Bears dropped an 88-75 decision to a team that would advance all the way to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Touurnament before bowing out.

However, as a result of the regular-season A-Sun title, Hoffman’s Bears were automatic qualfiers to the National Invitational Tournament, or NIT. The Bears’ first-round opponent would be Cuonzo Martin’s Tennessee Volunteers, and by this time, the Bears had become known as giant killers, having already slain Florida State (61-56) and Alabama (66-59) during the regular-season. Led by Travis Smith’s 25 points, the Volunteers would become another notch on Mercer’s belt, as the Bears would stun the Thompson-Boling Arena crowd with a 75-67 win over the Vols.

The NIT appearance for the Bears, however, would end in the next round, as the Bears made a second trip to Utah in a year’s time, traveling to Provo to meet Brigham Young out of the Moun-tain West Conference. The Cougars would post a 90-71 win over Hoffman’s Bears, who finished the season with another impressive ledger, going 24-12.

Mercer guard Langston Hall

A Detailed History of Furman Football

The 2013-14 basketaball season would not only be the final one for the Bears as members of the Atlantic Sun, but also for four seniors that had helped Mercer gain admission into the SoCon during the previous summer. It was that team’s resume’ that played a huge role in the Bears being chosen for membership, but no one could have predicted such success at the precise time it was needed. Sometimes in athletics, luck is needed and that’s exactly what was the case as far as the timing of it was concerned.

It reminded me a lot of Appalachian State’s first of three-straight national titles, with a new Ath-letics Director being introduced into the fold, in Charlie Cobb, and with head coach Jerry Moore on the hotseat, he listened to Moore’s concerns during an off-season meeting, and Moore’s con-cerns were honored and new gameday attractions and ideas of Cobb’s own were implemented, and the Mountaineers went to a sub-par 6-5 record and no playoffs in 2004 to the first of three national titles, a SoCon Title for the first time in six years, and a 12-3 final record.

It was much the same with Mercer basketball and their three-year run of success. The Bears, though, despite winning a CIT in 2012 and a regular-season title and an NIT game in 2013, still coveted the grand prize and that was a trip to NCAA Tournament, which would solidify their inclusion to the conference in the minds of SoCon Commissioner John Iamarino and Associate Commissioner and Director of Basketball Operations Geoff Cabe.

The Bears went out and saved the best for last, winning a share of the regular-season confer-ence title. In 2013-14, however, the General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Tournament was a campus site tournament, and despite winning a share of the regular-season title, would have to travel to conference co-champion Florida Gulf-Coast because the Eagles held the regular-season tiebreaker, should both teams make it to the final.

That would be the exact scenario, however, the Eagles, who were playing on their home floor Al-ico Arena, where they were nearly unbeatable, were no match for the defense-minded Bears, as Mercer would capture its 25th win of the season and third NCAA Tournament berth with a 69-64 win in Fort Myers, to hand the Eagles their first loss in front of their home fans all season.

The Bears had done it. They had qualified for the NCAA Tournament, already making the SoCon selection committee look like geniuses, but the Bears weren’t done. Despite 25 wins and a first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1985, the No. 14 seeded Bears had one more trick up their sleeves.

Facing No. 3 Duke in a second round game in Raleigh, the Bears captured some of that shooting mojo that Curry displayed some six years earlier against Gonzaga and Georgetown under the same roof en route to leading the Wildcats to the Sweet 16.

Though no player put up a gaudy 40-point effort like Curry did against Gonzaga, what Mercer did do was post five players in double figures to go on to a shocking 78-71 win over the star-studded Blue Devils, which featured the likes of freshman sensation Jabari Parker, who was held to 14 points on just 4-of-14 shooting by that stingy Bears defense.

Reserve guard Kevin Canevari’s dance showed he was doing more than just studying, and that Mercer was a basketball program that knew it belonged where it was. Though the Bears would lose in third round of the NCAA Tournament to Tennessee (83-63), which was the team the Bears had defeated a year earlier.

However, basketball wasn’t the only sport that made the Bears an attractive option to the Southern Conference, but in recent seasons, the Bears have established themselves as a perenni-al NCAA Tournament contender on the baseball diamond. Under the leadership of Craig Gibson, the Bears, and it has been one of the more impressive aspects of the Mercer program over the past several seasons, and one thing that would sway the Southern Conference even more when considering Mercer as a potential program for membership.

The current run of success for Gibson’s club would start in 2010 playing in the Atlantic Sun Con-ference, as the Bears would break through and win the Atlantic Sun Tournament after entering the conference tournament as the No. 6 seed.

The Bears broke through and had a nice win in the title game against Jacksonville, posting a 7-3 win in the title game and went into the tournament playing in the Atlanta regional, along with Georgia Tech, Elon and Alabama. The Bears would be blanked by one of the national title

Mercer Baseball Broke Through And Won The 2010 Atlantic Sun Conference Title After Entering Postseason Play As The No. 6 Seed

favorites, in Georgia Tech, losing 10-0, but rebounded to get a 13-7 win over Southern Confer-ence champion Elon. The Bears were eventually eliminated by Alabama, dropping a 5-3 game, finishing the season with a 38-24 record. The 2010 title was the first since the Barry Myers era, which saw the Bears claim the 1983 title.

The 2011 season would yield one more win for the Bears, as Mercer finished 39-20, and the Bears found themselves back in the tournament title once again, facing Belmont in the title game before losing a tight 9-7 season.

The 2011 season would also would bring an end for a couple of the all-time greats to ever play for Mercer and in the Atlantic Sun as a hitter, in Jacob Tanis and Billy Burns, who finished as the school’s all-time record holders in career batting average (.363) and on-base percentage (.449).

Despite some big losses, the Bears would get off to a slow start in 2012, but would rebound to get hot at the right time, as the Bears once again advanced deep in the tournament, as the Or-ange and Black were on of the final three teams remaining before once again being eliminated by Belmont, with a 10-3 loss.

The 2013 season would be one that would see the Bears establish themselves as a dominant force in A-Sun baseball, claiming the regular-season A-Sun title, which was the first reg-ular-season A-Sun title in school history, and the 43 wins were the most ever in program history.

Led by the likes of Nick Baklund, Chesny Young and Clemson transfer Sasha LaGarde, the Bears went on the make their second NCAA Tournament appearance, and despite being eliminated in the A-Sun Tournament, the Bears were an at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament, playing as the No. 3 seed in Starkville Regional. The Bears would post a dominating 20-7 record in conference play, and finished the season with a No. 37 ranking in the RPI.

The Bears would win 38 games once again in 2014, and with the expectations high and ranked in the Top 25 towards the early start of conference play, the preseason league favorites would falter down the stretch to miss out on an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Still, since that time in 2010, the Bears have been one of the top mid-majors in college baseball, and will be a huge boon to the Southern Conference. As much as any other sport, baseball made the Bears an attractive school to the Southern Conference.

Overall, if you look at Mercer as a program, it comes into the league with so many positives, and will be one of the most complete programs in the SoCon. Keeping coaches like Bob Hoffman, Craig Gibson and even Bobby Lamb won’t be easy if the Orange Black continues to have the run of success, especially in baseball in basetball the past four years.

A Detailed History of Furman Football

The first Southern Conference game of the 2014 season for the Furman Paladins will offer an

interesting meeting between old friends and a program that has ascended to the highest of heights as an FCS program over the years and one that hopes to find itself in that position in the several years.

However, most will have their eyes on this particular game for one intriguing reason--Bobby Lamb. Bobby Lamb was once the head coach of Furman, leading the Paladins to 67 wins from 2002-10, and helping the Paladins to four postseason appearances (2002, ‘04,’05 and ‘06), a national semifinal (2005), a Southern Confer-ence title and No. 2 seed in the FCS playoffs (2004), and was named the Southern Conference Conference Coach of the Year in ‘04.

In seven of his nine seasons as the head coach in Greenville, Lamb led Furman to a top four finish in the Southern Conference standings at seasons end. The Paladins won 10 or more games twice (2004 and ‘05), and had just one season below .500, which was Lamb’s last.

However, Lamb was asked to step down as the head coach, and whether Furman fans are in complete agreement on if he should have been asked to step down or not remains up for debate, but there is no doubt that Lamb was given little if any help by the school’s academic administration when it came to work with football to get good players on the brink of qualifying for the prestigious academic institution, and the Paladins did not get the money and facilities upgrades it needed and were requested by he and his staff in the final two seasons of his tenure in Greenville.

While the parting of ways probably wasn’t easy, Mercer has given the 51-year old Lamb an opportunity that few head coaches ever have gotten in the history of college football, which is start a program from scratch, building it from the ground up. And with the backing of president Bill Underwood financially, Lamb has seen that equal success immediately, with Mercer becoming the first start-up program to ever win 10 games in a season, eclipsing the nine won by Old Dominion in 2009.

Lamb spent 29 years of his life in Greenville, where was the Paladins’ Hall-of-Fame quarterback from 1982-85, leading the Paladins to a pair of Southern Conference titles, and was a member of the first Paladin team to ever find its way into a national championship game in 1985 against Georgia Southern.

The Bears won 10 games last season, and playing as a member of the Pioneer League, very nearly won the non-schol-arship league in their first season of football since 1941.

Lamb’s arrival in Macon in January of 2011, coupled with the success of the basketball program over the past three years, winning postseason invites in all three, claiming a CIT title in 2011-12, claimed a win in the NIT over Tennessee last season, and won a first-round NCAA Tournament game against No. 3 seed Duke in the 2014 tournament.

The Bears, who played in the Atlantic Sun on the hardwood, would also make the most of their final season in that conference before moving to the SoCon, as the Bears won the regular-sea-son title. For Underwood and the Bears’ football program well, you just can’t purchase that type of publicity.

Mercer’s Foobtall Legacy

Mercer is a program, though it hadn’t taken the gridiron for a football game in some 73 years until 2013, is one that has enjoyed an outstanding gridiron history, with some true legends having lined up for the Bears during the early years of the program, including the likes of infamous former Georgia Bulldogs head coach Wally Butts, who played for the Bears from 1926-29, is probably most remembered for bringing Georgia both some its highest and lowest points in its program’s history.

Previewing The Opponents: Game 2 at Mercer

Mercer Quarterback John Russ

Butts would lead the Bulldogs to two national titles in 1942 and ‘46, however, he caught fixing a game against Alabama in a tapped phone conversation with Alabama head coach Bear Bryant in 1962, which was two years after he retired as head coach at UGA.

Mercer has enjoyed some success during its first stint as a program in the first 40 years of the 1900’s, and the Bears played their first game as a program way back in 1892, taking on Peach State rival Georgia.

It was the first game ever played he gridiron in the state of Georgia.

Mercer would pick up its first win as a college football program against Georgia Tech, defeating the Yellow Jackets, 12-6, in what was Georgia Tech’s first collefoot-ball as a program.

The game was played at Macon’s Central City Park. The first compensated coach of the Mercer football program was E.E. Tarr, who began receiving a paycheck to coach in 1906.

Mercer is also home to a pair of high school coaching legends from the Peach State, in Wright Bazemore and Bill Yost,

who was featured in the movie “Remember The Titans.”

Mercer was successful against several future SEC programs during its earliest years as a program, including claiming four wins over and a tie against Florida, and did not allow a single point in any of the five meetings with the Gators.

Looking At The Furman-Mercer Series:

Furman has faced its former coaches before, and on Sept. 6, it will happen once again when Bruce Fowler goes up against former Paladin coach Bobby Lamb. In 2002, Furman, led by Lamb, headed to Nashville to face former Furman legend Bobby Johnson, as the Com-modores took a 44-19 win over the Paladins in Nashville.

It also happened on several occassions in the late1970’s and early 1980’s, with Art Baker moving to take the reins of The Citadel’s football program, taking on the Dick Sheridan took over as the Furman head coach. The Paladins would not lose a game to their former boss during Baker’s five seasons in Charleston.

When the Paladins and Bears get together on the gridiron on Sept. 6, it will mark the 13th all-time meeting between the two programs. The Paladins hold a 6-4-2 all-time series advantage against Mercer, with Furman having won the final three meetings between the two, including a 20-9 contest in Macon on Oct. 23, 1936.

Looking At The Furman Offense: Furman comes into its week two matchup and Southern Conference opener with Mercer already facing adversity on the offensive side of the football, as the Paladins already must replace starting quarterback Reese Hannon, who broke his ankle and will be out for the season, and the adversity isn’t all that much different from what the Paladins faced last season, when they were forced to play five quarterbacks as a result of injuries last season.

The Paladins found a way through their injury struggles, as they went on to claim an unprece-dented 13th Southern Conference title. If the Paladins are going to repeat that feat this season, they will have to do so with out their junior leader under center.

There is plenty of talent waiting in the wings, however, with Dillon Woodruff and P.J. Blaze-jowski being two excellent options under center. Both Woodruff and Blazejowski have excellent speed and elusiveness and will now give Furman an extra dimension that this offense did not have with Hannon, which is the ability to make plays with their legs. Woodruff already showed a glimpse of that in the season opener against Gardner-Webb, posting what was an impressive

Mercer’s 2014 ScheduleAug. 28 Reinhardt, W-45-42

Sept. 6 *FurmanSept. 13 at StetsonSept. 20 Ave Maria

Sept. 27 at *VMIOct. 4 *at SamfordOct. 11 Austin Peay

Oct. 18 at Western CarolinaOct. 25 at Chattanooga

Nov.1 The CitadelNov. 8 off

Nov. 15 WarnerNov. 22 at Wofford

*Mercer is a Perfect 9-0 atMU Stadium Heading Into Week 2

vs. Furman

Mercer Running Back Je’Tarri Donald

A Detailed History of Furman Footballthe Paladins are coming off a 2013 season which saw it average just 22.7 PPG and 318.3 YPG, but again, those somewhat low averages don’t take into account the efficiency with which the offense displayed last fall. It was, in particular, a good season rushing the football for the Paladins, which is a must in the Southern Conference.

In total offense, the 318.3 YPG would rank Furman seventh in the SoCon and 102nd nationally, while the 22.7 PPG ranked fourth in the SoCon and 81st nationally among FCS teams in scoring offense. The Paladins also ranked fourth in the SoCon and 95th nationally in passing offense, averaging 170.4 YPG through the air last fall.

Looking At The Mercer Defense:

In Bobby Lamb’s weekly press conference, he admitted the defensive side of the football was an area that Mercer must see improvement, especially after the opening week of the season, which saw the Bears surrender 469 yards and 42 points to NAIA Reinhardt last Thursday.

One of the advantage the Bears will have had is a day extra to look at film and get prepared for the Furman offense. Furman’s offense will present different challenges to the Mercer defense, and some of those challenges Lamb will know very well, however, coaching up a defense to stop it is a bit different.

The Mercer defensive is headed up by defensive coordinator Mike Kolakowski, who has spent some time at some reputable FCS programs, including William & Mary (1988), Youngstown State (2004-06) and Maine (1989), while also spending one season at the FBS level at the University of Cincinnati (2003).

Kolakowski also worked on Butch Jones’ staff at Central Michigan in 2007 and ‘08, as he served as the safeties coach and special teams coordinator. Last season, Kolakowski’s defense ranked 12th in the FCS against the run, yielding just 117.3 YPG. While the Bears were solid against the run last season, they had real troubles defending the pass last fall, yielding 243.8 YPG last season.

The one thing that kind throws the defensive plan out of order for the Bears is the fact that little will be known about the Paladins’ starter on Saturday night, as almost all of the film Lamb had was on Reese Hannon. Woodruff did play one game last season against Gardner-Webb, but there’s no film on P.J. Blazejowski outside of his high school clips.

The Bears were set back a bit on the defensive side of the football during fall camp, losing top outside linebacker Tosin Aguebor for the season, who broke his leg during fall drills. Last season, Aguebor garnered All-Pioneer Football League honors after leading the Bears in both tackles-for-loss (13.0) and sacks (10.0). Aguebor also contributed 46 tackles.

With Aguebor no longer around, the defensive leader will be hometown product and middle linebacker Tyler Ward. Ward led the Bears with 101 tackles, 10.5 TFL, three sacks, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble last fall. In the season opener against Reinhardt last Thursday, Ward picked up right where he left off last season, posting 14 stops and 1.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

Ward’s performance against Reinhardt last Thursday eclipsed his previous career high in tackles, which was 13 stops, also coming against Reinhardt. Ward will be joined at inside linebacker by freshman Kyle Trammell. Trammell, a 6-1, 220-lb linebacker from Kennesaw, GA, played one year at Air Force Prep before making his way to Macon to play for the Bears.

Trammell comes in having posted a pair of stops in last week’s contest, and is in his first season starting for the Bear. He is athetlic and runs well for his size.

Joining Trammell and Ward on Saturday night will be Devin Davidson and Kyle Williams, who both are coming off solid openers last weekend for the Bears. Davidson started all 12 games for

24-yard run in the fourth quarter, in which he was able to show off some of his speed in the open field. Both bring something to the table, but lack reps. Woodruff will remind Paladin fans of former standout Frankie DeBusk, and he comes from a program that ran an option-style offense in high school.

Woodruff and Blazejowski will have many of the same qualities, and could end up seeing some playing time or perhaps even starting against Mercer on Saturday night in Macon.

The 6-0, 175-pound dual-threat signal-caller was a 6A All-State performer, passing for 2,468 yards and 17 TDs as a senior, while rushing for 874 yards and 14 scores, accounting for 31 TD responsibilities. He led Bartram Trail to the semifinals of the state playoffs, after starting 0-5 to begin the season. He led Bartram Trail to eight-straight wins and helped them make a Furman-like run into the postseason.

Blazejowski runs in the 4.5-4.6 range in the forty-yard dash, and throws especially well on the run. He will remind Paladin fans of former Furman quarterbacks Philly Jones and Frankie DeBusk, who were both run-pass threats as Paladin signal-callers.

One of the eight players remaining on the Paladin roster that was recruited by Bobby Lamb is Hank McCloud, who should return to the lineup after missing the opener as a result of an injury. Last season, McCloud rushed for 1,092 yards and five scores last fall. His rushing effort marked the third-straight season in which the Paladins rushed for at least 1,000 yards.

McCloud won’t be the only threat the Pala-dins feature out of the backfield Saturday, as Antonio Wilcox and Tanner Skogen will feature in the Paladin ground game on Saturday night.

Wilcox looked strong in his debut for the Paladins, as he finished the contest with 50 rushing yards on 15 attempts, while Skogen finished with eight yards on six attempts. The running game will now become a big key for the Paladins as a result of Hannon being sidelined for the remainder of the season with an ankle injury.

The Paladins have some excellent options at wide receiver, and both Andrej Suttles and Jordan Snellings came to play in the opener against Gardner-Webb, and it would be Snellings that would haul in the lone scoring toss of the night. Snellings would finish the night as the Paladins’ leading pass-catcher, posting eight catches for 51 yards and the aforementioned TD.

Snellings is one of 31 Paladin players, who hails from the Peach State on the Furman roster.

Starting alongside Snellings at wide receiver for the Paladins heading into Saturday night’s contest will be Andrej Suttles, who is coming off the best season for a freshman wideout in the history of Furman football. Snellings is coming off a 2013 season, which saw him 47 passes for 650 yards and three scores, averaging 13.8 yards-per-catch last fall.

In the opener against Gardner-Webb, Snellings hauled in four passes for 71 yards, as he picked up where he left off in 2013. With Gary Robinson still sidelined with an injury, Suttles remains the primary big-play threat in the passing game for the Paladins.

Furman also has a capable target at tight end, as Duncan Fletcher showed he had the potential to be that down field threat in the Furman offense, much like Colin Anderson was a couple of years ago. Fletcher, a converted quarterback, caught two passes for 24 yards in his debut as the Paladins’ tight end last week.

The Paladins have a veteran offensive line, which welcomed the return of three starters from the 2013 unit. Left guard Charles Emert and right guard Joe Turner are the most experienced returning starters along the offensive front. Emert has started 30 of his 35-career games, and is another recruit that was brought in by Lamb during his final year as the head coach in Greenville in 2010.

Emert is versatile, and can play any of the five positions along the offensive front. Turner was a preseason Second Team All-Southern Conference selection, and he comes into his third season as the starter having amassed 23 starts in 26 career games. (C) Jackson Buonomia, (LT) Harrison Monk, and (RT) Justin Floyd round out the starting offensive line for the Paladins.

Furman wants to run the football, as evidenced by their 1,000-yard rushing efforts each of the past three campaigns. That will be even more the emphasis now that there is no Reese Hannon starting for the Paladins under center, as it will ease the pressure on the new starter.

Furman Running Back Hank McCloud

Mercer’s Will Utilize A 4-3 Defensive Look Against Furman On Saturday

A Detailed History of Furman Footballthe Bears last season, recording 57 tackles, four tackles-for-loss, 0.5 sack and a couple of fumble recoveries. In the season opener against Reinhardt last week, Davidson registered seven tackles and forced a fumble to round out what was a solid start to the 2014 season.

Williams rounds out the starters at LB for the Bears heading into the 2014 season, and he will line up as the ‘Bandit’ linebacker for the Bears.Williams is a true freshman and the 6-1, 230-lb linebacker has excellent size and is a good tackler on the perimeter of the Mercer defense.

He has some big shoes to fill, as he is the replacement in the lineup for Tosin Aguebor. In the season opener against Reinhardt last week, Williams posted five tackles and a tackle behind the line of scrimmage.

The Bears have a solid defensive front head-ing into Saturday’s contest. Leading the way

along the defensive front for the Bears will be defensive ends Tunde Ayinla and Cody Jones.

Ayinla comes into the contest off of what was a solid 2013 season, posting 32 tackles, 7.5 TFL and four sacks. In the season opener against Reihardt last week, Ayinla posted three tackles and half-a-tackle-for-loss. Ayinla was moved from nose tackle to defensive end to utilize his athleticism more effectively this season.

Jones, a 6-3, 221-lb native of Cochran, GA, was used mostly in a backup role last season, serving as a reserve in the Mercer lineup in eight games. He finished 2013 with six tackles, three tackles-for-loss and a pair of sacks. Against Reinhardt last week, posted four tackles and half-a-tackle-for-loss. He will draw his first start for the Bears on Saturday against the Paladins.

Rounding out the trio slated to start for the Bears in the Southern Conferene opener is nose tackle and true freshman Austin Barrett. The 6-2, 295-lb native of Milton, Tenn, was one of the top recruits on the defensive side of the football coming in this season for the Bears, and was rated a two-star recruit by 247Sports. Barrett was solid in his first collegiate game for the Orange and Black, posting four tackles and a tackle-for-loss.

The Mercer secondary was a little shaky in the opener against Reinhardt, however, there is plen-ty of talent within the ranks for the 2014 season. Cornerback Alex Avant is the primary talent in the third level of the Mercer defense, as he is coming off a 2013 season which saw him produce 48 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 18 PBUs and a pair of INTs, with one of those INTs being a chart-topper, according to ESPN’s Top 10 plays, returning an INT 34 yards for a score in the Pioneer League opener against Drake.

Avant’s athleticism and speed are two aspects of his game that will make him an All Southern Conference candidate this fall. The 5-8, 170-lb junior posted six tackles and a tackle-for-loss in the win over Reinhardt last Saturday.

Avant teams at cornerback with freshman Jeremy James at the other corner position. The 5-10, 170-lb native of Flowery Branch, GA, has good speed and athleticism, and beat out Sebastian Hicks and Aaron Avant for the starting job. James posted four tackles and a pair of PBUs in his first collegiate game.

Rounding out the starters on the defensive side of the ball are TCU transfer Zach Jackson at free safety and Mike Gray, who enters his second-straight season as the starter at strong safety.

Jackson, a native of Snellville, GA, saw action on special teams as a redshirt freshman against LSU and Kansas, but did not record any statistics. In his first game as a Mercer Bear, the athletic, ball-hawking Jackson posted four stops and a pass breakup.

Gray started all 12 games last season, and was solid in the secondary for the Bears. He played beyond his years in maturity in his first season as a starter, recording 58 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 1.0 sack, four PBUs and led the team with three INTs. Gray is another player in the Bears’ secondary that could find himself on the SoCon’s all-conference scroll before the end of his career. In the opener against Reinhardt, Gray recorded three tackles.

Looking At The Furman Defense: With nine starters with starting experience back on the defensive side of the football for the 2014 season, the Furman Paladins knew coming into the season that its defense would be a force to be reckoned with in Southern Conference and FCS football this season.

Coming into the season, many believed the Paladins would have one of the top defenses in the Southern Conference, but in the 13-3 win over Gardner-Webb in the season opener, the Paladins looked like one of the stingier units in the entire FCS. The Paladins were sensational in the sea-

Cornerback Alex Avant

Furman Cornerback Jamarri Miliken

son-opening win over Gardner-Webb, limiting the Bulldogs to just 194 yards, including just 25 yards in the second half. Furman also recorded five sacks in the second half alone, and allowed only two Gardner-Webb first downs.

The leader of the Paladin defensive unit is reigning Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Week Gary Wilkins. Along with delivering plenty of bone-crushing hits to Bulldog quarterback Lucas Beatty in the season opener, the redshirt senior added five tackles, 3.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks in the opening win. With his 2.5 sacks on Saturday night, Wilkins now has 10 in his career to move into 10th on the Paladin career charts.

Wilkins originally started his career as an outside linebacker before being moved to defensive end at the a year-and-a-half ago. He is without a doubt one of the most athletic players to ever suit up for the Paladins, playing along maybe the most athletically-gifted defensive front in the history of the program.

Wilkins has 222-career tackles, 22 TFL, three forced fumbles, a pair of fumble recoveries and picked off a pass and returned it 98 yards for a score last season against Appalachian State.

Joining Wilkins along the defensive line at bookend will be Ira McCune--another player which was recruited by Lamb--will be making his 16th start for the Paladins, and McCune was a key factor on the Paladin defensive line last season, and McCune came into the season as a presea-son Second Team All-SoCon pick.

McCune was a player that stepped up when the Paladins needed it most last season after an injury in the week leading up to the PC game, which forced a McCune to make the move from the interior defensive line to the perimeter. McCune had a pair of key fumble recoveries in the win over Georgia Southern last season. In the opener against Gardner-Webb, contributing four tackles, 2.5 TFL and a sack.

Obviously, the Paladins have the nice luxury of having plenty of veteran depth along their defensive front coming into the 2014 season, with the leader of the backups along the defen-sive front being veteran defensive end Shawn Boone, who posted one tackle in his action as a reserve defensive end along the Paladin defensive front last week. Boone came into his senior season with 8.5 career sacks and 14.5 career tackles-for-loss, and has an INT return for a TD, which he recorded as a freshman against South Carolina.

Set to start at the interior positions for the Paladins on Saturday night will be both Jordan Haw-kins and John Mackey, who were both effective in shutting down the Gardner-Webb offense in the opener last week.

Hawkins is in his second season as a starter after being thrust into the lineup as a true freshman last season due to the injury to Boone. All Hawkins did was go on to have a big season for the Paladins on the defensive side of the football, as he started 13 of the 14 games he was a part of last season. In the season opener against the Bulldogs last week, Hawkins posted a tackle and a pass breakup.

Mackey, a junior from the Scenic City of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was also an important part of that Paladin defense last season, and would finish up the season with 58 tackles, 4.0 TFL and a forced fumble, as he started all 14 games for the Paladins last fall. In the opener against Gard-ner-Webb last week, Mackey posted four tackles and 1.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

James Elliott, who has Simeon Rice speed at the other defensive end spot as a reserve, was clocked at 4.4 in the 40-yard dash in spring testing, while Brian Ross and Danny Palmer are more than serviceable reserves at the respective defensive tackle positions. Palmer and Ross both recorded sacks in the win over Gardner-Webb in the season opener against Gardner-Webb last week.

Throughout the history of Furman football, linebacker has been a position that has seen so many talented performers over the years, and the Paladins had one of their best linebacking contingents last season in the 4-2-5 defensive alignment utilized by the Paladins.

A Detailed History of Furman Football

Furman Linebacker Cory Magwood

One of those talented performers, who didn’t play in the opener against Gardner-Webb, but is expected to make his return to the lineup for the SoCon opener is Carl Rider.

Rider was an All-SoCon performer a year ago, as he comes off a 2013 campaign, which saw Rider total a team-lead-ing 136 stops to go along with nine tackles-for-loss, recovered three fumbles and forced another in his first season as a starting middle linebacker for the Paladins.

Rider will likely start out Saturday night as a reserve behind Byron Johnson, who

started last week in the middle of the Furman defense. Johnson, a sophomore, is an athletic, fast presence in the middle of the Paladin defense, who is a solid tackler. He had five tackles in his first-career start against the Bulldogs last week, as he came into that contest with just 16-career stops.

The other part of that talented linebacking corps for the Paladins entering the contest is Cory Magwood, who had a sensational 2013 season, starting seven times and had 98 tackles, four tackles behind the line of scrimmage and forced a pair of fumbles. In the opener against the Bulldogs last week, Magwood posted a team-leading nine stops last week.

Furman Nickelback/Linebacker Marcus McMorris

The Furman secondary is also a unit that coach Fowler and staff were extremely excited about coming into the season, and with good reason, with athleticism and big hitters two words to best describe the unit that will take the field Saturday night against the Bears in Macon.

Anchoring the unit coming into Saturday night’s contest will be veteran redshirt senior Marcus McMorris, who can play either the outside linebacker or the nickel position in the defense for the Paladins. McMorris is a playmaker in the Paladin secondary, registering 113 tackles, nine tackles-for-loss, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, two sacks, two INTs and a TD last season.

Each of the past two seasons, McMorris has returned an INT 89 yards for a TD against Samford last season, while returning an INT 52 yards and a fumble 95 yards for a score against Western Carolina and Elon, respectively, in 2012. McMorris got his 2014 season started off in style last week, posting an INT, four tackles and a tackle-for-loss in the season-opening win against Gardner-Webb last Saturday.

Joining McMorris at safety on Saturday night will be Trey Robinson and Rodney Anderson, who will start at the free and strong safety positions against the Bears Saturday evening. Robinson, who was a standout quarterback at Dorman High School as a prep, was a SoCon All-Freshman selection by College Sports Journal last season, finishing the campaign with 41 tackles, two tackles-for-loss and an INT.

Robinson played good in the Paladins’ opener last week against Gardner-Webb, posting six tackles, and produced a big hit, which dislodged the football from a Gardner-Webb receiver and recorded his lone PBU of the night.

Anderson rounds out the starting trio at safety for the Paladins heading into Saturday night’s contest, and will man the strong safety position for the Paladins. The hard hitting Anderson spent a majority of his time on special teams the past two seasons. He missed the first five games last season with a knee injury. In just his second-career start last week, Anderson posted

a pair of tackles.

Rounding out the starters on the defensive side of the football for the Paladins will be All-SoCon corner Reggie Thomas and talented redshirt sophomore Jamarri Milliken. Thomas is in his third season as a starter, and enters the contest with Mercer four career INTs. Thomas, a preseason All-SoCon selection, registered five stops and a pair of pass breakups in the Paladins’ season opener last week.

Milliken was one of the more impressive players on the defensive side of the football in the season opener last weekend, recording a pair of tackles and a PBU in what was his first career start. Milliken could be a future All-SoCon selection at corner for the Paladins.

Looking At The Mercer Offense:

Mercer comes into their Southern Conference opener with an offense that was one of the most exciting in the FCS last fall, as the Bears were a team that utilized the Pistol offense, and Bobby Lamb’s prowess as offensive mind would show, as the Bears finished ranked second nationally in rushing offense (277.9 YPG), while also ranking in the Top 20 nationally in total offensive output, posting 449.6 YPG to go along with 38.2 PPG.

In last week’s home opening win over Reinhardt, the Bears racked up an impressive 492 yards of total offense in the season opener against Reinhardt last Thursday. At the helm of the Mercer offense on Saturday night will be John Russ, who was solid in the season opener against the Eagles, as he completed 16-of-23 passes for 246 yards, with three TDs and an INT in the opener. Russ also ranked second on the team in rushing yards, completing the contest with 51 yards on 10 attempts.

Russ got his college career off to a great start last season, as he finished the 2013 campaign with 903 rushing yards to go along with 12 TDs on 160 rush attempts to average 5.6 yards-per-rush as a true freshman last fall. As a passer, Russ was efficient, completing 121-of-233 passes for 1,916 yards, with 21 TDs and seven INTs.

Russ will be surrounded by some great weapons on the offensive side of the football on Saturday night, with one of those weapons being running back Alex Lakes. Lakes, a 5-10, 205-lb native of Newnan, GA, comes off a great season and career debut against Reinhardt last week, as he rushed for 110 yards and a pair of TDs on 20 carries. Lakes had one reception for 38 yards in that contest last Thursday night.

Lakes isn’t the only threat on the ground for the Bears coming into the contest, with both Peyton Usher and Je’Tarri Donald back in the backfield for their sophomore seasons, as the duo finished their respective freshman campaigns by contributing a combined 1,650 yards to the ground attack for the Bears in 2013. Usher rushed seven times for 50 yards in the season opener, while Donald contributed 15 yards on two rush attempts.

The top options in the passing game for the Bears on Saturday night against the Paladins will be J.T. Palmer, who could be an All-Southern Conference candidate at one of the wideouts, while Jordan Marshall and Josh Jones are great compliments to Palmer in the Mercer offense.

Palmer is coming off a solid sophomore season, as the Presbyterian College transfer hauled in 30 passes for 521 yards and seven scores last season. He continued the start of the 2014 season where he left off in 2013, as he posted 76 yards of receiving on five receptions, which included a TD catch.

Marshall is a speedster and is coming off a 2013 season which saw the Powder Springs, GA, product haul in 16 passes for 311 yards and four scores, averaging 19.4 yards per catch. In the season opener last week, Marshall did not record a reception.

Jones is coming off a 2013 season which saw him haul in 22 passes for 416 yards and four

Mercer Running Back Alex Lakes

A Detailed History of Furman Football

Mercer Tight End Robert Brown

TDs, averaging 18.9 yards per reception. Like Marshall, Jones is a solid down field threat in the passing game for the Bears, but like Marshall, did not make a reception in last week’s win over Reinhardt.

Mercer had one of the top tight ends in the Southern Conference coming into the 2014 season, in sophomore Robert Brown. The 6-1, 212-lb product from Nashville, Tenn, hauled in 16 passes for 311 yards and four TDs last season. Brown has great hands, as well as being a solid blocking presence in the running game. Brown ranked second on the team in receiving yards and catches in last week’s win over Reinhardt, hauling in four passes for 67 yards, averaging a team-best 16.8 YPR last week.

All five starters are back along the offensive line for the Bears with some solid options for the Bears, including Wilson Heres, who is the son of a former Paladin offensive lineman, Bart Heres, who played for the Paladins from 1979-82, which was during some of the early, successful years under Dick Sheirdan. Heres’ son will start at left guard on Saturday for the Bears, and is among the best in offensive line coach Casey Vogt’s offensive front heading into Saturday night.

Left tackle Thomas Marchman will start for the Bears on Saturday, replacing Sam Arrington in the starting front five who started much of last season. Rounding out the starting five along the Mercer offensive line for Saturday night’s contest will be center Kirby Southard, who like Heres, had a relative, Tommy Southard (uncle), who played wide receiver at Furman from 1975-77. Right guard Avery White and right tackle A.M. Posey round out the starters along the offensive front for the Paladins heading into Saturday night’s clash.

Final Prediction: Furman 28, Mercer 10

Southern Conference Favorites Chattanooga Hosts Jacksonville State Saturday Night

No. 9 Jacksonville State (0-1) at No. 13 Chattanooga (0-1)Finley Stadium (20,000)6:00 p.m. EST

Though Furman and Mercer is the lone Southern Conference game slated for Saturday night, the other game around the league to draw plenty of interest will be the one between a pair of ranked foes, when No. 9 Jacksonville State heads to the Scenic City to do battle with the No. 14 Chattanooga Mocs in one of the better non-conference rivalries in the league.

Saturday night’s matchup between the SoCon and Ohio Valley Conference favorites matches a pair of teams against each other that lost to teams from the Great Lakes State last weekend, with Chattanooga dropping a heartbreaking 20-16 contest to Central Michigan on the road, while Jacksonville State was no match for reigning Big Ten and Rose Bowl champion Michigan State, who made posted a 45-7 win over the Gamecocks last Friday night.

Saturday night’s clash between the two schools separated by about two hours marks the 38th time, but only the second time with both teams ranked inside the Sports Network’s Top 25 poll. Over the years, Chattanooga has been dominant in the series, holding a 26-11 all-time series edge, but many of those games have come right down to the wire. It’s among the oldest rivalries for both schools, as the first game between the tradition-rich FCS programs took place way back in 1904.

The Gamecocks are coming off a 2013 season, which saw them advance all the way to the FCS Quarterfinals before eventually losing to Eastern Washington. Jacksonville State is under the direction of a new coach, in John Grass, who was the offensive coordinator for a record-breaking Gamecocks offense a year ago, setting 49 new program marks.

Senior running back DeMarcus James is the centerpiece of the JSU offense, and he is coming off a 2013 season that saw him do some pretty remarkable things, including rush for 1,477 yards and a school record 29 TDs. James is a Walter Payton Award candidate, and in limited action against the Spartans last week, rushed for 17 yards on just one carry.

Eli Jenkins leads the team under center, who split time with Max Shortell last season. Jenkins is an explosive, dual threat quarterback and rushed for 953 yards and eight scores last season, while passing for 887 yards and three TDs. The defensive side of the ball sees the Gamecocks relying on several SEC transfers, especially along the defensive line, which has Alabama transger LaMichael Fanning starting at one defensive end, while Tennessee transfer Allan Carson is a key backup at nose tackle.

The top returnee on the defensive side of the ball for the Gamecocks is linebacker Ben Endress at strongside linebacker, who posted a team-leading 10 tackles last week against Michigan State. After registering 85 tackles in 2012, Endress saw only limited action for the Gamecocks last season. The Gamecocks are extremely young on the defensive side of the ball, yielding 565 yards to Michigan State in the opener.

Chattanooga counters with a strong ground game, led by Southern Conference preseason Player of the Year Jacob Huesman under center. In the opener against the Chippewas last week, Huesman turned in a performance he would rather forget, completing 14-of-24 passes for 150 yards, with a pair of scoring tosses and four INTs.

One of his favorite targets was the speedy Tommy Hudson, who posted two catches for 78 yards, both for TDs, including a 70-yarder which showcased his speed and electrified the Mocs contingent on-hand.

Huesman came into the season with 1,799 rushing yards, and added 40 yards in the season opening road loss last Thursday. Huesman will team with Keon Williams as the main rushing threats on Saturday night. Williams, who rushed for 687 yards last season, posted a solid perfor-mance in his opener in 2014, with 64 yards on 11 rush attempts.

Defensively, the Mocs are always stout, finishing with the top defense in the SoCon and 17th na-tionally last season.The Mocs seemed to have picked up where they left off last season, yielding just 323 yards in the opener against the Chippewas. Two-time reigning SoCon Defensive Player of the Year and defensive end Davis Tull anchors the stout starting 11, as he is UTC’s all-time sacks leader with 26.5 career quarterback hits.

This game will be close, but the Mocs are still stewing from their 20-16 loss last week in a game in which they blew a 16-7 lead.

Chattanooga 31, Jacksonville State 21

Predicting the other League Games

Western Carolina 48, Brevard 7Bowling Green 35, VMI 14No. 1 Florida State 65, The Citadel 10