FBS Independents Preview 2017
By Tyler Smith
Army 9-3
Coach: Jeff Monken
Offensive Coordinator: Brent Davis Defensive Coordinator: Jay Bateman Stadium: Blaik Field at Michie Stadium (38,000) 2016 Record: 8-5 The Breakdown Offense: Army had a breakout season in 2016. The Black Knights made it to their first bowl game since 2010 and they did it behind a powerful rushing attack. Army returns its top 5 rushers, including QB Ahmad Bradshaw. Bradshaw rushed for an impressive 824 yards and 8 TD’s. Andy Davidson leads the Black Knight’s rushing attack with 961 yards and 12 TD’s. Jordan Asberry had an eye-popping 7.4 yards per carry on 57 attempts. Darnell Woolfolk is the 3rd back and finished with 600 yards and 9 TD’s. 4 offensive lineman return which makes Army a threat to have another big season in the running game. Defense: Army’s defense was one of the best in the nation in 2016. With 7 starters returning, they have a chance to build on last season’s success. LB Alex Aukerman leads all returning players with 59 tackles and an impressive 7.5 sacks. Kenneth Brinson added an additional 4 sacks and 2 INT to the LB unit. The secondary returns 3 starters off the unit that finished 6th nationally in pass defense. Elijah Riley finished with 3 INT as a true freshman. Senior Rhyan England is the veteran in the secondary, coming off a 53 tackle season. Special Teams: Blake Wilson will return as the kicker for Army. Wilson went 50% on 4-8 FG’s and hit a long of 47. JD Mote will enter the season as the new punter. Overview: 2016 was a huge year for the Army program. They defeated Navy for the 1st time in 14 years, won a bowl game and beat some big schools (Temple, Wake). They square off with some of the same opponents this season hosting both Temple and Duke. Army will get a chance to shock the world with a week 3 trip to Ohio State. This team is super deep in key positions and is full of confidence from ‘16. Looking at the schedule I see up to 10 winnable games. If Army’s playmakers can stay healthy the sky's the limit for the Black Knights. |
BYU 8-5
Coach: Kalani Sitake
Offensive Coordinator: Ty Detmer Defensive Coordinator: Ilaisa Tuiaki Stadium: LaVell Edwards Stadium (63,470) 2016 Record: 9-4 The Breakdown Offense: QB Tanner Mangum will resume the starting duties with the departure of Taysom Hill. Mangum had a successful freshman campaign before yielding the starting job to a healthy Hill for most of last season. Mangum will be surrounded by question marks at the skill positions. Squally Canada mustered a measly 315 yards in a reserve role for the Cougars. The top 3 WR’s all departed leaving Jonah Trinnaman as the top guy. Trinnaman finished with 28 catches for 321 yards. Talon Shumway is a 6’3” sophomore who could emerge as Mangum’s top target. BYU returns 4 offensive lineman. Defense: BYU always has a respectable defense and this year will be no different. The Cougars return 7 starters including do-it-all LB Fred Warner. Warner led BYU with 86 tackles, 9 for loss and 3 INT. Butch Pau’u finished with 83 tackles and Francis Bernard with 80 and 3 INT. BYU finished 7th in the nation in turnover ratio as this was a very opportunistic defense a year ago. DE Corbin Kaufusi added 7 sacks off the edge. The secondary returns 3 starters, including sophomore Dayan Ghanwoloku who tied for the team lead with 3 INT as a freshman. Special Teams: Rhett Almond returns as kicker after a successful 2016 season. Almond converted on 17-21 FG’s with a 37 long. Jonny Linehan returns for his senior season (42.5 avg). Overview: BYU has a 13 game slate for the 2017 season. Marquee games against Wisconsin, LSU, Mississippi State and rival Utah will be tough. Outside of those 4 games, I’d peg BYU as a favorite in the rest. Mangum is a solid option at QB but I’m concerned about the rest of the skill players. Defense will be a strong point for this Cougars team and the reason they will win 8 games this season. BYU will continue to be one of the most consistent programs in the nation. |
Top Returners: Offense: Passing Tanner Mangum, JR, QB Rushing Squally Canada, JR, RB Receiving Jonah Trinnaman, SR, WR Defense: Interceptions: Fred Warner, SR, LB Sacks: Corbin Kaufusi, JR, DE Tackles: Fred Warner, SR, LB Last Five Year Win Totals 2016 9-4 2015 9-4 2014 8-5 2013 8-5 2012 8-5 |
Notre Dame 8-4
Coach: Brian Kelly
Offensive Coordinator: Chip Long Defensive Coordinator: Mike Elko Stadium: Notre Dame Stadium (78,000) 2016 Record: 4-8 The Breakdown Offense: Notre Dame enters the season with 8 starters returning on the offensive side, but there is still one big question mark. Is sophomore QB Brandon Wimbush the guy that Notre Dame desperately needs? All reports on Wimbush is that he is athletic, extends play and makes good decisions. ND needs to get back on top or Brian Kelly will be removed. Kelly is counting on Wimbush to keep him in South Bend. Outside of Wimbush, there is a ton of talent returning. Josh Adams is back at RB after leading ND in rushing a season ago. Adams managed to finish with 933 yards and 5 TD’s. ND has some big targets at WR. Sophomores Chase Claypool and Miles Boykin need to emerge as threats in the passing game. Junior Equanimeous St. Brown led the Irish in receiving in ‘16. St. Brown hauled in 61 catches for 961, an impressive 16.9 ypc and 9 TD’s. Other good news for Irish fans is that the OL returns 4 starters, including 1st team Ind. G Quenton Nelson. Defense: Notre Dame’s defense was downright awful last season. 7 returning starters should help ease the concern that some fans may have heading into this season. LB Nyles Morgan lead the Irish in tackles with 94 and added 4 sacks. He’s joined in the middle by Drue Tranquill, both were named 1st team IND. in ‘16. LB’s will be the strength of the defense. Keep an eye on sophomore DE Daelin Hayes. The secondary is young but returns plenty of playing time. Sophomores Julian Love and Jalen Elliot will be key players. Special Teams: Kicker Justin Yoon returns as kicker for Notre Dame. Yoon was good on 13-17 attempts with a long of 40. Punter Tyler Newsome will look to improve on a 43.6 punting average in ‘17. Overview Notre Dame’s schedule will do the Irish no favors this season. Looking up and down the schedule it’s hard to find one gimme game. A week two clash with SEC East favorite Georgia will be telling if these Irish can hang with tough company. 3 of the next 4 games will be on the road (Boston College, Michigan State, North Carolina) with a trap game against the Miami Redhawks in between. USC visits South Bend as well as ACC sleeper NC State. As if that wasn’t punishment enough, the Irish still have trips to Miami and Stanford. If Wimbush can live up to the expectations, Notre Dame will have a fine season. I will always be a critic of a young QB especially against tough talent. I don’t expect Brian Kelly to be coach at the end of the season. I’ll go ahead and throw out a name to replace Kelly, Les Miles. |
Top Returners:
Offense: Passing N/A Rushing Josh Adams, JR, RB Receiving Equanimeous St. Brown, JR, WR Defense: Interceptions: 4 players with 1. Sacks: Nyles Morgan, SR, LB Tackles: Nyles Morgan, SR, LB Last Five Year Win Totals 2016: 4-8 2015 10-3 2014 8-5 2013 9-4 2012 12-1 |
UMass 3-9
Coach: Mark Whipple
Offensive Coordinator: Mark Whipple Defensive Coordinator: Ed Pinkham Stadium: William P. McGuirk Alumni Stadium (17,000) 2016 Record: 2-10 The Breakdown Offense: Junior QB Andrew Ford returns to lead what should be a better offense in 2017. Ford needs to improve on his accuracy and decision making. The junior QB threw for 2,665 yards and 26 TD’s but threw 14 INT’s. Marquis Young, who led the Minutemen in rushing in ‘16 is back. Young averaged 4.6 yards per carry, totaling 898 yards. Andrew Ford will have his top two targets back in the passing game. TE Adam Breneman is a big time pass catcher. Breneman hauled in an impressive 70 receptions with 8 TD. Junior Andy Isabella tallied 62 catches for 801 yards and 7 scores. The biggest concern for UMass will be the young offensive line. Defense: UMass returns 9 starters on the defensive side of the ball. LB Steve Casali led the Minutemen with 105 tackles in ‘16. DE Da’Sean Downey will look to build on his team leading 6 sacks a season ago. Opposite of Downey is senior Sha’Ki Holines who added 2.5 sacks and 4.5 TFL. Where the offense lacks experience on its line, the defense is set up with veterans across the front 7. CB Isaiah Rodgers had a good freshman season with 7 PBU’s and 2 INT’s. UMass will need the secondary to improve on it’s 106th ranked passing defense. Special Teams Senior Logan Laurent converted on 7-9 FG’s with a long of 44 last season. Laurent also handled the punting duties and had a respectable 41.6 average in ‘16. Overview There’s no question that UMass has struggled since moving up to the FBS ranks. This team has a chance to have some success in ‘17. The offense is going to put points on the scoreboard. They averaged 28 ppg in the final 5 contests of ‘16. Ford is going to be better and has weapons surrounding him. The defense will have to improve as a whole for UMass to surpass the 2-win total from a season ago. UMass has the talent to open the season 3-0, which would be huge for this program. UMass won’t be going bowling this season but 4 wins will make the fan base very happy. |
Top Returners:
Offense: Passing Andrew Ford, JR, QB Rushing Marquis Young, JR, RB Receiving Adam Brenemanm, SR, TE Defense: Interceptions: Isaiah Rodgers, SO, CB Sacks: Da’Sean Downey, SR, DE Tackles: Steve Casali, SR, LB Last Five Year Win Totals 2016 2-10 2015 3-9 2014 3-9 2013 1-11 2012 1-11 |