SAVANNAH STATE
Last season: 1-11, 0-8 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Key returning players: Linebackers Marquis Smith and Justin Dixon are set to lead Savannah State's defense much as they did last season as freshmen.
“He can do almost anything he wants,” coach Earnest Wilson III said of Smith, Savannah State’s player of the year in 2013. “He was a freshman; he had over 120 tackles last year.”
Smith had 124 (72 solo) to be exact, and Dixon followed closely behind with 122 (62 solo). The two played in all 12 of Savannah State’s games last season.
Emerging players: With former Tigers quarterback Antonio Bostick gone (he threw for 4,546 yards in his four seasons at Savannah State), sophomore quarterback Leon Prunty will start after spending last season in the rotation at that position. He averaged 68.2 passing yards per game, and now that he sits at the top of the depth chart, he'll likely throw for more than the three touchdowns he did last season.
For the future: Wilson said he looks forward to seeing what immediate contributions freshman running back Nick Bentley will make to the offense. Savannah State's running backs combined for 770 yards (2.4 yards per carry) in 2013, as opposed to their opponents 3,091 rushing yards.
They'll have a winning season if: The team has addressed the handful of goals Wilson presented to the team upon joining Savannah State before the 2013 season.
“(No. 1 was) improving football IQ,” Wilson said. “No. 2 was improving strength and conditioning and then No. 3, of course, recruiting.”
Wilson is pleased with his freshmen class, but winning seven games won’t be easy. The Tigers have not had a winning season since finishing 7-4 in 1998.
They'll come up short if: Savannah State's strength-and-conditioning program has not adequately developed its players over the past year. When Wilson joined Savannah State before the 2013 season, the Tigers did not have any sort of strength-and-conditioning program or strength coach. The Tigers have had a year to try to physically catch up with their Division I competitors.
Chatter: Wilson said the team will continue to schedule big names under his tutelage. Savannah State played back-to-back games against Oklahoma State and Florida State in 2012 and will play BYU this season.
“It still gave a kid, that kid from a little small town, a chance to visit Oklahoma, to visit Florida, to visit Utah,” Wilson said.
Must-see games: The Tigers travel to Statesboro for their game against Georgia Southern on Sept. 6. Although Georgia Southern was an FCS program until its move to the FBS for this season, the Eagles have proved to be quite the test for Savannah State. Georgia Southern defeated Savannah State 77-9 last year, leaving a bad taste in the Tigers' mouths, according to Wilson.
“I think our players are always trying to get respect from Georgia Southern,” he said.
