Position battles to watch in camp

8/11/2020 5:00:00 PM | Football

By: Josh Vardaman

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Through a few days of fall camp, some position battles are starting to heat up on the Middle Tennessee roster.

Some key spots both in the starting lineup and second unit are up for grabs after 10 starters were lost from last year's team, including six on defense. There are 13 starters returning.

Here are some of the positions to keep an eye on over the next few weeks as the Blue Raiders prepare to take on Army in the season opener either Sept. 4 or 5.

Running backs

Middle Tennessee's rushing attack in 2019 was spearheaded not by a running back, but by first-year starting quarterback Asher O'Hara. As a redshirt sophomore, he ran for a team-high 1,058 yards and nine scores in addition to his 2,616 passing yards and 20 touchdowns.

To help add competition to the running back group, head coach Rick Stockstill and offensive coordinator Tony Franklin brought in two of the most talented running backs in the transfer portal this season.

Redshirt seniors Martell Pettaway and Amir Rasul, who transferred from West Virginia and Florida State, respectively, will add both size and speed to the group. They're competing for playing time with redshirt junior Chaton Mobley and senior Jayy McDonald, and senior Brad Anderson could see snaps in the backfield as well.

Pettaway only played in four games in 2019 before taking a redshirt, but in 2018 was the second-leading rusher for the Mountaineers with 623 yards on 97 carries, including six TDs. Rasul played limitedly for the Seminoles his first three seasons before taking a redshirt in 2019, but was ranked a four-star recruit and the No. 7 running back in the nation by ESPN in his class in 2016.

Mobley is the leading rusher returning in the group. He finished last season with 208 rushing yards on 52 carries and three touchdowns in eight games played. McDonald had 204 rushing yards on 40 carries.

Offensive line

The Blue Raiders looked a bit like a hockey team at times with their offensive line in 2019, making full line changes in between possessions until they found a solidified group for Conference USA play.

This season could look somewhat similar, as offensive line coach Rick Mallory has said he likes to find multiple guys at each position who can slot in at any time.

"I've always liked to be able to play a lot of offensive linemen," he said this offseason. "That keeps guys engaged and keeps them competitive, because they always have someone behind them pushing … and that also helps with injuries."

With some roster changes, only two starters are returning to the line — senior tackle Robert Jones (Honorable Mention All-C-USA) and redshirt sophomore guard Marcus Greer. That means plenty of competition will go on for the other three starting spots, and there are a lot of guys fighting for them.

Seniors Luke Harris and Blake Catlett and junior Cole Kirby have experience on their side, but youngsters like sophomores Jahlil Ryles, Dawson Bragg, Tyler Falvey and Tyler Thurman and redshirt freshmen Steven Losoya III and Adam Derry have shown a lot of improvement. Also, true freshmen Conner Griffin and Parker Rogers lead a talented group of newcomers eager to show they belong, and junior Jordan Palmer, a transfer from College of the Canyons (CA), was rated the No. 2 JUCO center in the nation by JCGridiron.com.

Defensive line

Not having a regular spring filled with practice impacted MT's defensive line maybe more than any other position group because of its inexperience.

The Blue Raiders have to find replacements this season for multi-year starters Malik Manciel, Tyshun Render and Trae Philpots along the line, and while they don't have much experience to turn to, there could be some budding talent.

Defensive tackles Rakavian Poydras and Ty Nix are the only seniors in the group, and Poydras is the only returning starter along the line. He had a career year in 2019 with 28 tackles, 5.0 TFLs and one sack.

Fighting with Nix for the other starting tackle spot are redshirt sophomore Jordan Branch and redshirt junior Ja'Kerrius Wyatt. Branch might have the leg up because of his size; standing at 6-foot and close to 300 pounds, he's the team's biggest and maybe strongest defensive lineman.

On the outside, Middle Tennessee is hoping to find some ends who can get to the quarterback consistently. Redshirt junior Jordan Ferguson, who missed all of 2019 with a knee injury, and redshirt sophomore Jorden Starling are fighting for playing time with a handful of youngsters, headlined by former four-star recruit Darius "juju" Williams.

Cornerback

Defensive coordinator Scott Shafer and cornerbacks coach Kenneth Gilstrap have a lot of options this season in the defensive backfield, particularly at the cornerback spot.

Many in the group have drawn rave reviews from their coaches for being able to play on the outside, as safeties or in the nickel corner position. That means there will be plenty of competition and fluidity during camp to see who'll slot in beside seniors Reed Blankenship and Kylan Stribling, the likely starters at safety.

Junior Gregory Grate Jr. and redshirt sophomore Decorian Patterson have become household names the past couple of years for their play at both corner and safety, and they could line up on the outside or in the nickel this season. Redshirt junior Raheme Fuller, a big corner standing 6-foot-3, also started two games in 2019.

Fighting with Grate, Patterson and Fuller for playing time is a big group of youngsters, including redshirt sophomore Teldrick Ross, redshirt freshmen Quincy Riley and Jalen Jackson, and true freshmen Davon Martin and Deidrick Stanley II.

Needless to say, there are a lot of young options Shafer and Gilstrap can choose from. They'll just need to find who fits best where.

Linebacker

While there could be three solidified starters in MT's linebacker corps with seniors DQ Thomas and Brett Shepherd and redshirt junior Wayne Parks, competition is raging because of the play of the group's youngsters.

Linebackers coach Siriki Diabate loves the tenacity that's been shown by his older players, including the starting group and redshirt juniors Cody Smith and Cain McWilliams, and that's been copied by a big group of youngsters who're eager to show they belong on the field.

Redshirt sophomore Jarek Campbell and redshirt freshmen Raquon Hartley and Jalen Davis all impressed when they saw game action in 2019, and newcomers Johnathan Butler (junior college transfer), Evian Irving, Devyn Curtis, Drew Francis and James Shellman IV have shown early on in camp the hype surrounding the recruiting class was warranted.

"We have a couple of guys in the program who've done a lot of good things and are developing," Diabate said this offseason. "We also have some flexibility within the position group to where we can move some guys around if need be to find the best three players that will give us the best opportunity to win."