COLUMN: Five camp storylines revisited

8/28/2022 5:40:00 PM | Football

By: Sam Doughton, MT Athletic Communications

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Blue Raider Nation, game week is finally here! And with MTSU hitting the road to James Madison this coming weekend, I thought it would be a good time to take a look back at the five storylines I was watching going into fall camp and see where they ended up sorting out.

Of course, some are incomplete, and how all of them can change will all depend on how things respond on the field. It's always a little different when it's someone in a jersey that isn't your school colors on the other side of the ball, after all. Even with that, with two scrimmages under the team's belt and a plethora of practices, there's a good feel for the potential of this team heading into Week One after the Week Zero slate wrapping up late last night in Hawaii.

1) Who will win the quarterback battle in a new air raid offense?

To avoid burying the lead here, I suspect we won't know who the starter at quarterback will be until a few minutes before kickoff in Harrisonburg later this week. Head coach Rick Stockstill always plays these decisions close to his chest externally, even if the team may know who is likely to get the nod earlier this week between redshirt senior Chase Cunningham and sophomore Nicholas Vattiato.

The coaching staff has a pretty good handle on what each of the two potential starting quarterbacks are capable of, in fact using most of the second scrimmage to instead get freshmen Kyle Lowe and DJ Riles as well as Murray State transfer Preston Rice more reps in offensive coordinator Mitch Stewart's scheme. Cunningham probably has a little more running ability than Vattiato, which may give him slight edge in this writer's mind, but both have clearly demonstrated the ability to make all the throws. Expect to see a big "OR" next to these two when the depth chart is released tomorrow.

"All the throws" is perhaps the most intriguing observation I have from fall camp with regards to the passing game. Air raid schemes, by their very nature, feature a lot of shorter and mid-range route concepts to help move the ball down the field, finding that space to raid, as Stewart has often relayed to me. But, at least in camp, this offense has shown far more willingness to air it out down field than last year, thanks to the speed of a plethora of MTSU's wideouts.

"I always tell my guys that this is a receiver friendly offense," wide receivers coach Shane Tucker said. "We're doing a good job airing it out. Our deep balls, we have been connecting on them a lot. Receivers, we just did a good job of recruiting, got some faster guys, so we're going to try to press the ball down field a little bit."

Taking shots down the field depends a lot on coaches making the correct reads on where the defense is hedging, along with great execution by the personnel on the field. But early signs suggest that the Blue Raiders will not be afraid to take advantage when the opportunity arises, and given the three long touchdowns in the team's first scrimmage, they have the players and the scheme to make it work.

2) Will the rushing game from the running backs be a bigger threat?

There's good news to report on this front, as the second scrimmage I can easily say is the best MTSU's running backs have looked since I've moved to Murfreesboro.

Now granted, that's a small sample size of just over a year. But after seeing Frank Peasant, Darius Bracy, A'Varius Sparrow and really every back in that room basically run wherever they wanted to in that second scrimmage, I'm on board with this unit being a much bigger threat in the offense this season. The opening drive of the scrimmage was instructive.

With 15 plays, 75 yards, only three of those plays were passes, and only one of those passes connected. Capped off with a Bracy touchdown run in the red zone, it was a case of the offense imposing its will on the defensive side.

Some of that is credit to the scheme, of course, and I suspect the Blue Raiders will still air it out more than they run it this year. But between the offensive line gelling and the additions to the running back room, I think it's going to be much more difficult for opposing defenses to key in on running situations.

"Everybody is sticking to their job, doing what they're supposed to do, being in their right gaps," offensive lineman Sterling Porcher said of the team's running game. "When you do your job, everything is going to come to you."

I'm not expecting there will be a true "lead" back, at least at the start of the season. Much like last year, the skillsets of the running backs are varied enough that you can easily see certain situations for each one, while none of their weaker attributes are so far behind that they can't get the job done on the field. That may change as the season goes on, particularly with the sturdier backs like Peasant and Bracy, who can handle more hits.

But between the rushing prowess I've seen and the back's ability to get involved in the passing game more often, I suspect we might see efficient running out of the backfield this fall at Floyd Stadium.

3) Can an almost entirely new offensive line find their groove before the start of the season?

The link between the offense's improvement in both deep passing and in the running game is the fact that the offensive line has finally had some time to gel and get together after only having seven linemen available for spring practice to injuries and transfers. While the size, as noted during signing day and just before camp, of so many of the new faces stands out, just getting to play alongside each other has made that unit better almost every day I've visited practice.

"The big thing is that, knock on wood, we've been healthy up front," Stockstill said. "And that's enabled them to practice every day and be out here."

I'll be intrigued to see who's atop the two-deep this week when it's in MTSU's game notes, as offensive line coach Mike Polly has been true to his word and shuffled folks in and out of every level of the depth chart to find the combination that works.

Jordan Palmer, the only returning starter on the offensive line, will be a staple at center, and folks that have lots of experience in the program like Jahlil Ryles, Tyler Falvey and Jacqui Graham have performed well throughout camp. But the plethora of newcomers, from Sterling Porcher (Iowa Western), Seth Falley (Butler CC), Ethan Ellis (Coffeyville CC) and Joseph Stone (Hutchinson CC) have shown flashes as well. A remarkable bit of depth to be had after getting bullied a bit by a veteran defensive line unit early in camp.

Stockstill notes there's still a long way to go for this group. But I suspect that MTSU's defensive line, barring perhaps Miami, might be the most talented and experienced unit that line faces, which bodes well for the offensive line being able to stay effective against anyone MTSU is scheduled to face this season.

4) Can the defensive backs and linebackers step up in a post DQ Thomas and Reed Blankenship world?

This is easily the biggest question mark I have for this year's team going into Week One. While all the offensive developments in the run game and the deep passing game are exciting, the type of development they are could also be evidence of problems in the defensive backfield that will need to be fixed before MTSU takes the field in Virginia this Saturday.

There's talent to be had in this group, no question. Tra Fluellen, Teldrick Ross and Deidrick Stanley II have all proven themselves at safety and at nickel corner at different points in their career. Decorian Patterson and Jalen Jackson, the likely starting outside corners, have lots of experience on the field thanks to injuries to the departed Quincy Riley last season. And at linebacker, lots of returning talent in Drew Francis, Devyn Curtis, Jalen Davis and Andrew Leak, with plenty of newcomers looking to make an impact in Christian Dixon (Towson), Timar Rogers (Mississippi State) and Jalen Rayam (UAB).

With that being said, there's not a lot of depth behind the defensive backs, and no one has taken those starting linebacker positions by the teeth and made their mark. And even if everyone stays healthy and ends up being good C-USA starters, it's just really really difficult to pick up the production of two All-Conference level talents that, as of this writing, are still in NFL camps.

"There's probably a lot more question marks on defense at linebacker and on the back end than there is on the offensive side," Stockstill said.

There is certainly reason to be optimistic. Dixon has been a problem for the offense in scrimmages, and Francis earns rave reviews for his football IQ. Stanley has excellent coverage skills, Ross excellent speed and Fluellen a good knack for always being near the ball. Jackson and particularly Patterson have taken a step up from their coverage skills last year.

I think there's a good unit within all of those players. But it's probably the combination that will have the most question marks until we see them on the field for 60 minutes.

5) Can the defensive line leverage their experience to dominate in the trenches?

Yes.

I was tempted to just end the column there, because the first week or so for MTSU's offensive line was pretty brutal, as the defensive line group dominated early on in camp. Things evened out a bit more as the team got more practices under their belt, but the defensive line still shows great ability to rush the passer with just four and run fit exceptionally well. If not for the no contact jerseys the QBs wear during practice, I'm sure some of the sack numbers would be even higher for this group.

It's the benefit of 219 games of experience in the expected two-deep, with plenty of experience even on the third team unit as well. There's a reason the defense's two permanent team captains (Jordan Ferguson and Ja'Kerrius Wyatt) come from this room.

It's a group that will have to be on the top of their game for the MTSU defense to reach its potential. But nothing I've seen has dissuaded me from thinking that potential is in reach with this group.