Daily ®ar Weel
McNeese quarterback,
offense excel in spread
Top rusher, receiver from ’O7 gone
BY PENN ELY
STAFF WRITER
For the second straight year,
North Carolina opens its football
slate with a Division-I-AA school.
McNeese State, two-time
defending conference champions,
was again selected as the preseason
favorite to win the Southland
Conference.
The Cowboys finished the 2007
regular season undefeated and
untied for the fourth time in school
history. The squad received the
No. 2 seed in the playoffs but was
trounced by Eastern Washington
in the first round.
Last season’s Conference Coach
of the Year, Matt Viator, returns for
his third year at the helm. But the
Cowboys lost leading rusher Kris
Bush and leading receiver Carlese
Franklin, both seniors last year.
The team also graduated 2007
SLC Player of the year Bryan
Smith. The two-time All-America
defensive end's absence and the
Scarlet Knights hope to
recapture winning ways
Replacing Rice will prove difficult
BY CHRIS HEMPSON
STAFF WRITER
The New Brunswick train sta
tion has stood at the corner of
French and Albany streets for
more than a century.
Although still in use, the termi
nal seemingly doubles as a two
story brick monument, a salute to
an era long past. In much the same
way, the town’s football team, the
University of Rutgers, has obedi
ently followed.
In 1869, the team was forever
enshrined in football lore by par
ticipating in the first ever collegiate
football game against Princeton.
Though victorious on that day,
6-4, for decades to come the team's
fortunes would tilt in the opposite
direction. Yet when head coach
Greg Schiano joined the program
in December of2ooo, the frustra
tion seemed to be at an end.
attrition of five other defensive
starters leaves the 'squad with
many defensive questions head
ing into 2008.
The Cowboys return seven start
ers on offense. Most notably, the
team returns Derrick Fourroux, the
team’s leading passer and second
leading rusher last season. Fourroux
amassed more than 500 yards on the
ground last season, only 101 fewer
than the starting running back.
Arguably one of the school’s all
time greats, Fourroux is tied for
sixth all-time total offense in school
history. And the Cowboys’ option
based spread offense should throw
a monkey wrench into the Tar
Heels’ preparation for the game.
“Guys are going to have to be dis
ciplined in their responsibilities,”
said coach Butch Davis. “Who’s got
the quarterback, who’s got the pitch
—and still have the ability to play
the pass because they will throw the
football very well.”
The special teams are bolstered
But as the sun beats down on
Rutgers Stadium this fall and the
chinstraps tighten, the team once
more faces the persistent question
of uncertainness. After posting
an 11-2 record in 2006, the team
slipped to 8-5 in 2007.
Plus, with the losses of All-Big
East offensive lineman Jeremy
Zuttah and a Heisman-caliber
running back, the offense is due
for a change.
For starters, the highly-empha
sized running game of years passed
will be toned down. With the
departure of running back Ray Rice
to the NFL last summer, no one has
stepped in to fill his shoes.
But offensive coordinator John
McNulty appears up to the task.
His first objective will be playing
to the squad’s strengths namely,
the passing game.
He returns two-year starter
Football 2008
by All-America wide receiver and
kick returner Steven Whitehead.
The explosive athlete won the 2006
SLC Player of the Year but was side
lined last season with a leg injury.
Whitehead is currently fourth
all-time in school history for kick
returns and eighth in punt returns.
His presence should be a legiti
mate test to see if the Tar Heel spe
cial teams unit has improved since
2007, a major point of concern for
Davis during the offseason.
This is the first game against
an ACC school in program history
though the Cowboys met then-Big
East Miami in 2000 and won’t shy
away from the competition.
McNeese State will march into
Kenan Stadium with talent of its
own l7 Cowboys were selected
to the 2008 SLC preseason all
conference teams.
“It’s obviously a tremendous
challenge anytime you go play an
ACC team with high expectations
and a good coach,” Viator said. “It’s
going to he a tough challenge. But
our kids are excited, and it’s a good
opportunity for our program.”
Mike Teel at quarterback, with
junior Kenny Britt and senior
Tiquan Underwood back at the
wide receiver positions.
Though hampered by inconsis
tency because of an injured thumb
last year, Teel looks poised to at
least improve his touchdown to
interception ratio of 20 to 13 from
a year ago.
Teel will never be a deep-ball
threat with his arm, but he has
the talent and accuracy to make
the midrange throws with relative
ease.
The other side of the football
sees a core of eight starters return
ing from a year ago.
The defense looks primed to be
the best of Schiano’s tenure, with
hard-hitting free safety Courtney
Greene the unanimous leader.
In the trenches, the defensive
line appears solid but not spectac
ular with senior linemen Jamaal
Westerman and Pete Tverdov pro
viding experience and toughness.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 29, 2008
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