The Toledo Rockets were one of the early season faves to take home the MAC in 2011, but a heartbreaking home collapse to Northern Illinois late in the season eliminated those chances. The Rockets and Huskies had matching 7-1 MAC records, but Northern Illinois won the tiebreaker, and eventually went on to take home the conference championship game. Toledo completed the season with a 9-4 record squeaking a win from Air Force 42-41 in the Army Bowl.
Head coach Tim Beckman left to take the Illinois job which permitted offensive coordinator Matt Campbell to take over the reins. He'll definitely have his hands full in his first campaign, because the Rockets bring back just 8 starters from their accomplished 2011 team.
Offense
Toledo featured the top offense in the MAC last season, racking up an exceedingly galvanizing 42.2 points and 481 total yards/game. They were ,of course, one of the more exciting teams to look at in the whole country last season, but with only 4 starters coming back, Toledo will almost surely take a step backwards on offense in 2012.
Incredibly enough, the Rockets bring back their top 2 quarterbacks from last campaign in junior Terrance Owens and senior Austin Dantin. These two regularly swapped possessions last year, but Owens will possibly get more time than Dantin simply because he's more productive.
Toledo suffers a big setback in the backfield as it loses its top 2 rushers from 2011 in Adonis Thomas and Morgan Williams. The leading returning rusher is junior RB David Fluellen who will likely get the bulk of the totes this campaign.
The receiving group loses star pass catcher Eric Page, who left early to join the NFL. This unit returns only one starter in junior Bernard Reedy, who will be the new go-to player. Junior James Green and sophomore WE Cassius McDowell will step into beginning positions, as will senior Illinois transfer TE Cordale Scott.
The offensive line loses 3 starters and 124 career starts, including first-team All-MAC LT Mike VanDerMuelen. With only two starters back and 24 career starts returning, the offensive line will not have a chance at matching last year's squad. The 2 linemen who remain are second-team All-MAC C Zac Kerin and freshman All-American RG Greg Mancz.
Defense
Toledo desires to improve defensively after giving up 31.7 points and 402 total yards/game. The below average defense forced the Rockets to play in a lot of shootouts and things may get worse before they get better as they return only 4 starters on this side of the ball in 2012.
The defensive line loses three productive starters, but brings back 5 of its top 8 up front, including 7 who've made 15 or more career stops. The projected beginning line-up will include senior DE TJ Fatinikun, junior DE Christian Smith, junior DT Elijah Jones and senior DT Danny Farr.
The linebacker group will be the most powerful section of the defense. They have their top 2 coming back in senior WLB Robert Bell and senior MLB Dan Mills. They've also recruited Michigan transfer Vladimir Emilien to man the STAR LB position.
The secondary must replace 3 quality defensive backs, including first-team All-MAC CB Desmond Morrow. They have got three players with starting experience coming back in the defensive backfield and after an abysmal showing last year, should only get better in 2012. Senior CB Byron Best transfers from LB to add depth, and senior SS Jermaine Robinson is their best player back. Proficient Florida transfer sophomore CB Jordan Harden will start right away.
MAC West Prediction - 4th Place
This squad has more talent than the eight returning starters would lead you to believe. The offense at the very least has proven playmakers at quarterback in Owens and Dantin. Their losses on the offensive end are at RB, receiver and along the offensive line. Despite the defense only having 4 starters back, this team should be more gifted than its 2011 version. Toledo should be tough to beat in the MAC West, but unfortunately they must play both Western Michigan and Northern Illinois on the road. Both these teams are projected to end up ahead of the Rockets in the division.
Head coach Tim Beckman left to take the Illinois job which permitted offensive coordinator Matt Campbell to take over the reins. He'll definitely have his hands full in his first campaign, because the Rockets bring back just 8 starters from their accomplished 2011 team.
Offense
Toledo featured the top offense in the MAC last season, racking up an exceedingly galvanizing 42.2 points and 481 total yards/game. They were ,of course, one of the more exciting teams to look at in the whole country last season, but with only 4 starters coming back, Toledo will almost surely take a step backwards on offense in 2012.
Incredibly enough, the Rockets bring back their top 2 quarterbacks from last campaign in junior Terrance Owens and senior Austin Dantin. These two regularly swapped possessions last year, but Owens will possibly get more time than Dantin simply because he's more productive.
Toledo suffers a big setback in the backfield as it loses its top 2 rushers from 2011 in Adonis Thomas and Morgan Williams. The leading returning rusher is junior RB David Fluellen who will likely get the bulk of the totes this campaign.
The receiving group loses star pass catcher Eric Page, who left early to join the NFL. This unit returns only one starter in junior Bernard Reedy, who will be the new go-to player. Junior James Green and sophomore WE Cassius McDowell will step into beginning positions, as will senior Illinois transfer TE Cordale Scott.
The offensive line loses 3 starters and 124 career starts, including first-team All-MAC LT Mike VanDerMuelen. With only two starters back and 24 career starts returning, the offensive line will not have a chance at matching last year's squad. The 2 linemen who remain are second-team All-MAC C Zac Kerin and freshman All-American RG Greg Mancz.
Defense
Toledo desires to improve defensively after giving up 31.7 points and 402 total yards/game. The below average defense forced the Rockets to play in a lot of shootouts and things may get worse before they get better as they return only 4 starters on this side of the ball in 2012.
The defensive line loses three productive starters, but brings back 5 of its top 8 up front, including 7 who've made 15 or more career stops. The projected beginning line-up will include senior DE TJ Fatinikun, junior DE Christian Smith, junior DT Elijah Jones and senior DT Danny Farr.
The linebacker group will be the most powerful section of the defense. They have their top 2 coming back in senior WLB Robert Bell and senior MLB Dan Mills. They've also recruited Michigan transfer Vladimir Emilien to man the STAR LB position.
The secondary must replace 3 quality defensive backs, including first-team All-MAC CB Desmond Morrow. They have got three players with starting experience coming back in the defensive backfield and after an abysmal showing last year, should only get better in 2012. Senior CB Byron Best transfers from LB to add depth, and senior SS Jermaine Robinson is their best player back. Proficient Florida transfer sophomore CB Jordan Harden will start right away.
MAC West Prediction - 4th Place
This squad has more talent than the eight returning starters would lead you to believe. The offense at the very least has proven playmakers at quarterback in Owens and Dantin. Their losses on the offensive end are at RB, receiver and along the offensive line. Despite the defense only having 4 starters back, this team should be more gifted than its 2011 version. Toledo should be tough to beat in the MAC West, but unfortunately they must play both Western Michigan and Northern Illinois on the road. Both these teams are projected to end up ahead of the Rockets in the division.
No comments:
Post a Comment