2012 Appalachian State FOOTBALL SEASON PREVIEW
third on the team with 79 tackles last season to go along with two interceptions and three pass break-ups. He’ll be joined at safety by junior Patrick Blalock, a former walk-on who has made six starts in his first two seasons in Black and Gold and has yet to reach his full potential due to being hampered by injuries throughout his young career. Junior Jamill Lott and redshirt freshman Henry Barnes are also in the mix at safety while sophomore Doug Middleton, a freshman all-American last season, will be a pivotal contributor as the “star” defensive back in nickel packages. Up front, the Mountaineers return two of the nation’s best young defensive ends in sophomores Ronald Blair and Deuce Robinson. Both grabbed starting roles as true freshmen a year ago and excelled to the tune of 56 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, five quarterback hurries and a
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pair of forced fumbles combined. Blair headlined the duo with 40 stops, including 11.5 behind the line of scrimmage, en route to freshman all-America honors. The only real void in the defense is at nose tackle, where ASU lost two-year starter Dan Wylie. However, the coaching staff is confident that redshirt freshmen Thomas Bronson and Stephen Burns are up to the task of filling the large shoes left behind by the graduation of Wylie and fellow 300-pounders Chris Aiken and Gordy Witte, Jr. Appalachian also returns three specialists in all-Southern Conference punter Sam Martin, place kicker Drew Stewart and holder Logan Hallock, giving the Mountaineers a whopping 17 returning starters in all. Martin, who ranked among the nation’s top 30 a season ago with a 40.9-yard punting average despite battling nagging inju11-TIME SoCon CHAMPIONS
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line of scrimmage as the Apps’ weakside linebacker a year ago. Playing mainly in the hybrid bandit role in Appalachian’s 3-4 defense a year ago, Rizor ranked fourth on the squad with 65 tackles and tied Kimbrough for the team lead with four sacks. The ‘backers will play in front of a secondary that is nearly as experienced and perhaps just as talented. Headlining three returning starters in the defensive backfield is another all-American in senior cornerback Demetrius McCray, who led Appalachian with five interceptions and broke up nine more passes in 2011. The Mountaineers also return the starter opposite McCray in junior Rodger Walker, who had four interceptions a season ago but is being pushed for the starting role by sophomore Joel Ross. At safety, senior Troy Sanders returns for his third year as a starter. Sanders ranked
SEASON OUTLOOK
DEFENSE AT A GLANCE STARTERS RETURNING: 9 LE Deuce Robinson (6-5, 246, So.) 16 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 QBH, 1 FF RE Ronald Blair (6-4, 271, So.) 40 tackles, 11.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks, 3 QBH, 1 PBU BAN/SLB John Rizor (6-3, 256, Sr.) 65 tackles, 9.0 TFL, 4.0 sacks, 8 QBH, 1 FF MLB Jeremy Kimbrough (5-11, 240, Sr.) 105 tackles, 12.0 TFL, 4 sacks, 1 INT, 4 PBU, 1 FF, 2 FR WLB Brandon Grier (6-2, 232, Sr.) 97 tackles, 10.5 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 INT, 1 FR SS Troy Sanders (6-0, 214, Sr.) 79 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 INT, 3 PBU, 2 QBH, 1 FR FS Patrick Blalock (6-0, 200, Jr.) 14 tackles, 1 PBU, 1 blocked kick LCB Rodger Walker (5-10, 177, Jr.) 26 tackles, 4 INT, 2 PBU, 1 FR RCB Demetrius McCray (6-0, 185, Sr.) 48 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 2 sacks, 5 INT, 9 PBU, 1 FF
All-Americans Jeremy Kimbrough (33) and Demetrius McCray (10) headline a veteran defense that returns nine starters from last season’s stout unit. Aside from an uncharacteristic season-opening rout at ACC-power Virginia Tech, the Mountaineers surrendered just 20 points per game in 2011.