TSUN News/Recruiting

[HineyBuck]

I teach at Appalachian State, and we are all excited about our upcoming opener in the Pig House. So, I thought you might appreciate a preview of tsun's first opponent. As back-to-back National Champions, you might think App State would have suffered heavy losses to graduation. But you would be wrong. This is a veteran squad with a very realistic chance to three-peat. They will give tsun a run for their money. The game is at noon, same time as OSU-YSU. I'll be switching back and forth; I recommend you do too.

OFFENSE

App State will move the ball, and score, multiple times. If tsun's DBs are as suspect as we think, this offense will expose them. We run one of the most innovative no-huddle spread offenses you will want to see.

O-Line is a veteran group returning 4 starters. Into the two-deep we are a bit young, but the youngsters are reported to be very good. We don't use a tight end much, and that's a good thing. It's probably the thinnest position on the offense. You O-Line aficionados will want to pay attention to our blocking schemes. Very creative. It's not exactly zone blocking, but area-based assignments are the key. Major cogs on the O-Line include:

LT--Mario Acitelli (6-2, 275) All So-Con as a true freshman last year, the sky is the limit for this guy.
LG--Kerry Brown (6-6, 310, Sr) A beast. First team All-American last year. Would start at most D-1 schools. Projected as high as 12 among guards in 2008 NFL draft.
C--Scott Suttle (6-0, 260, Sr) A bit undersized. Three-year starter. All So-Con last year.

Wide Receivers. Deepest position group on the team. And it's a good thing because we frequently go five wide. Most of these guys are small, but they've got great speed, great hands, and run great routes. I can't wait to see them match up against tsun's DBs. The headliner is All So-Con speed burner Dexter Jackson. Others to watch for include Josh Johnson, Hans Batichon, TJ Courman, Coco Hillary, and Brian Quick.

RB is Senior All-American Walter Payton Award finalist Kevin Richardson (5-9, 190). He is a workhorse. With another thousand yard season, he will leave as App State?s career rushing leader. He'll remind you of Mike Hart.

QB Armanti Edwards earned All So-Con and All-American honors last year as a true freshman. He will only get better. Skinny little kid (6-0, 175), throws a little bit like a girl (lefty), but he gets the job done. The back-up QB, Trey Elder, is good enough to start for any other team in the So-Con.

DEFENSE

We run a base 4-3. We'll give away a ton of size to tsun, and depth is a concern in the front seven. Our best hope for slowing tsun down is with our scrappy veteran DBs.

D-Line. We lost a lot to graduation here. One returning starter, All So-Con DE Gary Tharrington is a stud. Several others in the mix have good game experience, but have not started. We're all anxious to see LSU transfer Tim Washington at DT.

LBs. Two returning starters here, including All So-Con Senior Pierre Banks. But the one I'm anxious to see is the new kid, Jacque Roman, in the middle. He is reputed to be the best athlete on the entire team. 6-1, 240 with great speed and quickness. Mike Hart--meet Jacque Roman.

DBs. Here is our only real hope of stopping tsun's offense. Four Seniors return, including two-time All-American, and Buck Buchanan Award candidate Corey Lynch at Safety. He is a hitter and a ball hawk. Corners are All So-Con Jerome Touchstone and Justin Woazeah. They are also ball hawks. Both are good cover corners and have the speed to run with Mario Manningham, but at 5-7 and 5-10, they will have their work cut out for them.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Not sure what to expect here, but App State has a reputation for solid special teams play. All So-Con placekicker Julian Rauch has an exceptionally strong leg, and is reliable and experienced enough not to be rattled by the Pig House. He needs 4 points to break Bjorne Nittmo's (remember him?) career scoring record at App State. Not sure whether he will also handle punting duties, as he did much of last year. Our most exciting return man is Dexter Jackson--he can fly.

PREDICTIONS

I'm not going to be foolish enough to predict an App State win. But, our offense will move the ball, and will score, on tsun's defense. I'm just not sure our defense can stop their offense. But, if we can come up with a key turnover or two, this game can be much closer than people expect. A couple of more specific predictions:

Whatever the spread is, App State will beat it.

App State will score multiple times on tsun's starting defense.

Kevin Richardson will equal or better Mike Hart's rushing yards.

App State will get at least one pick (two or more, and look out!)

tOSU fans will enjoy watching App State give tsun fits.

[scarletngray]

"RB is Senior All-American Walter Payton Award finalist Kevin Richardson (5-9, 190). He is a workhorse. With another thousand yard season, he will leave as App State?s career rushing leader. He?ll remind you of Mike Hart."

So you are saying he has a big mouth and doesn't produce in big games?

Here's hoping for an upset...

[Jaxbuck]

RB is Senior All-American Walter Payton Award finalist Kevin Richardson (5-9, 190). He is a workhorse. With another thousand yard season, he will leave as App State?s career rushing leader. He'll remind you of Mike Hart.

No. This reminds me of Hart. I'm sure your RB is a decent kid.

[Zurp]

Originally Posted by HineyBuck

I'll be switching back and forth; I recommend you do too.

I thought both games were on BTN? If you get BTN, do you get to watch both games?

Moot point for me - no BTN.

[Yertle]

Wow, I would love for App State to give Michigan fits. I have my doubts though. My heart tells me Michigan sucks... always has... always will. However, my brain tells me that this is Michigan's year to give the NC game a good run. Sure Henne is not Troy, Mario/Arrington is a notch below Ginn/Gonzo, and I'd even take Pittman over Hart, but their team feels a lot like the 2006 Buckeyes. I think they pull the typical late season collapse, but I think they're more in NC position this preseason than any I can remember.

[Oh8ch]

Wow, I would love for App State to give Michigan fits. I have my doubts though. My heart tells me Michigan sucks... always has... always will.

That's incredible Yertle. I was just over at the Michigan site and there was a post with almost these exact words. Here it is...

Wow, I would love for Youngstown State to give Ohio Stae fits. I have my doubts though. My heart tells me Michigan sucks... always has... always will.

[Taosman]

That's so amazing! I was just over on the State Penn site and a poster said;" We suck! Florida International is gonna give our rebuilt defense fits!" sarcasm

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Big Ten: One last shot at glory for Michigan seniors
Standouts return, still looking for big wins, and ...
Sunday, August 26, 2007 3:57 AM
By Bob Baptist


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Tony Ding | Associated Press
Offensive lineman Jake Long, left, quarterback Chad Henne, center, and running back Mike Hart would like to be smiling at the end of a season.



CHICAGO -- Optimism abounds each summer when, just before preseason camps open, Big Ten coaches and players mix with the media in the Windy City for two days of questions and answers. Everyone has a chance to do well at this point, and the sins of the past are forgotten.
In most cases.
This year, someone asked Michigan coach Lloyd Carr how he planned to avoid having his fourth-year starter at quarterback, Chad Henne, go 0-8 for his career in the last two games of the season. Henne is 0-6 against Ohio State and in bowl games.
Carr swallowed the response he might have been considering and served up a vanilla one instead. The real answer won't be forthcoming for a few months, anyway.
"You go 0-8 against Ohio State and in the bowl games, it's definitely a shocker in your career that you don't expect," Henne said the next day when the question was relayed to him. "But as long as I play my best and do everything I feel I can do in those games, then I'll be satisfied."

Continued.....

[Sportsbuck28]

I wonder if Mike Hart will still have that smirk on his face when Vernon Gholston tears him in half.

[Jaxbuck]

Wasn't someone just trying to tell me Hart wasn't running his mouth? I seem to recall that.

Dickless has given himself a nickname. H2O seems "0-4-3 and counting" was taken.

Seriously, giving yourself a nickname hurls you into the Solja's stratosphere of dickheadedness.

I cannot WAIT to see that [censored] lose again this year.

[jwinslow]

Originally Posted by Jaxbuck

Wasn't someone just trying to tell me Hart wasn't running his mouth? I seem to recall that.

Originally Posted by mlive.com

"He talks all the time," Wolverine safety Jamar Adams said of Hart. "We can't get through a practice without him starting something with his mouth.

Originally Posted by Adams

"He's the only guy I know who makes up his own nickname. I mean, what kind of player makes up his own nickname?"

Originally Posted by Henne

"Yeah, Mike loves to talk, and it can get monotonous at times,"

Yikes. (the excuses made for him later aren't nearly as relevant, imo)

"I'm never going to be a disrespectful-type person, or say any bad comments, any kind of racist comments or anything like that. That's not me at all," Hart said.

ignoring his off-field quote book:

"I've never heard anybody talk more than Mike," All-American tackle Jake Long said. "He makes a good play, and he either gets up and laughs at a defensive player, or he says something to them.

[goblue15]

Originally Posted by HineyBuck

Whatever the spread is, App State will beat it.

App State will score multiple times on tsun's starting defense.

Kevin Richardson will equal or better Mike Hart's rushing yards.

App State will get at least one pick (two or more, and look out!)

tOSU fans will enjoy watching App State give tsun fits.

Sure!

[Oh8ch]

There is a very small part of me that almost (almost) wishes Michigan would win this year. Just so Hart, Henne and Long could run off the field with one finger in the air chanting:

"We're one and three - We're one and three!"

[Jaxbuck]

Originally Posted by goblue15

Sure!

ND Chimps equally lucid blue bretheren.

[Jaxbuck]

Originally Posted by Oh8ch

There is a very small part of me that almost (almost) wishes Michigan would win this year. Just so Hart, Henne and Long could run off the field with one finger in the air chanting:

"We're one and three - We're one and three!"

[censored] that.

I want to see the first fark with Hart wearing a Golden Sombrero. I want to see tears, I want to hear the pain in their voices, I want to hear them answer questions about going 0 for 4 vs tOSU in their careers.

They are only halfway home toward payback for Coop, lots of misery yet to come. Show no mercy, sweep the leg.