PSAC East Division #8: Cheyney Wolves

Head Coach: Anthony Johnson (first year)
Defensive Coordinator:
Offensive Coordinator: Anthony Johnson

Top returning starters: LB Isaiah Fleming , WR Kalif Dandy, QB Adler
Thony

The upside: New head coach Anthony Johnson brings a lot of enthusiasm to field.
The downside: Johnson still has one of the toughest gigs in all of college football.

2013 Stats

Senior LB Isaiah Flemming
Photo Credit: Cheyney Sports Information

Analysis
Three years is about the average life span of a head football coach at Cheyney. It isn't due to lack of effort, desire or performance. It is because quite simply, leading the Wolves' program is one of the toughest jobs in college football. It is an uphill battle to say the least and the challenges are nearly impossible to overcome. The latest to go through the cycle, Ken Lockard, resigned his position in April, just a day before spring practice began. Offensive Coordinator Anthony Johnson has been named interim head coach for the 2014 season.

The good news for Johnson is that this is exactly how Lockard's tenure began as head coach in 2011, and the Wolves managed to come together quickly enough to win his debut against Lincoln.

Defensively, the Wolves gave up a lot of points last year, but at times they were capable of hanging in for longer than opponents would have liked. They do have one of the league's top defensive performers in LB Isaiah Fleming. Fleming led the PSAC in total tackles (144), solo tackles (91) and tackles for loss (21). As he heads into his senior year, Fleming will be on the All America watch list and should be a candidate for PSAC East defensive player of the year. The biggest question mark surrounding the defense is the coaching. Lockard served as his own defensive coordinator so his loss is significant. Johnson should have the opportunity to hire a full time assistant, but given the profile of the program and the unknown status of the coaching staff at season's end, attracting candidates may be tough.

On the plus side of the coaching situation, Johnson's ascent to head coach might help bolster an offense that scored only 10.9 points per game last year. If the Wolves are going to contend, they need to get back to executing the triple option offense more efficiently. Outmanned teams likes Cheyney need to be unconventional and in this era of college football, the triple option is exactly that. To make it work, they need a quarterback who is quick, decisive and tough. They didn't have that last year and production from the ground attack suffered.

Outlook
As with the last couple of years, week one at Lincoln is the best shot to notch a win. If they lose that one, they'll need to catch a team like Clarion, Lock Haven or Millersville on a bad day.