2021 Preseason Predictions

[Argonut]

I guess everybody else will be playing for 2nd.

Far from it. I would rate Valdosta as an A in nearly every category as well, but I'll leave that rating up to Blazer fans who have a better insight into the 2021 team than I do.

[Wide_Right]

[getnastyblazers]

This is a message board, where people post their opinions.....although, I like to see a fan of our little brother arguing we should be number one.

[Shugley]

I would rate Mississippi college higher.

[Superwolfe]

For those who like more meat on the bone, here are my preseason opinions on the 2021 Argos. The 2021 roster is mainly Floridians, but includes players from 12 states, two foreign countries and transfers from 30 different D1, D2 and Community Colleges, including D2 rivals Valdosta State, Florida Tech, Wingate and Indiana (Pa.). I would encourage fans of other teams to do the same so we can all benefit from insider knowledge.

Coaching A+

The Argos return award winning and defending national champion coach Shinnick and replace the OC and WR coaches with OC coach Carlton and WR coach Dickerson, Jr. Carlton was a QB for Shinnick at Azuza Pacific before he became the OC and HC for Azuza prior to the program ending in 2020. He knows how to run a Shinnick offense and should be a seamless fit as an OC. Dickerson has coached at all levels including the development of All-American WR at Ole Miss. Shinnick has known the Dickerson family since his college days at Colorado and Dickerson says the Argo WR room has a lot of talent that he is excited to coach up. The unprecedented road playoff run to the title in 2019 proves that this staff knows how to coach a team deep into the playoffs in all kinds of weather and is arguably the best in D2 at this time.

QB A

The Argos return the GSC passing leader Reed who the coaches and players all say has improved since 2019. Top NFL draft pick Trevor Lawrence also says Reed is a top 5 QB in college regardless of classification after working out with him this summer. The Argos are 5 deep with inexperienced underclassmen and one graduate transfer with experience behind Reed and rate only an A instead of an A+ for this reason.

RB A

The Argos return all of their top producers from the 2019 team that was 8th in yards in the GSC, but 2nd in TDS behind only conference leading Valdosta State. The 8 deep roster includes two seniors who primarily run north/south and 6 scatbacks consisting of D1 transfers, experienced underclassmen and a 3 star 2021 recruit from Alabama. This is the deepest and most talented RB room the Argos have ever possessed and their performance in the spring has the whole team excited about their use in the fall. The heavy emphasis of scatbacks on the roster may reflect a change in play calling from the between the tackles plays of the past to a more explosive variety, which may be why the team is so excited about the RB. OC Carlton ran more of a run heavy offense at Azuza than the Argos have run recently, so that may be another factor in a revamping of the run game at West Florida for 2021.

OL B

The Argos return two preseason all conference OL and a preseason all conference TE for 2021. They have reportedly settled on the replacements for the other 3 OL from their 17 deep roster of recruits and D1 transfers that average 6'3" and 300 lbs. They have been practicing against the biggest and deepest DL in the GSC this past year and have also gone up against the run oriented team of Albany State and FCS Florida A & M in the spring, who list 10 DL over 300 lbs. The fact that the whole team is very excited about the performance of the running backs indicates that the new OL has been performing well and should be ready to go in the fall. This unit rates a B since there are no games to evaluate them accurately at this point of the season.

WR/TE A

The Argos lose 3 of their top 5 producers from 2019, but return a preseason all conference TE and WR and gain a top shelf WR coach, an all conference FCS WR and another D1 TE from West Virginia. The Argos have 13 WR 6'0" or taller and 8 WR 6'2" or taller, which is taller than the 2019 roster. The Argos are two deep with 6'2" or taller WR and only Valdosta State, West Ala. and Delta State can match the Argos height with experienced DB starters and no one can match the Argos two or three deep with height. This advantage will play out in the second half when the fresh rotating Argo WR can outrun and outleap the tired starters of the opposing team or their smurf replacements, especially with the dangerously accurate QB Reed slinging it to them all over the field. The Argos WR unit is arguably better than the 2019 team given the coaching change, the improvement of Reed at QB and the height and experience of the entire roster.

Returners B

The Argos improve their middle of the pack GSC return game with two all conference D1 kick returners from Troy State and Mercer. The Argos tried a number of players at punt returns in 2019 with no one claiming the job outright. The two D1 kick returners immediately improve the return game and the offense's field position, but they did not return punts for their prior teams and we will have to wait for the fall to see who the Argos use for punt returns and the effectiveness of this position.

Kicker/Punter B+

The Argos lose their starting punter and kicker from the 2019 team and replace them with a total of 6 kicker/punters that include experienced returners and D1 and D2 all conference transfers, one of whom ranked #6 in D2 for FG. Two of these kickers are from France and Australia for some international flavor in the kicking game.The Argos were 12-22 on FG in 2019 so there is a lot of room for improvement and the 2021 roster has an excellent chance to improve on those numbers.

DL A+

The Argos lose two starters from the 2019 team, but return multiple starters from the 2019 team including a preseason all conference DE and add multiple D1 transfers on the biggest and deepest DL in the GSC. The Argos list 20 players on the DL with 10 over 300 lbs. and 17 over 270 lbs. The bigger, deeper and turnover forcing DL of the 2019 team was a major factor in their championship run and the 2021 team is deeper and bigger than the 2019 team. The DL is a major strength of the 2021 team and rates the highest grade on the D.

LB B+

The Argos lose all conference player and defensive leader Duncome to graduation, but return preseason all conference nickel Archie and freshman sensation Laurent who took over Duncome's position when he was injured during the 2019 season. They also pick up multiple D1 transfers, including Shea Cambell from West Virginia who has taken over Duncome's defensive leader role on the D. The Argos return 8 players from the 2019 team and pick up 9 players by transfer or as freshmen and one of the transfers is a graduate transfer from Valdosta State, Stephon Williams. The improved play of the linebackers is one of the reasons why the players say the 2021 defense is better than the 2019 team.

DB A

The secondary is another strength of the Argos and also why the players believe the 2021 defense is better than the 2019 team. They return three preseason all conference players and only lose one player to graduation. The roster is a mix of experienced players that outnumber the new freshmen (11-8) and also includes a couple of experienced D1 transfers new to the team. This group practices against the best passing offense in the GSC and can only get better with more playing time.


Conclusion

It can be argued that the 2021 team is better than the 2019 team given the same and improved coaching and improvements on every unit of the team. The preseason polls reflect this opinion with the Argos picked first in the GSC coaches poll and first or second in the national D2 polls. The early schedule is brutal with away games against FSC McNeese State and Texas A & M Commerce and how the team performs in these two early games could set the tone for the rest of the season. A more exciting and explosive running game is the most interesting change in the team and I'm hoping the fans are allowed to attend the games to cheer on the teams in person. GOOO ARRRGGGOOOSSS!!!!!!

[Turbonium]

Who hurt you? Holy balls.

[Superwolfe]

This is a message board, where people post their opinions.....although, I like to see a fan of our little brother arguing we should be number one.

[boyblue]

Don't know that they're wrong, Argo fans are fanatic because of their amazing success in such a short time. West Georgia was on a similar trajectory but West Florida stole their mojo. It's almost funny seeing wolves fans being the adults in the room, I love it!

[Argonut]

I don't know the back story of why Coach Dean left Valdosta for West Georgia or have any insider contacts with the program, but I can offer an outsider fan's perspective on the 2021 Wolves. Coach Dean said in interviews that the team is very young and needs to do well early to build confidence and have a good season. He is right about the youth factor- the Wolves have 67 freshmen out of 131 total players. I have listed their roster makeup below with West Florida for comparison.

West Georgia (Total 131) West Florida (120 Total)

Freshmen 67 45
Soph. 27 24
Juniors 17 24
Seniors 20 27


Coaching A-

Coach Dean returns for 2021 with a staff that appears to have been completely replaced since 2019 according to the coaches bios. I don't know if that is good or bad in terms of continuity or stability, but they have had the suspended Covid year to work out any kinks. You have to give the benefit of the doubt to a coach who has won conference, regional and national titles, but it's been a decade since coach Dean has won a title and his seat may be getting a little warm if there is no significant improvement this year.

QB B

The Wolves list 8 QB on the roster that includes 3 freshmen, 3 sophomores and 2 juniors with varying degrees of experience. Their top QB of 2019 graduated and the coach says returner Bass and freshman Whitlock are battling it out for the starting job. Both looked good in the 2021 spring game and they have a FCS junior with experience backing them up. They should finish in the top half of the GSC in passing provided the the young OL can protect them; otherwise, they may need the whole depth chart to make it through the season.

OL D

The OL returns 2 starters and lists 18 freshmen out of 24 total players on the roster, by far the youngest collection of freshmen on any unit of the team. In 2019 it took half the season for the Wolves to settle on a starting 5 and they did well against weaker teams, but not so good against stronger teams, giving up 31 sacks (worst in GSC) and not breaking 100 yards rushing in 5 games. Coach Dean admits they will have to play younger players on the OL and that means freshmen. The Wolves OL roster has size, but lacks experience and constitutes the weak link on the offense.

RB B+

The Wolves lose their top 2 RB to graduation, but return highly regarded Royalston from injury and pick up a top transfer, Jordan, who had big games for Lenior-Rhyne, including 114 yrds. against West Florida in the regional final. They are 10 deep with a wide variety of size, including a couple of big FB, and most have game experience. Caoch Dean is very excited about Royalston and this group will probably have to create their own yards early on given the youth of the OL. The Wolves running game finished in the middle of the GSC in 2019 and will need the OL to grow up quick to improve on those numbers.

WR/TE B+

The Wolves have a deep roster of receivers with 6 TE and 23 WR of varying experience. The TE include a couple of transfers that have minimal catches, which is more than the returners. the WR group includes experienced returners and 6 experienced D1 transfers. One of the top WR from 2019, Perry, is out with a broken leg and won't be full speed until September. Coach Dean is high on Memphis transfer Slade, who he says is fast and dynamic and that they will get the ball to him as much as possible. The Wolves have a full cupboard of talent, speed, size and experience at WR and should be able to improve upon the 16 receiving TD of 2019 if the QB have time to throw.

K/P B

The Wolves list a freshman and two experienced and competent returners who handle all of the kicking and punting. In 2019 they were above average int he GSC in kickoffs and placekicking and below average in punting. the only real change in the kicking game would be the risk that the freshmen OL give up a block or two on special teams before they gain experience.

Returns B-

The Wolves were bottom of the GSC in 2019 in kick and punt returns and their best returner, Perry, is out with a broken leg until September. They will have to rely on the lightly used Harrison or find an unknown newcomer until Perry returns to full speed.

DL D

The 2021 Wolves DL averages 243 lbs. compared to the 2019 team that averaged 256 lbs. The 2019 finished next tot he bottom of the GSC in sacks (12) and rushing yards allowed (194/gm.) and if weight is any indicator the Wolves are in deep trouble for 2021. Most OL in the GSC average 300 lbs. and I hope for the Wolves sake that the listed roster weights are misprints. The top player mentioned by coach Dean, Gardenhire, lists at 210 lbs. and it's hard to see much improvement at DL with half the roster of 17 players being lightweight freshmen.

LB C-

The Wolves return one starter with significant playing time, Parker, on a roster of 16 that has typical GSC size and includes 11 freshmen. The players that were listed in the GSC top 25 for defensive stats are gone with the exception of one and its doubtful that one returning senior can lift up a unit of inexperienced freshmen to above average play against top offenses in the GSC. The state of the LB can be summed up by coach Dean only mentioning a redshirt freshmen as the highlight of the unit.

DB B+

The 2019 Wolves were third in the GSC in interceptions and return two of their top pickpockets for 2021. They also return four players that produced significant numbers of tackles and big plays. The 21 man roster is full of freshmen (9), but this youth is balanced out with experienced sophomores (6) and seniors (6). This by far the most experienced and productive group on the defense and coach Dean rightly mentions Latimer and Miller as the top returning players.

Conclusion

The Wolves have competent QB and topshelf RB and WR to make plays, but the inexperience and lack of size in the trenches could hamper their explosiveness on offense and the ability to stop the run on defense. Coach Dean is right when he says they are a young team that needs early success to gain confidence and to have a good season. They have a tough opener on the road against the veer option team of Carson-Newman and its probably a good thing that it's first since they can work on defending it a little more in fall practice. They host Morehouse and Delta State before taking a short road trip to Shorter in game four, so they have a good chance to get off to a good start with this schedule. How the young lines play will probably determine their season.

[Rational Observer]

I don't know the back story of why Coach Dean left Valdosta for West Georgia

He didn't. He left VSU to be the offensive coordinator at Georgia Southern and was fired after one season. That coincided with the opening at UWG. He had been an assistant at both UWG and VSU prior to being named the HC at VSU.

There is no bad blood, and he didn't quit one in favor of the other. He was not on the hot seat at VSU.

[getnastyblazers]

I don't know the back story of why Coach Dean left Valdosta for West Georgia

Nobody would leave VSU for UWG.

[Wide_Right]

If I remember correctly, the VSU high school football coach also left to join Georgia Southern. What a ClusterF...

[boyblue]

If I remember correctly, the VSU high school football coach also left to join Georgia Southern. What a ClusterF...

Yea, Coach Dean deserved better

[getnastyblazers]

If I remember correctly, the VSU high school football coach also left to join Georgia Southern. What a ClusterF...

There is a history of GSU luring our coaches away. That is where Hatcher went for Dean to take over if I remember correctly.

[Rational Observer]

If I remember correctly, the VSU high school football coach also left to join Georgia Southern. What a ClusterF...

Rance Gillespie was the HC at Peach County HS when both he and Coach Dean were hired by Chris Hatcher at Georgia Southern.

Gillespie was the HC at VHS from 2010-2015 at which time he was hired at Georgia Southern again and is still there.