Football Season Outlook: Northwestern State
With four consecutive wins coming down the stretch last
season, Northwestern State seemed to have turned the corner under second-year
coach Bradley Dale Peveto.
The Demons stepped onto the field in the season finale
with the opportunity to win a share of the conference championship, and claim a
berth in the NCAA Division I playoffs, by winning. That proved too tall an
order facing top-10 Stephen F. Austin on the road, but there was no masking the
progress made in the second half of 2010 by a young and resilient Northwestern
squad.
Northwestern tied Maryland for the fourth-best improvement
in Division I football last season, winning five more times than in 2009. The
first four of those triumphs were nail-biters, settled in the final minute of
regulation or in (double) overtime. Three of the five wins came on the road,
including a comeback 24-19 victory at nationally ranked Central Arkansas.
That was then, this is now. While past performance is a
prime indicator of future success, it's no guarantee. The Demons face new
challenges in 2011, beginning with an imposing run-up to a wide-open, rugged
Southland season.
But there are many reasons to believe last year was a
turning point, and 2011 will mark the return to championship contention for
Northwestern football. Athlon Sports has already tapped the Demons as the team
to beat in the Southland, based on 59 returning letterwinners, including 16
starters.
The 2011 Demons are young and experienced. There are 23
players who got significant action as true freshmen in each of the last two
seasons. Among those are all-star candidates like junior quarterback Paul
Harris, junior receiver Phillip Harvey, and four of the five starting offensive
linemen sandwiched around savvy senior center Zach Case. Also high on that list
of former fab freshmen are secondary standouts Jamaal White, Brashard Booker
and Cortez Paige, rising junior defensive tackle Quinn Anthony and junior
kicker John Shaughnessy.
Then blend in some accomplished veterans, and the stock
rises even faster.
Junior linebacker Derek Rose not only broke into the
starting lineup last season, he broke onto the national scene with his
bone-rattling hits and his cerebral play. Rose became the first sophomore
All-American at Northwestern since current Buffalo Bills starting cornerback
Terrence McGee earned that distinction as a record-setting return specialist in
2000. With 138 tackles, averaging 13.4 in the final 10 games, Rose bloomed
quickly.
Alongside him is former walkon Yaser Elqutub, a pre-med
major whose nose for the ball on defense and special teams is surpassed only by
his passion for community service and academic achievement. He and senior tight
end Justin Aldredge were FCS Academic All-Stars last fall, both bumping up near
4.0 grade-point averages in demanding fields of study.
Aldredge, senior wide receiver T.C. Henry and sophomore
receiver Louis Hollier head the list of primary targets for Harris, the
fiercely competitive lefty who is on pace to threaten school career records for
passing and total offense. A stable of experienced and explosive running backs
provide balance for the Demons' multiple attack.
Outlook provided by Northwestern State sports information.