2014 Southland Conference Football Media Guide (PDF)
2014 Southeastern Louisiana Football Media Guide
Southeastern Louisiana
STORYLINES
• Southeastern returns 15 starters from last season’s Southland Conference championship squad, which rolled through Southland Conference play with a 7-0 record and finished No. 6 in the final FCS Coaches and Sports Network national polls.
• The Lions have been picked No. 3 in the national polls by Athlon Sports and are overwhelming favorites in the Southland Conference coaches’ and sports information directors’ preseason polls.
• Southeastern is coming off its first-ever Southland Conference championship and its first conference title of any kind since 1961.
• The Lions won a single-season school record 11 games, finishing with an 11-3 record and as the No. 4 national seed, they advanced to the FCS quarterfinals in its first-ever NCAA playoff berth.
• Southeastern Louisiana head coach Ron Roberts has turned the Lion program around in his first two seasons. In 2013, he was named Southland Conference, Louisiana and AFCA Region 5 Coach of the Year.
OFFENSE
• The Southeastern offense is headed by Southland Conference Player of the Year, Louisiana Offensive Player and Newcomer of the Year Bryan Bennett. In his first season with the Lions, the Oregon transfer threw for 3,165 yards and 21 touchdowns, while also rushing for a team-high 1,046 yards and a single-season school record 16 touchdowns.
• Including Bennett, Southeastern returns its top 10 rushers from last season. The junior running back quartet of Rasheed Harrell (640 yards, 8 rushing touchdowns in 2013), Xavier Roberson (538-6 TD), Kody Sutton (391-6 TD) and Darius Guy (224-2 TD) team with Bennett to provide Southeastern with a potent rushing attack
• Jeff Smiley, who led the team with 57 catches for 744 yards to go with six receiving touchdowns in 2014, is the top returning receiver for SLU. Seniors Isaiah Kepley and Devante Scott are poised for breakout years. The receiving corps will be buoyed by the addition of Roberson, who will split time between slot receiver and running back.
• On the offensive line, SLU returns starters Joe Graves, D.J. Williams and Jonathan Braddock. USM transfer Aaron Reed heads into fall camp with the inside track to replacing three-time All-Southland performer Gasten Gabriel at left tackle, while the offensive line corps will be bolstered by Josue Miranda, who missed the majority of 2013 with an injury.
DEFENSE
• Southeastern returns six starters from a defense that led the Southland Conference in scoring and total defense in 2013.
• The deepest position on either side of the ball for SLU is the secondary. All-Southland Conference performers Harlan Miller, Tyler Stoddard and Marice Sutton all return. The back end will be bolstered by an influx of new talent including transfers Micah Eugene (LSU), Jordan Batiste (Tulane), JQ Sandolph (LSU), Derrick Raymond (LSU) and Dequan Reddick (New Mexico Military Institute).
• All three starters in the linebacker corps are members of the preseason All-Southland Conference teams. Senior Isiah Corbett led the team in tackles for loss, while Drew Misita is the team’s top returning tackler. Kaleb Muse bolsters the group after missing the majority of 2013 with an injury.
• Preseason first team All-Southland Conference defensive end Jacob Newman, who shared the team lead with Corbett with seven sacks in 2013, highlights the defensive line group. Marquel Combs, who transferred in from Kansas midway through last season, and A.J. Bowen are both poised for breakout seasons
SPECIAL TEAMS
• The star of the Southeastern special teams is junior kick returner Xavier Roberson, who was a consensus All-American and named CFPA Kick Returner of the Year. The Atlanta native led the nation with 35.2 yards per kickoff return and three kickoff return touchdowns as a sophomore – both single-season Southland Conference records.
• Senior Devante Scott is expected to step up as the team’s punt returner. In his only punt return of 2014, he broke off a 41-yard return in the FCS quarterfinals versus New Hampshire.
• Southeastern will be breaking in a new place-kicker in place of 2013 starter Seth Sebastian, a consensus All-American and the school’s career leading scorer. Ryan Adams, who handled kickoffs each of the last two seasons, will step up to replace Sebastian.
• Southeastern will also have a new punter, after All-Southland Conference selection Matt McCormick completed his eligibility in 2013. Junior Tim Callian is the favorite to take over the punting duties come the fall.