Furman Returns Home To Face Elon

WHO: Elon (1-4, 0-1 SoCon) at Furman (2-2, 1-0 SoCon)

WHERE: Paladin Stadium (16,000), Greenville, S.C.

WHEN: Oct. 5, 2013, 1:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN3

GREENVILLE, S.C.–Coming off a 24-17 win at The Citadel last Saturday night in Charleston, the Furman Paladins return to the friendly confines of Paladin Stadium to face Elon for the final time as Southern Conference opposition, as the Phoenix get ready to move on to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) next season.

It’s often funny how perspective provides a different view of things. For Furman, losses to Gardner-Webb and Coastal Carolina to open the season had many who follow the program questioning everything the play-calling to the recruiting.

There was even a sour tone to the 21-20 win over Presbyterian in the home opener, mostly because the Paladins to block a field goal to defeat an opponent that Furman fans had seen prior teams dominate in recent decades.

However, the 2013 season is not based on previous seasons, or how this season’s opponents had been dominated by prior Furman teams.

The fact is, the Football Championship Subdivision is one much less predictable on a season-by-season basis than the Football Bowl Subdivision. It is also becoming clear that a league like the SoCon, which is used being dominant against most league’s, namely the Big South, is having take a big dose of humble pie this season, as the SoCon has lost six of seven meetings against a league many have taken for granted as being inferior.

However, it is a down year in the SoCon and it is a very strong year in the Big South, and the fact remains that the Paladins still hold the only win against the league in seven meetings this season. Furman had a very young team coming into the season, and it is becoming clear that it’s schedule is becoming stronger as the season progresses, especially with Gardner-Webb and Coastal Carolina looking better with each win.

Gardner-Webb has gotten wins over a pair of ranked foes, beating both No. 13 Richmond (12-10) and No. 9 Wofford (3-0). Coastal Carolina has gotten wins over No. 24 Eastern Kentucky (50-31), as well as blowing out Elon last week.

The Paladins grew up a lot last Saturday night in their win at Johnson-Hagood Stadium against the Paladins’ arch-rival. Elon is a team that has proven to be a thorn in the side of the Paladins in recent seasons, and the 42-31 win by the Phoenix the last time it visited the facility in 2011 is a loss that still stings many Furman fans. It was a loss that likely kept the Paladins out of the FCS postseason in Fowler’s first season at the helm.

On Saturday, Furman and Elon will be meeting for the 17th time in series history, with the Paladins holding an 11-5 all-time series edge. Elon has won two-straight games inside he confines of Paladin Stadium, with the aforementioned win in 2011, while posting a 19-12 win over the Paladins in a thriller in 2009.

Last season, Furman went to Elon and put a beating on the Phoenix in front its home crowd, posting a 30-17 win at Rhodes Stadium. The Paladins were simply against Elon last season, as the Paladins out-gained Elon, 367-363, in that game. Furman was effective in getting to the quarterback in the meeting with the Phoenix last season, posting seven sacks in the win.

The Phoenix come into Saturday’s matchup having struggled through the early portion of the 2013 schedule, having posted a 1-4 overall record through the first five weeks of the season, including already having played a Southern Conference game, dropping a 31-21 decision to Appalachian State in its Southern Conference opener.

Elon comes to Greenville off a 53-28 home loss to Coastal Carolina, which saw the game relatively close at the half, with the Chanticleers holding a 32-28 lead at the half. The Paladins and Phoenix, of course, hold that same opponent in common, with the Paladins having lost 35-28 at Coastal earlier in the season, which is starting to look like a solid result.

In just doing a quick opponent comparison, the Paladins were able to roll up a 431-375 advantage in total offensive yards, while holding a 240-130 advantage in rushing yards. The Phoenix were out-gained 652-333 in the loss to the Chanticleers at Rhodes Stadium, while the Chanticleers held a 355-231 advantage in rushing yards.

Though it isn’t the rivalry that Furman enjoys with other Southern Conference programs, the 16 previous meetings have produced some thrilling finishes. Many still recall the 2007 and ‘09 meetings, with Elon bringing highly-ranked teams into both the ‘07 and ‘09 matchups at Paladin Stadium.

In 1999, the Phoenix came to Greenville and posted a 24-22 win over the Paladins, and many who follow the Furman football program had the same reaction to that loss as many have had to the loss to Gardner-Webb to open the campaign.

The Paladins still have everything in front of them though, in what appears to be a Southern Conference race shaping up to be one of the wilder ones in recent memory. That’s why it will be important for the Paladins to defend their home turf this season.

Both head coaches came on the job at their respective institutions prior to the 2011 season, with Furman’s Bruce Fowler having an 11-15 record in his third season, while Elon’s Jason Swepson has posted a 9-18 mark in his third season at the helm.

In addition to the losses to Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State, the Phoenix have also dropped games to North Carolina A&T (23-10) and Georgia Tech (70-0). The lone win for Elon this season came against a non-Division I, when the Phoenix were 49-7 victors over West Virginia Wesleyan.

Elon won just one Southern Conference last season over Western Carolina (42-31), and have posted a six-straight games to Southern Conference foes since that win over the Catamounts last season. The Phoenix were picked to finish seventh out of eight teams in the preseason Southern Conference coaches and media polls.

Previewing The Game:

Furman will host Elon in a key Southern Conference game at Paladin Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with kickoff at Paladin Stadium slated for 1:30 p.m.
The Furman Paladins will be looking to start off with a 2-0 record in the Southern Conference for the first time since the 2009 campaign, and for the first time in the Bruce Fowler era.

Elon will be looking to win its third-straight game inside Paladin Stadium, having claimed wins in 2009 and ‘11 inside the facility. The only other Southern Conference member to claim three-straight wins at Paladin Stadium is Georgia Southern, winning in 2008, ‘10 and ‘12.

Looking At The Elon Offense:

In the lead up to Elon’s first Southern Conferene game a couple of weeks ago against Appalachian State, Elon beat writer Adam Smith was asked an interesting question by Appalachian State play-by-play announcer David Jackson, which was something of the effect of who is this year’s Aaron Mellette or Terrell Hudgins, which was an interesting question.

Over the past few years, Elon has turned out some of the FCS’ top talents on the offensive side of the ball, including quarterback Scott Riddle in that mix as well. Smith’s response to that questiond was “Elon don’t have a player like that in 2013, but they do have some explosive talents.”

For an offense that has led the Southern Conference in passing offense each of the past seven seasons, Elon has made a dedication to the ground game this season. The Phoenix comes into the contest averaging 157.8 YPG on the ground, ranking fifth in the Southern Conference in rushing offense this season, which is one place higher than the Paladins rank in that same category.

Nationally speaking, Elon enters Saturday afternoon’s game against the Paladins ranking 58th nationally in total offense (380.2 YPG), 83rd in scoring offense (21.8 PPG), 48th in passing offense (222.4 YPG) and 68th in rushing offense (157.8 YPG).

Furman will find the Elon to be much more balanced this season, and in many ways, a more versatile offense, despite no longer having the services of a player the caliber of past greats such as Riddle, Hudgins or Mellette.

One of the biggest problems Elon encountered last season was its ability to protect Thomas Wilson, who was sacked a league high 31 times last season. This season, the line is doing a better job of protecting the quarterback with the improved ground game, ranking third in the league in sacks surrendered so far this season, with only five sacks given up through the first five games.

Leading that Elon attack into Saturday afternoon’s contest against the Paladin defense will be Mike Quinn (112-of-177 passing, 1,032 yards, 8 TDs, 4 INTs), who has stepped into the starting job and done a good job of leading the Phoenix offense this season, and in some respects, a better job of taking over and leading the Maroon and Gold offense than Thomas Wilson.

Quinn ranks second in the SoCon in passing yards coming into Saturday afternoon’s contest, which is only behind Samford’s Andy Summerlin. He might not have an option as good as Mellette to throw to this season, but collectively, Elon once again has one of the top receiving units in the SoCon again this season.

Leading the receiving corps this season has been Kierre Brown (20 rec, 131 yds, 1 TD, 6.5 YPC), who entered the 2013 season as one of the SoCon’s most-dangerous threats. But Brown has been the marked man of this receiving corps early on this season, and he is a threat opponents are keenly aware of.

That has allowed others to get into the act catching the football, such as Rashaun Rorie (24 rec, 281 yds, 2 TDs, 11.7 YPR) and Justin Osborne (15 rec, 173 yds, 11.5 YPR). All three are athletic and have game-breaking speed, with Brown still being the biggest deep threat for the Phoenix, although Rorie has exhibited good speed through the first five games.

Andre Davis (11 rec, 111 yds, 1 TD, 10.1 YPR), who has started the first five games for the Phoenix, and tight end Doug Warrick (11 rec, 82 yds, 1 TD, 7.5 YPR), round out a talented, deep list of receiving options heading into Saturday’s SoCon showdown at Paladin Stadium.

Rorie has been to the go-to-option so far this season for Elon, despite Brown coming into the campaign with all the accolades. His 281 receiving yards this season already have exceeded his previous career-high for a season, which was previously 256 receiving yards in 2012. Brown had a pretty significant impact in Elon’s loss to Furman last season, hauling in four passes for 54 yards.

The biggest improvement so far this season for Elon, however, has been the ground game. Leading the way this season for the Phoenix has been redshirt freshman B.J. Bennett (54 rush att, 252 yds, 4 TDs). Bennett is nephew of former University of South Carolina standout running back Brandon Bennett, who starred for the Gamecocks at running back in the mid 1990’s, finishing his career as the school’s second all-time leading rusher behind only Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers. Bennett was a running back that was recruited by Furman, but the Lexington High School product chose Elon.

The 6-0, 209-pound running back gives the Phoenix a legitimate between-the-tackles runner, which Elon really lacked last season with somewhat undersized backs. Bennett enjoyed his best game against Appalachian State in the Phoenix’s SoCon opener, as he rushed for 86 yards and a score in the 10-point, 31-21, loss. Bennett also has 11 catches for 55 yards and a score this season.

Bennett is just one of three options Elon will have at its disposal on Saturday, with both Karl Bostick (51 rush att, 169 yds, 2 TDs) and Tracey Coppedge (46 rush att, 227 yds, 1 TD, 4.9 YPC) also figuring into the mix in the ground game. Both Coppedge and Bostick are more of the scat-back type running backs–diminutive but extremely fast.

Bostick, who transferred into Elon from Akron prior to the 2012 season, is in his second season in the program, and the junior running back rushed for 349 yards and a pair of scores last season, ranking second among the Phoenix in rushing in 2012.

The 2012 leading rusher was Tracey Coppedge (46 rush att, 227 yds, 1 TD, 4.9 YPC), who is once again off to a strong start in 2013, posting the only 100-yard rushing perfomance of the season for the Phoenix, posting 105 rushing yards and a TD against West Virginia Wesleyan in the lone win of the season for Elon. Coppedge rushed for a team-best 432 yards and a pair of scores on 106 attempts last season. Bostick and Coppedge led the Elon rushing efforts against Furman last season, with 45 and 44 rushing yards, respectively.  The most improved aspect of the Elon offense in 2013 is its offensive line, which brought back three starters from last season’s unit.

Left tackle Austin Sowell and (C) Clay Johnson are the best of the bunch up front for Elon, with both possessing all-league talent at their respective positions. Gordon Acha will start at right tackle, while Dennis Wagner (RG) and Thomas McGuire (LG) return at the respective guard spots. Wagner joins Johnson as the lone two senior starters up front for the Phoenix.

Looking At The Furman Defense:

One of the real surprises so far in 2013 has been the play of Furman on the defensive side of the football, especially for such a young unit. The Paladins limited the Bulldogs to just 132 yards on the ground in the road win last week at The Citadel.

The Paladins come into Saturday afternoon’s contest against the Phoenix ranking 36th nationally in total defense (352.0 YPG), 41st in rush defense (140.8 YPG), 43rd in scoring defense (25.0 PPG) and 55th in pass defense (211.3 YPG).

The Paladins have gotten excellent play out of their front seven so far this season, yet the Paladins have one of the youngest contingents along the front seven in the Southern Conference.

Most of those who have seen the Paladins play this season on the defensive side of the football have been especially been impressed by how well the Paladins have played at linebacker so far this season. One of those linebackers, T.J. Warren (10 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1.0 sack), is coming off a week which saw him garner Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Warren played in the middle of the Paladin 4-2-5 defensive scheme, as he was filling in for an injured Cory Magwood (35 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1 FF), who should return to the lineup in the middle of the Furman defense this Saturday against the Phoenix.

Whoever the Paladins go with in the middle of the defense, both have been extremely effective and physical this season, and Warren was seemingly in The Citadel’s backfield on every play last weekend. Warren finished the contest against The Citadel posting seven solo stops, which included three tackles-for-loss and a sack in the 24-17 road win.

Another physical performer in that Furman linebacking corps that the Phoenix will see on Saturday afternoon will be Carl Rider (38 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 2 PBUs, 1 FF, 1 FR), who comes into Saturday afternoon’s contest ranking second on the team in tackles and ranks seventh in the SoCon among the league’s leading tacklers.

The Paladins have been affected up front a little bit by injury, with senior defensive end Shawn Boone having gone down for the season with a knee injury in practice a couple of weeks ago. As a result of that injury, the Paladins have had to adjust positionally along the defensive line.

As a result, Ira McCune (39 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks) has moved from defensive tackle to defensive end, while preseason All-SoCon selection Gary Wilkins (11 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 FF) will start at the other defensive end position.

McCune played a key role in the win at The Citadel on Saturday, as he chased down Vinny Miller on a long pass play, which proved vital, as the Furman defense was able to hold the Bulldogs to a field goal and kept them out of the end zone.

The Paladins have a tough, physical defensive line. Wilkins led the Paladin defense last season, posting 92 tackles on the season. Wilkins, who played linebacker last season, played some defensive end against the Phoenix last season, and put forth a solid effort by posting 10 tackles and a pair of sacks to lead the Furman defense.

The two defensive interior positions for the Paladins will be occupied by both John Mackey (15 tackles, 3.0 TFL) and Jordan Hawkins (6 tackles, 0.5 TFL), who are both in their first seasons as starters along the Paladins’ defensive front. Hawkins and Mackey are two new starters along the defensive interior for the Paladins, replacing both Neal Rogers and Colton Keig at the respective interior positions. Hawkins is a true freshman, who was called into action as a starter when Boone went down with injury.

Both Hawkins and Mackey have put together solid seasons so far, with Hawkins slated to make his third start of the 2013 season. Both are a bit undersized, but what the duo lacks in size, they make up for in athleticism.

Set to start at the nickel once again in the Furman 4-2-5 defensive alignment will be Jairus Hollman (26 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 INT, 1 blkd kick), who has had a strong start to the 2013 season in this his first as a starter as a part of the Paladin defense.

Hollman is an excellent athlete and is good at coming up and making plays against the run, as well as dropping into pass coverage. It was Hollman’s blocked field goal with 18 seconds remaining that allowed the Paladins to escape with a 21-20 win over the Blue Hose.

The Paladins are also extremely talented at the two safety positions coming into Saturday afternoon’s contest, with Greg Worthy (42 tackles, 1.0 corTFL, 1 FF) starring at the strong safety position, and Marcus McMorris (25 tackles, 1 INT) starting at the free safety.

Both Worthy and McMorris are extremely physical performers in the Paladins’ defense, and like Hollman, are good in pass coverage, as well as coming up and making plays against the run, as both did on Saturday night in Charleston. Worthy leads the Paladins and ranks sixth in the Southern Conference in tackles this season.

Worthy comes into Saturday night’s contest having made 30-consecutive starts as a part of the Furman defense, posting a career-high 14 tackles in the 21-20 win over PC. Worthy’s 251-career tackles are more than any player on the Paladins’ defense coming into Saturday’s showdown with Elon.

Rounding out the starters in the Furman secondary on Saturday against the Phoenix will be cornerbacks Reggie Thomas (16 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 1 INT) and Austin Williams (20 tackles, 1 FR, 1 PBU). Like Worthy and McMorris, the duo of Thomas and Williams were busy against The Citadel making plays in the Bulldogs’ backfield.

Thomas perhaps the biggest play of the night, stepping in front of a Aaron Miller pass to intercept the pass. The interception not only ended a Citadel drive, it also set up the Paladins on the game-winning drive. Thomas comes into Saturday night’s contest with four career INTs.

The Furman defense has obviously made the kind of strides that has allowed them to be at least relavant in the Southern Conference this season, and continued improvement could even see the Paladins competing for even more than expected in 2013.

Looking At The Elon Defense:

Elon comes into Saturday afternoon’s contest against the Paladins with a pretty veteran unit, but have struggled so far in 2013.  Coming into Saturday afternoon’s game against the Paladins, the Phoenix rank 115th nationally in total defense (518.2 YPG), 97th in scoring defense (36.8 PPG), 104th in rush defense (241.8 YPG) and 108th in pass defense (276.4 YPG). Elon has two sacks this season, which ranks last in the Southern Conference. In all, the Phoenix entered the season with nine returning starters on the defensive side of the football.

The Phoenix defense has given up 70 and 53 points in a pair of their losses so far the season, and have had trouble stopping the run in particular. The Phoenix will utilize a 4-3 defensive alignment, and have a pair of veteran defensive ends, in seniors Jordan Jones (20 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1 PBU) and Jay Brown (7 tackles, 1.0 sack).

Both Jones and Brown are the lynchpins of the defensive line coming into the 2013 season, as the duo came off 2012 seasons, which each produced 38 tackles apiece. Both veterans have performed well and have proven to be key components of the Phoenix defense this Saturday, and will need to get pressure on whoever is under center for the Paladins on Saturday. Both of Elon’s sacks came in the 31-21 loss to Appalachian State the last time out in conference play, with Brown recording one of the two sacks for the Phoenix.

The two starters on the defensive interior on Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium will be Dustin Ruff (15 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 3 QBH) and Chris Jones (10 tackles, 1.5 TFL), who give the Phoenix excellent size on the defensive interior, weighing in at 302 and 282, respectively.

Jones will be getting his fourth-straight start on the defensive interior for the Maroon and Gold on Saturday, and he was talented enough to be used in eight games as a true freshman last season. It will be interesting to see how the Phoenix match up inside against the veteran Paladin offensive front, who recently got back Eric Thoni at the center position last Saturday.

Jones is coming off what was the best game of his career last Saturday in the 53-28 loss to Coastal Carolina, posting six tackles in the loss. Ruff recorded his career-best performance in the 10-point loss to Appalachian State a week earlier, posting five stops against the Mountaineers.

Rob Sullivan (8 tackles, 1.0 sack, 1 FF) and Gary Coates (12 tackles, 0.5 TFL) are talented,  backup defensive ends, and will also be a vital part of the Phoenix defensive line rotation on Saturday afternoon, and it’s Sullivan that has the only other sack on the season for Elon.

Like Brown, Sullivan recorded the team’s only other quarterback tackle behind the line of scrimmage in the loss to Appalachian State. Coates is one of the best athletes on the defensive side of the, as and serves as one of the backups at defensive end for Elon. He also leads the club with 2.5 TFL so far this season. Coates is one of the best athletes on the defensive side of the, and leads the club with 2.5 TFL so far this season.

One of the more experienced aspects of the Elon defense heading into Saturday will be the linebacking corps, which is anchored by the junior trio of Jonathan Spain (35 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 1 INT), Alexander Dawson (29 tackles, 1.0 TFL) and Odell Benton (24 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 FR).

Spain is the lynchpin of the Elon defense, and he will start at middle linebacker, while Dawson and Benton will flank him on each side. Spain was a second-team All-SoCon selection last season for the Maroon and Gold, tying with Blake Thompson for the team lead in tackles against Furman a year ago, posting 11 stops.

Spain had one of those rare breakout performances for Elon last season when he put up Chad Nkang-like numbers in a loss to Samford, finishing the game with a career-high 20 tackles.

Despite having a veteran secondary, Elon has struggled giving up the big play at times early on this season, but will look to try and change that trend on Saturday against the Paladins. The good news is, with the entire defensive backfield returning, the Phoenix have veteran performers who will be looking rite the ship on Saturday, and despite the result, should be able to do so, as the Paladins aren’t a team looking to put the ball up all too often.

The leader of the defensive backfield for the Phoenix is free safety Chandler Wrightenberry (23 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 2 PBU), who is an all-conference caliber safety, and is physical, as well as being athletic enough to drop into pass coverage if called upon to do so. Wrightenberry has been a starter in the Elon secondary since his sophomore season, and will team with sophomore strong safety Julius Moore (27 tackles, 2 FR, 1 PBU). Moore was sensational in the 23-10 loss to North Carolina A&T, recording a team-leading 11 stops.

A pair of seniors round out the starting quartet for Elon in the secondary, with Ed Burns (17 tackles, 1 INT) and David Wood (25 tackles, 0.5 TFL). Burns has appeared  in 25 games in his career for the Phoenix, while Wood has started 16-straight games for the Phoenix. Wood is in his third season with the football team, having also played baseball for the Phoenix for two seasons.

Looking At The Furman Offense:

Furman’s offense has struggled at times this season, but showed plenty of consistency in last Saturday’s win at The Citadel. The Paladins come into Saturday afternoon’s contest against the Phoenix ranking 106th nationally in total offense (296.3 YPG), 105th in passing offense (148.4 YPG), and 76th in rushing offense (148.0 YPG).

Injuries have certainly factored in on the offensive side of the football over the past couple of weeks, including the quarterback position, as Reese Hannon (40-for-68 passing, 409 yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT) remains questionable for Saturday’s contest against the Phoenix having suffered two separate injuries in last Saturday’s win at The Citadel.

If Hannon is not available for action against Elon on Saturday, the quarterback duties will belong to true freshman Duncan Fletcher (3-for-3 passing, 61 yds) and sophomore Terry Robinson (19 rush att, 87 yds, 3 TDs, 4.6 YPC), who will operate out of the ‘wildcat’ offense. Fletcher was thrust into the Paladins’ starting lineup last week against The Citadel, and he entered the season as a walk-on and was likely expecting to redshirt, however, fate would put Fletcher right in the mix under center, and he stepped in and made some absolutely vital throws for the Paladins, leading the Paladins on the game-winning drive in the 24-17 win.

Fletcher’s 43-yard completion to wideout Gary Robinson in the fourth quarter helped set up the game-winning score. Fletcher completed all three pass attempts, along with rushing four times for 19 yards in helping the Paladins hold on for the big win. Furman lost backup quarterback Dillon Woodruff to a season-ending injury suffered in the season-opening loss at Gardner-Webb.

Robinson was once again effective in the wildcat offense last weekend for the Paladins, scoring Furman’s first TD in the game, and finished the night with 46 rushing yards and a pair of scores in his role under center last Saturday night for the Paladins.

Hank McCloud (67 rush att, 337 yds, 3 TDs, 5.0 YPC) has been the top option in the Furman backfield this season, and he put in a solid night of work in the Paladins’ win over The Citadel, posting 77 yards on 16 carries. McCloud had back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances against Coastal Carolina and PC earlier this season, rushing for a career-high 133 yards and a TD in the loss at Coastal Carolina.

Joining McCloud as viable options in the Paladin ground game are Tanner Skogen (4 att, 25 yds, 1 TD), Ernie Cain (6 rush att, 14 yds, 2.3 YPC / 3 rec, 18 yds, 6.0 YPR) and talented freshman Marcus Anderson (23 rush att, 117 yds, 5.1 YPC ). Anderson missed the game with The Citadel with an injury, which left the door open for Skogen to see some action in the Paladin offense, and he responded with a strong performance on Saturday night, scoring what proved to be the game’s winning TD, with a 13-yard scoring dash with 9:43 remaining in the game.

Anderson offers a nice change of pace to the Paladins’ ground game, and he is a bruising back that runs with authority. Cain will serve as the Paladins fullback and has deceptive speed coming out of the Paladins’ backfield.

When the Paladins look to the air, they have several reliable options, with the best of the bunch being Gary Robinson (16 rec, 261 yds, 2 TDs, 16.3 YPR). It was Robinson that made some acrobatic catches against the Bulldogs last Saturday, and showed big-time speed with his ability to continually be a deep threat against last weekend. Robinson finished the night with a career night, hauling in eight passes for 133 yards. He will start at flanker on Saturday night for the Paladins.

Robinson’s understudy, Andrej Suttles (9 rec, 85 yds, 9.4 YPR) also can threaten a defensive secondary with his speed, and he made some important catches on Saturday night, including a 36-yard catch that helped set up a Furman score just before the half to give the Paladins all the momentum going into the halftime locker room.

Ryan Culbreath (11 rec, 114 yds, 1 TD, 10.4 YPR) will start at the split end position on Saturday afternoon against the Phoenix, and is one of the most experienced players on the offensive side of the football for the Paladins. In the 24-17 win at The Citadel last Saturday, he hauled in one pass for 10 yards, and had three catches for 34 yards against the Phoenix last season. In 2010, Culbreath his first-career TD catch against Elon, hauling in a 16-yard pass for a score in a 30-25 loss. Culbreath has sure hands and ranks second on the team in receptions this season.

Jordan Snellings, who was a SoCon All-Freshman selection last season after posting 19 receptions for 210 yards and three scores as a freshman in 2012. Snellings saw his first action of the season last week after recovering from a preseason injury, but did not record a catch in the road victory. He has good speed and might be the most cerebral and complete receiver the Paladins have within their arsenal.

The Paladins haven’t put as much emphasis on the tight end position with the graduation of Colin Anderson, but do have a reliable option at tight end, in senior Cameron Mason (1 rec, 6 yds). Mason is an excellent blocking presence along the offensive front, with his presence being especially beneficial as a run-blocker.

Furman’s offensive front is among the best in the Southern Conference, with arguably the most talented offensive lineman in the nation at left tackle, in Dakota Dozier. Dozier has been tabbed by some publications as the top pro prospect in the SoCon heading into the 2014 NFL Draft, and has started 34 of 35 career games for the Paladins along the offensive front.

Dozier is one of five starters that returned from a year ago up front for the Paladins, which also includes Eric Thoni (C), Tank Phillips (LG), Joe Turner (RG) and Charles Emert (RT) rounding out the starting quintet along the offensive front. The Paladins probably have their most talented offensive front since the mid-2000’s.

Saturday Blitz Final Prediction: Furman 24, Elon 10