Arkansas State Football: Red Wolves should control Sun Belt again
Offense
The Red Wolves offense finished the 2017 ranked 19th offensively per the S&P+ analytics. ASU’s offense is led by Coach Anderson and guided by Buster Faulkner who holds the offensive coordinator title.
Faulkner focused his offense on quarterback Justice Hansen. Hanse, a 6-foot-4 and 207 pound rising-senior, was brought to Jonesboro from Butler Community College (via his home-state Oklahoma Sooners). The dual-threat signal caller was good in 2016, but he really developed in 2017 under Coach Faulkner.
Hansen threw for 3,967 yards and thirty-seven touchdowns with sixteen interceptions. He averaged 8 yards per attempt in 2016 and 8.1 in 2017 which are great numbers for a young passer. Hansen also ran for 415 yards and seven touchdowns.
Supporting Cast
The Red Wolves will rely on five really tall wide receivers, a small tailback, and four experienced offensive linemen. 5-foot-5 (that’s not a typo) running back Warren Wand enters his senior season with 2,301 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns with limited impact in the passing game.
The antithesis of Wand are the trio of Justin McInnis, Omar Bayless, and Kendrick Edwards. The 6-foot-6 McInnish caught 40 balls for 800 yards and four touchdowns a year ago. The 6-foot-3 Bayless averaged 13.8 yards per catch plus six receiving touchdowns. The 6-foot-5 Edwards hauled in 38 balls for 434 yards and three touchdowns in 2017.
With Hansen, Wand, the receiving trio, and four returning offensive linemen- the Red Wolves have high expectations to build upon their 19th ranked offense. All-Sun Belt first team lineman Lanard Bonner leads the way for the offensive line and could NFL size at right tackle.