Camellia Bowl 2019: 3 players to watch in FIU vs. Arkansas State battle

Who are three players that we should be focusing on watching during the Camellia Bowl between Florida International and Arkansas State.

The Camellia Bowl is almost upon us and Florida International and Arkansas State will link up for one of the more underrated battles of bowl season.

While not much is known by casual college football fans about these two teams, we’ll take a look at three guys who everyone should be keeping an eye on.

3. Layne Hatcher, QB, Arkansas State

The redshirt freshman quarterback for Arkansas State, Layne Hatcher, took over the starting job a few games into the season when starter Logan Bonner was lost to a season-ending injury. Bonner, who was a first year starter himself, was having a good start to the season and showing signs of becoming the next great quarterback at Arkansas State. However, once he went down with injury, Arkansas State turned to Hatcher.

Hatcher came in and in his first game starting led the Red Wolves to a 50-43 win over Troy. He finished that game with 440 yards passing, four passing touchdowns and two interceptions. After that game, Arkansas State fans realized they were going to be OK.

While they went 7-5 on the season and missed out on a Sun Belt Championship Game, fans have to be encouraged for the future as Hatcher will be around for several more years.

Hatcher had a successful freshman season as he ended up winning the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year award. On the year he threw for 2,553 yards, 23 passing touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also had an impressive completion percentage of 68. He will look to finish the year on a high note and rely on his star receivers to win the game against FIU.