A Sea Of Red

I am stunned beyond belief that this story came from Coulson ...

Rating The Runners

By David Coulson, FCS Executive Director

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network)- Rashad Jennings laughs when he remembers his name being placed in the rarified air at Pittsburgh with the legendary Tony Dorsett.

Jennings joined Dorsett on a list of just four players who ever started their first game as a true freshman for Pitt. But just as soon as Jennings was drawing comparisons, he was leaving the Panther program and heading back home for Liberty - a school that had won just one game the year before he arrived.

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He also rated Liberty as the forth best team overall.

Team Rankings

1. Cal Poly

How good is the Mustang backfield? So good that two-time 1,000-yard rusher James Noble (3,051 career rushing yards, 6.1 average) only had 84 carries last season. Besides Noble, Ryan Mole (424 yards, 7.7 average), Jon Hall (449, 5.3) and quarterback Jonathan Dally (763, 4.2) are all running threats. Backing them up are speedster Jono Grayson (308 yards, 8.4 average) and Jordan Yocum (259 yards, 6.0 average). No wonder that Cal Polys option attack rushed for 272 yards per game last season.

2. Appalachian State

Not many teams could lose their all-time leading rusher (Kevin Richardson) and not miss a beat, but the Mountaineers have a host of players waiting in the wings, led by Moore. Robert Welton, Josh Jackson, freshman Rod Chisholm and Devon Radford give the Mountaineers tremendous depth. And don't forget about perhaps the top running threat in FCS, QB Armanti Edwards (1,588 yards, 21 TDs). Receivers T.J. Courman, Coco Hillary and James Hill are also threats on reverses.

3. James Madison

The Dukes were not happy to see Eugene Holloman go down with a season-ending shoulder injury in week two, but it did give JMU the chance to develop Griff Yancey (665 yards, eight TDs), Antoine Bolton (627 yards, seven TDs) and Jamal Sullivan in Hollomans absence. Coach Mickey Matthews has always emphasized depth at RB and a wild card this year could be Deric Dudinski, who led the late La Salle program in rushing as a freshman. QB Rodney Landers (1,273 yards, 12 TDs) is lethal running the option.

4. Liberty

You could make a good argument for Jennings as the top running back in all of FCS, but the Flames are also in good hands with Zach Terrell (763 yards, 11 TDs, 7.0 average last season). Terrell is an elusive back, with great balance and fine cutting ability. Fullback Derek Bishop is an outstanding blocker who helped the Flames rank 16th nationally in FCS rushing last year. Wes Cheek heads a strong group of reserves.

Youngstown St was 10th and Elon was not on the list.

And Derek Bishop as the 14th best FB.

I also like how he mentioned Wes Cheek in there as a very capable back up RB. That was cool.

Congrats Rashad

Nice stuff Sly! This Could be a great year. I am so stoked!

nice accolades. let's hope it all comes out on the field!!

From the fishwrap ...

Chris Lang wrote:LU’s Jenning ranked No. 1 rusher in FCS

By Chris Lang
Published: August 12, 2008

Rashad Jennings arrived at Liberty in the winter of 2006 with a coating of baby fat and a bundle of expectations. The fat is gone, the product of Jennings’ strict adherence to a healthy diet. The expectations, however, have ballooned.

Already named the Big South’s preseason offensive player of the year, Jennings earned a national honor Monday, as The Sports Network named him the Football Championship Subdivision’s No. 1 ranked tailback heading into the season. Liberty fullback Derek Bishop was ranked 14th nationally, and the Flames’ backfield as a whole was ranked fourth in the country.

“I think he deserves it, first of all,” Liberty coach Danny Rocco said. “He pretty much works year-round, without any time off. He certainly understands the importance of preparation. This is a kid who has gotten better every semester, not just physically, but academically. He’s the kind of player who is very rare, very dynamic. Hopefully he’ll be able to have that kind of season that merits such a preseason honor.”

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And before you jump on Chris, he doesn't write the headlines. That is a goof by either the editor or the webbie.

I'm able to go in and fix things now on web stories, so I updated with the correct spelling.

And no, I didn't make the initial mistake. Thanks for the backup, Sly.