Appalachian State Eager For Another SoCon Football Title

[alvin kayak]

I'm ok with that.

Message boards are for blanket statements, hasty generalizations, and from time to time blatant homerism.

By the way, CS is way better than AGS!

[Skjellyfetti]

It doesn't take long at this time of year for Jerry Moore to get filled with enthusiasm.

Preseason football practice started Friday and Moore, 72 and in the early stages of his 23rd season as Appalachian State's coach, and his 30th overall, seemed as eager as ever during Saturday's media day.

"In all my years as a coach, I've been to about every bowl game except the Rose Bowl, but I was as excited Friday as all of that put together," Moore said. "We had 120 guys here for summer school and summer workouts. And, hey, we've only got 63 scholarships."

That says a lot about the level of interest in ASU's football program. And so does the fact that ASU's ticket office set a record for one-day sales last Wednesday, the first day that single-game tickets for the 2011 season were offered to the general public.

Moore spoke Friday night at "Football 101," an introduction to ASU football for women — a program that started about seven years ago with 35 participants.

"They had to close it off, we had over 250 of them," Moore said, with a twinkle in his eye. "They're all anticipating the season. The first thing I told them last night is that it scares me to death. They know more now than their husbands know. There's a lot of anticipation."

Moore was in Winston-Salem a few days ago and noted another sign of a growing legacy resulting from the program's three straight FCS national championships (2005-07) and the lingering fruit of a stunning upset of Michigan in 2007.

"There was one of those big billboards that lights up, advertising our Fan Fest right by the new baseball park in Winston-Salem about Appalachian State," he said. "There's just a lot of anticipation…. It's a good feeling, and it's a lot of fun to work hard and try to stay on top. The enthusiasm level is immense here, and it should be."

Current players, who will be in full swing later this week in full pads and two-a-days, have had a lot to live up to. The Mountaineers have made playoff runs each of the past three seasons and have extended their string of Southern Conference titles to six straight. They also have come up a bit short by ASU standards.

Last season's 42-24 loss to Villanova in the FCS quarterfinals in part prompted a change. Much focus in preseason camp will be a switch to a 3-4 defense, from a 4-3. Coaches visited Air Force, Alabama and West Virginia to learn more, and the defensive scheme was installed in the spring and will be tweaked in preseason camp.

Dale Jones, ASU's defensive coordinator, is sold on the new look.

"We're all in," said Jones, who said it's a good fit with three big and talented down linemen in Gordy Witte, Dan Wylie and William Corbin, who all weigh more than 300 pounds. Proven John Rizor will be at rush end, and former sacks leader Lanston Tanyi returns from injury and will move to outside linebacker.

"The main reason why we switched is that it fits our talent," Jones said. "We were thinking about doing it last year, but Tanyi got hurt, and he was going to be a valuable part because he can cover and is a great pass rusher, being a defensive end in the past."

The Mountaineers have a few holes to fill on offense, on the line and at receiver, but return marquee skills players in quarterback DeAndre Presley, big-play wideout Brian Quick and versatile running back/slot receiver Travaris Cadet.

League coaches picked ASU to win an unprecedented seventh straight SoCon title, but Georgia Southern, which has 20 of 22 starters back, was the pick by the media.

ASU players said they don't want to come up short, and veterans said they want to get back to the national-title game.

"We definitely know there's talk about it," said Tanyi, who, along with Witte, is one of just two remaining players who actually played during the most recent championship season of 2007.

"This is my fourth year, and we're still living off the Michigan hype and the national-championship hype, but something that really motivates us is that it's like a letdown that we have so much talent but we haven't reached that level (the last three seasons)…. I think the talent is still here. We've got to play with passion, play with heart, and be even better as a team."

Presley said that ASU, which will open Sept. 3 at Virginia Tech, is on a mission.

"My mission is to win a national championship," Presley said. "I play with a chip on my shoulder, and I still have a chip on my shoulder."

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