No. 2 Bearkats open 101st season Saturday
8/30/2016 3:14:00 PM | Football
HUNTSVILLE – Sam Houston State begins its 101st season of football on Saturday, welcoming Oklahoma Panhandle State for a 6 p.m. kickoff. The game, presented by Suddenlink and 101.7 KSAM, will mark the program's third annual Orange Out.
The Bearkats return 16 starters and 33 lettermen from a team that went 11-4 and advanced to the FCS Playoffs semifinals for the fourth time in the last five years. Of those returners, 17 are back from an offensive unit that led the country in first downs (414) and total offense (531.7 yards per game).
“We have a good group of returning starters who played a lot of football for us last year coming back,” third-year head coach K.C. Keeler said. “We played nine offensive linemen and seven of those are back. The only real spot where we lost anything was the outside receivers and we had a chance to move Davion Davis outside because of the addition of Derrick Dick, a transfer from UTSA.”
While offense has been the talk for some time at Sam Houston, one theme throughout fall camp was the resurgence of the defense. The unit welcomes back eight starters and 13 lettermen and is expected to give offenses fits up front.
“It's as deep of a defensive line as I've had,” Keeler said. “We think we have 12-14 defensive linemen we could play. The way we play with a lot of tempo and getting a lot of reps, it's important to have depth on both sides of the ball. We're a little young in the secondary but there's talent there.”
While several familiar faces make their return on the field, the sideline will see some changes. Coach Clayton Carlin is the Kats' new defensive backs coach, coming to Huntsville from Coastal Carolina where he served as defensive coordinator.
Gary McGraw, the Kats new cornerbacks coach made his way over from Midwestern State while Zack Patterson is in his first year as running backs coach, coming over from Slippery Rock, while Justin Roberts heads up the defensive tackles since his February move from Southern Miss.
“When I hire, I want to hire a really good coach but I want to hire a better person,” Keeler said. “I can't work with people I don't respect. It makes the transition a lot easier. Every one of my coaches understand that we care about these kids more than just football players. They play harder for you if you care for them. It creates that family atmosphere.”
The Bearkats look to continue their up-tempo trend entering the upcoming campaign, touting depth at positions like running back as key to doing so. The offense has produced 15,128 total yards in 31 games the past two seasons, averaging 488 yards and 37.8 points per contest.
“We had 118 snaps against Southern Utah and 108 against Texas Tech,” Keeler said. “We're shooting for 100 snaps a game. When you're playing that many snaps, it's really not that hard to divvy up the running back load, especially as the season wears on. Sometimes it's going to work out where you carry the ball 20 times or sometimes you'll carry it five times.”
While Sam Houston ran a two-quarterback system a season ago, this year, Jeremiah Briscoe will be the one-man show. The junior, who was named a team captain alongside Adrian Contreras and Bridge Blount, passed for 1,012 yards and eight touchdowns in Sam Houston's four NCAA Playoff games a season ago.
“The day Jared Johnson left, (Jeremiah) Briscoe took this team over,” Keeler said. “It was amazing. The thing you realize is that Jeremiah is a very respectful young man. He knew that team was Jared. He was a little piece of the puzzle. As soon as that change, it was Jeremiah's team.”
The Bearkats enter the season ranked second nationally, trailing only five-time national champion North Dakota State. Sam Houston plays five home games and heads to NRG Stadium for the 91st Battle of the Piney Woods against Stephen F. Austin on Oct. 1.
Saturday's season opener will be broadcast on ESPN3 as well as through the WatchESPN app. It can also be heard by tuning in to 101.7 KSAM or worldwide at ksam1017.com.
Season tickets and individual game seats are currently on sale by calling the ticket office at (936) 294-1729. For the latest updates on game day parking, tickets, facilities and more, visit GoBearkats.com/GamedayCentral.
