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The Lowdown 2006 Schedule Coach: Steve Roberts (third season, 12-13) 2005 record: 6-6 (lost to Southern Miss in New Orleans Bowl) Sun Belt finish: 5-2 (t-1st) 2005 I-A offensive rankings: Rushing: 27th (193.2 ypg) Passing: 95th (176.9.6 ypg) 2005 I-A defensive rankings: Rushing: 96th (187.2 ypg) Passing: 27th (191.7 ypg) Date Opponent Sept. 2 Army Sept. 9 Oklahoma State Sept. 23 at SMU Sept. 30 at Florida International Oct. 7 UL Monroe Oct. 14 at Memphis Oct. 21 North Texas Oct. 28 at Florida Atlantic Nov. 4 at Auburn Nov. 11 Middle Tennessee Nov. 18 at Troy Nov. 25 at UL Lafayette #Little Rock AR Depth Chart: Offense 6 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. WR 9 Levi Dejohnette Jr. 19 Joe Smith Jr. WR 3 Gary Vincent Sr. 10 Patrick Higgins Jr. LT 63 Matt Mandich So. 74 Cory Meachum Fr. LG 78 Shawn Shoemake So. 75 Nick Steffens Sr. C 69 Tanner Jenkins Sr. 58 Matt Reibe Jr. RG 76 Kyle Koets So. 55 Jess McDonald Sr. RT 70 Dale Maas Sr. 72 Vincent Thrower Jr. TE 85 David Johnson So. 87 J.T. Jordan Fr. QB 17 Travis Hewitt So. 15 Corey Leonard Fr. FB 47 Oren O'Neal Sr. 40 Jon Hoeflinger Sr. TB 5 Chris Easley Jr. 24 Chris James So. Depth Chart: Defense 8 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. DE 44 Brian Flagg Jr. 51 Alex Carrington Fr. NT 91 Curtis Bonds Jr. 79 Prince Hickman Jr. DT 43 Jamarrow James Sr. 90 Troy White Sr. DE 54 Jonathan Najm Sr. 94 Brandon Rollins Jr. SLB 37 Koby McKinnon Jr. 30 Chris Littleton Sr. MLB 11 Josh Williams Jr. - Kurt Delt Fr. WLB 32 Devrett Wade Sr. 45 Elias Ellis Sr. CB 46 Dominique Williams So. 20 Montis Harrison Jr. CB 33 Darren Toney Sr. 19 Kelvin Cox Sr. SS 16 Tyrell Johnson Jr. 29 Marcus Brown Fr. FS 21 Khayyam Burns Jr. 39 Evan Van Dolah Fr. Special Teams Ps. No. Player Yr. Ps. No. Player Yr. K 14 Ryan Hoormann Fr. KR 84 Kevin Jones So. P 13 Brett Shrable So. PR 3 Gary Vincent Sr.

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The sights, sounds and smells of December football were still familiar to Arkansas State's Indians this spring after the team’s first-ever bowl trip, but coach Steve Roberts already knows that another Sun Belt title and a New Orleans Bowl trip hinge on filling some gaping offensive holes. Quarterback Nick Noce and running backs Antonio Warren and Shermar Bracey, who provided the majority of ASU’s offensive highlights for two seasons, are gone.

"Our depth at running back is good, depending on how we come through performance-wise," Roberts says. "I feel really good about the talent at quarterback, but the obvious drawback is lack of experience. We won six games and were fighting for our lives, and we didn’t have an opportunity to get other quarterbacks involved."

Defense is a different story, with virtually every impact player returning. Strong safety Tyrell Johnson had a 25-tackle game last season and has 206 career stops with two seasons to go. He heads up a unit that improved in a big way late last year.

OFFENSE

Arkansas State’s biggest concern is replacing the players who made the Indian attack work. Noce, Warren, and Bracey, all now departed, accounted for 4,053 offensive yards last year.

Sophomore Travis Hewitt has the most experience of the returning signal-callers. He threw eight times last year, all in the first two games, and was relegated to holder duties the rest of the year. But he does have some of Noce’s mobility and elusiveness, as does backup Corey Leonard.

At least there’s some experience at running back. Chris Easley was a starter at the end of 2003 before a horrific knee injury the next spring sidelined him for a full year. He had only 32 carries last year, but he did average 5.8 yards per attempt. Fullback Oren O’Neal doesn’t carry the ball much (13 times in 2005), but his lead blocking and quarterback protection make him arguably the best in the league.

Whoever emerges at quarterback will have options, since ASU returns its top four receivers, including the steady Levi Dejohnette, who had 43 catches and 554 yards in 2005. Patrick Higgins and Joe Smith are lanky targets, and Kevin Jones could be a big-play guy. ASU did not complete a pass to a tight end last year, but David Johnson provides blocking strength.

All-conference center Tanner Jenkins will be in the middle of whatever success the Indian offense has. The fourth-year starter will have to be a steadying influence in the young offense while tutoring potential star Matt Mandich, a tackle who earned second-team all-league honors as a freshman.

DEFENSE

Returning ends Jonathan Najm and Brian Flagg both missed spring drills with injuries, and getting them back healthy will be a big plus. In their absence, tackle Jamarrow James emerged as a big-play performer on the defensive front.

Devrett Wade is a star in the making at weak-side linebacker after getting 87 stops, including 13 for losses, on the strong side last year. Koby McKinnon is also a returning starter, but the man to watch is Josh Williams, a former freshman All-American who was booted off the squad last year for "conduct detrimental to the team." He's back, bigger (255 pounds) and likely better than when he had 110 tackles as a freshman in 2004.

Johnson was ASU’s leading tackler from his strong safety slot, and he got 25 of those in the final game of the season when the Indians had to beat North Texas to earn their bowl berth.

SPECIALISTS

No other area on the ASU team needs to replace so much. Kicker Ryan Hoormann has a broken bone in his foot (not good for a kicker), likely punter Brett Shrable is a converted linebacker and record-holding punt returner James Johnson graduated.

FINAL ANALYSIS

Sure, Arkansas State claimed a share of the Sun Belt title and earned the league’s automatic bowl berth on a tiebreaker in 2005. But it wasn’t pretty at times. ASU didn't win on the road until the season finale, lost by 28 to a conference foe in November, and the bowl-game loss to Southern Mississippi still left the Indians without a winning season since 1995. And now, ASU has to defend that title with a decimated offensive unit.

When the Indians won last season, it was on big plays from the quarterback and running back positions, and those big-play performers aren’t around any more. Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Doug Ruse will have to find creative ways to score, with the only other option being near-shutouts by a defensive unit that at least has the advantage of experience.

The saving grace is that ASU may not need to score as much as last year with guys like Johnson and Wade returning after banner years. Still, it will be a surprise if the Indians can match their 5-2 conference record of last year.