By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Footballs — and football players — were flying around Kidd Brewer Stadium on March 25, as Appalachian State is now a little more than halfway through its spring practice schedule. The session included not just drills, but several scrimmage situations.
Summary Notes
- The next “era” for App State QB is fast upon us, to continue the line play callers that has included names like Armanti Edwards, Taylor Lamb, Zac Thomas and, most recently, Chase Brice. The next in line appear to be redshirt freshman Ryan Burger (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) or Joey Aguilar (Antioch, Calif. and Diablo Valley JC). Both are listed as 6-3 and very athletic, very mobile. Whoever wins the job, it will be nice to have the other one waiting in the wings.
- The running back room is again very deep, led by junior Nate Noel, the Sun Belt Conference rushing leader in 2021 and an honorable mention all-conference selection in 2022 after missing three games and limited in others due to injury. Ahmani Marshall, now a junior, returns after transferring from Wake Forest last year. Redshirt freshman Kanye Roberts was at times dynamic in his few opportunities last season. Boone native and Watauga High School alum Anderson Castle may have a larger role this year. He racked up some big gains in traffic during the scrimmage sessions. Junior Maquel Haywood is an interesting transfer out of Navy. Other prospects include freshman Jaylon Calhoun (Lakeland, Ga.), redshirt freshman Antonio Yates (Winston-Salem/Reynolds HS), and redshirt sophomore Bradley Davis (Spartanburg, S.C./Dornan HS).
- With the departure last year of four “super seniors,” the wide receiver opportunities became wide open. Kaedin Robinson, Christan Horn, Dashaun Davis, and Dalton Stroman seemed to take on leadership roles in 2022, but for 2023 we would not count out Jacoby Pinckney, a redshirt junior from Spartanburg, S.C. and transfer from Virginia Tech who looked particularly impressive on March 25. Redshirt sophomore Coen Sutton, younger brother of former Mountaineer WR Corey Sutton, has good size (6-2, 200), comes to App State with the NFL in his DNA (father, Clarence, signed with the Chicago Bears after playing as a safety for App State from 1993-1995) and had a good high school career, though somewhat abbreviated by COVID-19’s impact on high school sports. Other wide receiver names in the mix include redshirt sophomore Michael Hetzel (Charlotte/Ardrey Kell), freshman Grant Tucker (Charlotte Christian), freshman Chris Lawson, Jr. (Columbia, S.C.), redshirt freshman Trae Nickelson III (Huntersville, N.C.), redshirt freshman Reece Larson (Wellington, Fla.), redshirt Scoobie Ford (Atlanta, Ga./transfer from Mississippi State), and sophomore Makai Jackson (Croydon, Pa./transfer from St. Francis [Pa.]).
Interviewed by High Country Sports after the March 25 practice session and scrimmages, App State head coach Shawn Clark expressed a degree of disappointment in the session but remained optimistic.
“I think we took a step back on both sides of the ball today,” said Clark. “We have been playing at a very high level all spring practice. We just didn’t make the plays we had to. The quarterbacks and receivers were out of sync. I thought we did pretty well running the football, which is a good sign. On defense, we did a good job of getting to the quarterback. There were some issues there at the very end on coverage in red zone defense, but those are things we can control as far as missed assignments and mental errors. I am looking forward to watching tape tonight and getting back here Monday”
Clark indicated that it is “running back by committee” right now, acknowledging that Nate Noel has done what he described as a “fantastic job.” Clark also gave high marks to Ahmani Marshall, Kanye Roberts and Maquel Haywood, the latter of whom he described as, “… our transfer from Navy. He has really opened some eyes here. As of now, he looks to be in the top top two or three. But again, in this offense you need to have multiple running backs and that is where we are.”
Clark also spoke well of Watauga HS alum Anderson Castle.
“Anderson is important to our program. He can do a lot of things for us and he is Mr. Reliable. We look forward to getting him more involved in the offense this fall,” said Clark.
If there was a sense of still more recruiting work to do for the upcoming season, it might have come in Clark’s comments on the offensive line.
“You can never have too many offensive linemen. We are likely to go out to the transfer portal yet and get two or three, but I like our top seven guys right now. That said, we have to make sure we build depth at the position, and continuity with that depth. It is a long season and guys get injured or get bangs and bruises. That (roster) depth is important,” said the former App State lineman in the 1990s and offensive line coach before becoming head coach of the Mountaineers.
Acknowledging that there is a quarterback competition, Clark said, “Ryan (Burger) and Joey (Aguilar) have had a battle the whole way through the spring. I think both of them took a step back today, in practice No. 13.”
Catching up with Anderson Castle after the session, High Country Sports talked with him about the apparently deep running back room, even with the departure of Camerun Peoples.
“I like the way we are headed,” said Castle, now a junior. “We have gotten better every day this spring. That is the whole goal of spring, to get out there and get after it. We definitely have another deep running back room, loaded up again. I feel like we all fit in and we are all going to play a part in it Obviously, at running back you have to stay ready because a lot can happen. We all support each other. It is fun to be in that room.
“In spring ball,” Castle added, “we don’t really focus on roles but in short yardage situations I feel I can get those yards.”
Castle said he has no plans for the summer except for working out.
“I’m just going to be working out and enjoying the summer,” he said.
