Quick, which team led the Great American Conference in yards per game last season?
Was it pass-happy Henderson State with quarterback Kevin Rodgers, a three-time Division II All-American?
At a glance
SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
MASCOT Muleriders
COACH Bill Keopple (26-35 in seventh season at SAU and overall)
LAST SEASON 5-5 overall and in the Great American Conference
OFFENSIVE PLAYER TO WATCH RB Deandre Jenkins
DEFENSIVE PLAYER TO WATCH LB Dominic Kelly
COMMENTS The Muleriders averaged 38.7 points and 505.4 yards per game last season, but they allowed 33.6 points and 399.9 yards per game. Coach Bill Keopple said several needs were addressed on defense, and he is especially pleased the Muleriders open the season solid throughout the two-deep along the defensive front. Keopple has not decided on a starter at quarterback. Two 6-3 redshirt freshmen, Omari Jones and left-handed Barrett Renner, are competing for the job.
SCHEDULE
All times Central
DATE OPPONENT TIME
Sept. 5 SW Okla. St.* 6 p.m.
Sept. 12 at NW Okla. St.* 7 p.m.
Sept. 19 Harding* 6 p.m.
Sept. 26 at Arkansas Tech* 6 p.m.
Oct. 3 at So. Nazarene* 2 p.m.
Oct. 10 Okla. Baptist* 2:30 p.m.
Oct. 17 Ouachita Baptist*^ 2 p.m.
Oct. 24 at Henderson State* 2 p.m.
Oct. 31 at SE Okla. St.* 2 p.m.
Nov. 7 East Central (Okla.)* 2 p.m.
Nov. 14 Ark.-Monticello* 2 p.m.
*Great American Conference game
^at El Dorado
The run-heavy Harding Bisons, the conference runner-up?
The balanced and veteran offense of conference champion Ouachita Baptist?
Nope, it wasn’t any of them.
It was the Southern Arkansas Muleriders, who averaged more than 505 yards per game despite finishing 5-5 last season.
With improvements on defense, and despite the graduation of quarterback Si Blackshire, Coach Bill Keopple said this could be his best team as he enters his seventh season at Magnolia.
“We had a big year offensively, and there were some good offenses in our league,” Keopple said. “Our biggest problem was we had a bit of a depth problem on defense. In three of our five losses, we had the lead in the fourth quarter.
“Depth was an issue, and we think we’ve addressed that.”
Blackshire is gone after leading the GAC in total offense (2,956 yards and 30 touchdowns passing, 476 yards and 7 TDs rushing) last season. The battle to replace him has come down to two redshirt freshmen: Omari Jones, 6-3, 200 pounds, of New Orleans, and Barrett Renner, a 6-3, 188-pound left-hander from Rowlett, Texas.
“We feel like we’ve got two good ones here” Keopple said. “It’s been a nice competition, it really has. Both can throw. Both can run.”
Fifth-year senior running back Deandre Jenkins, 6-0, 208, of Mountain Pine sat out spring practice so he would have a final semester of eligibility remaining. After arriving as a walk-on and languishing on defense for a couple of years, Keopple said he and his staff found a spot for Jenkins at running back.
“We moved him over to running back one spring just so we would have enough running backs and, wow, he kind of blossomed over there,” Keopple said of Jenkins, who led the Muleriders with 670 rushing yards last year.
The brightest spot on the offense, Keopple said, is likely the offensive line. Senior guard John Miller, 6-5, 290, was a first-team All-GAC selection last year and senior tackle Johnathon Greenidge, 6-7, 280, was an all-conference pick two years ago but sustained a knee injury in the spring of 2014 and sat out last season.
The Muleriders struggled at times on defense last season, allowing averages of 33.6 points and 399 yards per game. Keopple said he expects improvement and saw bright spots in the spring at defensive end from redshirt freshmen Kendrix McCann, 5-10, 250, of Texarkana and Devondrick Lison, 6-3, 215, of McGehee.
“I found out real quick in the spring that they needed to be on the field for us,” Keopple said. “They were wearing us out. We’re a very good, experienced offensive line, and we were having a tough time blocking these guys.”
Calvin Lyons, 6-2, 282, also returns at nose guard.
Junior linebacker Dominic Kelly, 5-11, 212, a transfer from Navarro (Texas) Junior College, has yet to step on the field for the Muleriders but Keopple considers him one of the team leaders after a redshirt year.
“He was our scout team running back and we beat the dog out of him, but he’s a leader and a very talented linebacker that can run,” Keopple said. “Probably the best leader I’ve had on our football team down here. We’re expecting huge things out of him.”
The defensive backfield is highlighted by senior cornerback Chris Wilson, 5-9, 175, and the return of senior cornerback Quan Warren, 5-9, 180, a second-team all-conference player two years ago who injured his shoulder in last year’s opener and missed the rest of the season.
With 10 seniors and nine juniors on the roster, SAU has one of the youngest teams in the league but Keopple said he is excited about the Muleriders’ talent.
“Right now things look very promising for the Muleriders,” he said. “We’re a relatively young football team, but we’re a very talented team.
“The old saying is if he will bite as a pup, he’s a player. We’ve got some of those pups who will flat bite.”