Dual-threat quarterback leads Alcorn State

This is the fifth piece of a 12-part series previewing Arkansas' 2016 football opponents.

Alcorn State is coming off a 9-4 year capped by a 41-34 loss to North Carolina A&M in the Celebration Bowl, which is also known as the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) National Championship.

The Braves went 7-2 in the FCS Southwestern Athletic Conference, winning the east division of the league. They defeated Grambling State, which was undefeated in SWAC play, 49-21 in the conference championship game to win their second consecutive SWAC championship.

2016 outlook

Alcorn State plays SWAC powerhouse Grambling State on the road the week prior to traveling to Little Rock to play Arkansas at War Memorial Stadium on Oct. 1. The following week, the Braves travel to Alabama A&M, a fellow SWAC East division member.

Because Alcorn State is an FCS school, it is not included in ESPN’s Football Power Index. The Braves were also not included in Athlon Sports’ preseason FCS top 25.

Significant departures

Several key players on Alcorn State’s back-to-back SWAC championship teams have graduated.

Quarterback John Gibbs Jr. (78 for 130, 996 yds., 7 TD, 1 INT; 67 car., 374 yds., 8 TD in 9 games) battled a high-ankle sprain last season, but was the 2014 SWAC offensive player of the year.

Running back Darryan Ragsdale led the Braves with 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns on 155 carries.

Tight end Jordan Payne (18 rec., 467 yds.) caught a team-high seven touchdowns, while wide receiver Tollette George (22 rec., 285 yds., 3 TD) was second on the team in receptions and third in yards and touchdowns.

Along the offensive line, Toto’A Leilua, Iskeli Ongosia, Jeffery Reno and Isaac Sampson started all 13 games.

Defensive backs Quinton Cantue (38 tackles, 11 PBU, 1 INT), Warren Gatewood (47 tackles, 4 PBU, 4 INT, 1 TD) and Anthony Williams Jr. (63 tackles, 4 PBU, 2 INT) helped Alcorn State hold opponents to only 121.2 passing yard per game, which ranked second in the FCS.

Linebacker Damon Watkins was second on the team in tackles (68) and tackles for loss (12.5), while defensive lineman Darien Moody was third in tackles for loss (12). They were tied for the team lead in sacks, with 6.5.

All 13 players were seniors last season.

Key returners

A positive side effect of Gibbs’ injury last season was that Lenorris Footman got a lot of experience at quarterback, starting about half of the Braves’ games.

Footman’s completion percentage – 74 for 170 (43.5 percent) – doesn’t jump off the page, but he threw for 1,106 yards, 14 touchdowns and only four interceptions. He also rushed for 1,023 yards and 11 touchdowns on 138 carries. His 14.95 yards per completion and 7.41 yards per carry each ranked fifth in the FCS.

Wide receiver Marquis Warford began his career at Memphis, but had a breakout season in 2015 at Alcorn State, earning SWAC newcomer of the year after leading the team with 36 receptions for 478 yards and four touchdowns. He also made an impact in the ground game, rushing for 442 yards and six touchdowns on only 38 carries. That prompted a move to running back during the spring to help fill the void left by Ragsdale.

Another guy who could help at running back is Arron Baker. As a freshman, Baker rushed for 725 yards and 15 touchdowns on 113 carries, but his workload decreased last year, as he rushed only 79 times for 369 yards and nine touchdowns.

The Braves’ only returning offensive lineman is Detonio Dade, who started all but one game last season.

On the other side of the ball, Alcorn State will be anchored by a solid defensive line. Defensive ends Stacey Garner (44 tackles) and Michael Brooks (34 tackles, 8 TFL, 3 sacks) will be back, as well as defensive tackle Kenyon Brantley (23 tackles, 3 TFL).

Garner led the team with 16.5 tackles for loss and tied for the team lead with 6.5 sacks.

Leading tackler Darien Anderson (73 tackles, 11 TFL, 5.5 sacks) will be back at linebacker, while Eric Foster (67 tackles, 7 PBU, 3 INT) is the Braves’ top returning defensive back.

Notable additions

Alcorn State added a trio of FBS transfers this offseason, highlighted by former Ole Miss wide receiver Collins Moore.

Moore, a graduate transfer who was originally a three-star prospect, was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA because of various injuries during his career with the Rebels.

In 37 games at Ole Miss, he caught 15 passes for 208 yards and one touchdown. He also took over punt returning duties for the Rebels midway through last season, returning 15 punts for only 21 yards.

The other FBS transfers are defensive end Malcolm Hudson, who had 15 tackles and three tackles for loss in 10 games at Army in 2013, and running back Silas Spearman, who rushed for 368 yards and four touchdowns on 132 carries as a freshman at Florida International in 2013, but has been limited to special teams the last few seasons.

Safety Brady Smith joined the Braves after playing at Northeast Mississippi C.C. and had an interception in the Purple-Gold spring game.

Alcorn State’s signing class is headlined by defensive end/linebacker Kwanzi Jackson, a three-star prospect who was once committed to Tulane. He considered signing with Cal late in the process, but opted for Alcorn State.

The Braves also signed two-star quarterback Felix Harper, who was once committed to Army and had FBS offers from Florida Atlantic and South Alabama.

Coaching staff

Alcorn State enters the post-Jay Hopson era in 2016, with Fred McNair taking the reigns after Hopson left for Southern Miss.

McNair, the older brother of the late Steve McNair, had spent the previous four seasons on the Braves’ staff as the assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach. Like his brother, McNair played quarterback at Alcorn State.

He tutored quarterback John Gibbs Jr., who was named the SWAC offensive player of the year in 2014, and helped quarterback Lenorris Footman fill in well when Gibbs was injured last season.

At the coordinator positions, Fred Kaiss enters his second season as offensive coordinator and Cedric Thomas enters his first season as defensive coordinator.

Kaiss came to Alcorn State after serving as the offensive coordinator and running backs coach at Alabama State for four seasons. In his first year with the Braves, his offense averaged 42.6 points in games against FCS opponents.

Thomas was promoted from defensive backs coach, a position he had for one year, to defensive coordinator in March. His position group ranked second nationally in pass defense in the FCS.

Prior to coming to Alcorn State, he was the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Mississippi Delta Community College.

Series history

Arkansas has never played Alcorn State or any other member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Recent SEC history

Alcorn State is 0-2 all-time against SEC opponents, with both losses to Mississippi State. The Braves lost to the Bulldogs 51-7 in 2013 and 49-16 in 2010.

Those struggles weren’t limited to the SEC, as Alcorn State has also lost to FBS members Georgia Tech (ACC; 69-6 in 2015) and Arkansas State (Sun Belt; 56-0 in 2012). However, the Braves hung tough with Conference USA’s Southern Miss in 2014, but lost 26-20.

As a conference, the SWAC is winless in six tries all-time against the SEC, losing by an average of 45.5 points.

Arkansas ties

Arkansas’ roster features a pair of players from Mississippi: offensive lineman Deion Malone (South Panola High/Northwest Mississippi C.C.) and tight end Grayson Gunter (Madison Central High).

Alcorn’s state roster features only one player from Arkansas: defensive lineman Kenyon Brantley (Crossett).

No high school connections between any players were found.

Thoughts from a beat writer

To get an even better idea of what Alcorn State will look like in 2016, WholeHogSports reached out Taylor Denman, who covers the Braves for The Natchez Democrat. We asked him several questions about Alcorn State. Here are his responses:

WHS: What would you consider reasonable expectations for Alcorn State under first-year head coach Fred McNair?

TD: Alcorn State is coming off a second-consecutive SWAC championship in 2015 under former head coach Jay Hopson, but, while the Braves have some key pieces returning, Alcorn State is transitioning in more ways than one. McNair is a rookie head coach, but he isn't new to the program. He is in the midst of his fifth year on Alcorn State staff. Defensive coordinator Cedric Thomas was recently promoted from defensive backs coach after Alcorn State opponents averaged 121 passing yards per game in 2015, which is good enough for second in all of Division I football, if you're counting. Some key offensive weapons are back, but the program lost four senior defensive backs and six senior offensive linemen from last season. There are some holes to fill if Alcorn State hopes to get back to the SWAC championship.

WHS: What can fans expect from Lenorris Footman in his first season as the full-time starting quarterback?

TD: Footman is an athlete. His 1023 rushing yards and 1106 passing yards last season ranked him fourth in the SWAC in total offense. If you ask Footman what he is focusing on this offseason, he'll tell you he wants to raise his completion percentage. In games Footman had over 20 pass attempts, he completed an average of 44 percent of his passes. Still, not bad for a sophomore thrust into the starting role in the second half of the season. Alcorn will still rely on his playmaking ability, and his cannon arm can throw some receivers open if he keeps the ball out of the defense's hands.

WHS: Other than Footman, which players will the Braves lean heavily on, both offensively and defensively?

TD: Wide receiver Marquis Warford is a threat in the passing game and rushing game. Last season, Warford ranked fifth in the SWAC in all-purpose yards with 442 rushing yards and 478 receiving yards. On defense, linebacker Darien Anderson and defensive end Stacy Gardener return for their senior seasons. Anderson and Garner were among Alcorn's leaders in sacks and tackles for loss.

WHS: Are there any offseason additions to the team who will play a big role in 2016?

TD: Alcorn State signed two-star defensive end Sidney Murray from Foster High School (Texas) on signing day. Murray chose Alcorn over a couple other DI offers. Look for some of the Braves' four incoming offensive linemen to get a healthy amount of snaps. One of them, Darius Davis, is a 300-pounder from Clinton, La. In the future, look for three-star pro-style quarterback Felix Harper from Creekside High School (Ga.) to contribute with his fleet feet and southpaw throwing arm.

WHS: How do you think Alcorn State will fair against Arkansas?

TD: I'm sure Alcorn State would welcome a test against an SEC passing attack in hopes of dispelling the notion it's secondary was inflated by the lackluster SWAC offenses it played frequently. But this team has a different outlook on defense this season, and what is shaping up to be a young offensive line. If Alcorn's offense is as one dimensional as it was last season, this game could get ugly early.