Preview 2019: Previewing and looking ahead to the Old Dominion Monarchs season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Old Dominion Previews 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2018 Record: 4-8 overall, 2-6 in Conference USA
Head Coach: Bobby Wilder, 11th year, 76-45
– CFN Preview 2019: All The Team Previews
5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE OLD DOMINION OFFENSE
– The offense wasn’t all that bad. It averaged 428 yards per game with a big passing offense that offset 1) a bad defense, meaning the O had to keep up, and 2) a mediocre ground game. But QB Blake LaRussa decided to leave the football world and focus on seminary school. Fortunately, veteran Steven Williams is back, and Michigan State/JUCO transfer Messiah deWeaver is a potentially dangerous option.
– The top three receivers are gone – including 1,000-yard producers Travis Fulgham and Jonathan Duhart – and TE Keion White is moving to the defensive side. That means the leading receiving wide receiver – senior Darrell Brown – caught nine passes. This is where JUCO transfer Frederik Antoine has to play a role.
– The running back corps is thin. The idea is to start running a whole lot more – and get more out of the quarterback on the ground – needing Kesean Strong to do more than the team-high 499 yards and nine scores with Jeremy Cox done. The bigger problem is …
– The offensive line needs some reworking after struggling in pass protection. Two parts are gone in the interior, and there’s some shuffling going on to find the right pieces inside.
The recruiting class has to play a role, junior Isaac Weaver has to settle in at either guard or his normal tackle spot, and the depth needs more time and developing.
NEXT: What You Need To Know About the Defense, Top Players, Keys to the Season, What Will Happen
4. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE OLD DOMINION DEFENSE
– The defense is undergoing a few tweaks. New defensive coordinator David Blackwell will keep the 4-2-5 alignment, but he’s got a LOT of work to do to improve Conference USA’s worst defense that allowed 471 yards and 36 points per game …
– It starts with getting nastier against the run. Five of the top seven tacklers are done, and three starters have to be replaced up front. Junior Jeremy Meiser is back at one tackle spot, and several hybrid players/linebackers are in the mix for the end jobs, but there’s no quick fix for the loss of Oshane Ximines at one end.
– The two linebackers are there in the 4-2-5. Leading tackler Lawrence Garner is back in the middle, and third-leading tackler Jordan Young returns to one outside gig. JUCO transfers Cory Jackson and Tony Williams have the speed and athleticism to play a variety of roles, including as the pass rusher the new scheme needs.
– The secondary needs work at safety, but the corner situation has experience. Lance Boykin and Joe Joe Headen took their lumps, and now they have to start making the pass defense something more than a disaster. JUCO transfers R’Tarriun Johnson and Harrell Blackmon have to play instant roles at safety around several young parts with good size, and not enough experience.
NEXT: Top Players, Keys To the Season, What Will Happen
3. TOP OLD DOMINION PLAYERS
Best Old Dominion Offensive Player
RB Kesean Strong, Sr.
The O might need more out of its quarterback, but it has a veteran back to rely on. The 5-10, 195-pound speedster is the do-it-all part of an offense that needs do-it-all players. He might not be a workhorse, but he led the team with 499 rushing yards with nine scores, and he caught 21 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns.
2. OT/OG Isaac Weaver, Jr.
3. QB Messiah deWeaver, Jr.
4. QB Stone Smartt, Jr.
5. PK Nick Rice, Jr.
Best Old Dominion Defensive Player
LB Lawrence Garner, Jr.
For a defense that didn’t do nearly enough against the run, the linebackers had to do a whole lot of work. The 6-2, 230-pound Garner was a good get for the program, and he stepped up his game after two years in the system.
A good special teamer as a freshman, he led the team with 100 tackles with four broken up passes, a pick, and nine tackles for loss as a sophomore. In the new look defense he might not do much to get into the backfield, but he’ll get in on everything.
2. LB Jordan Young, Jr.
3. DE/LB Elijah Golston, Soph.
4. DT Jeremy Meiser, Jr.
5. CB Joe Joe Headen, Jr.
NEXT: Keys to the Season, Prediction & What Will Happen
2. KEYS TO THE SEASON
Biggest Key To The Old Dominion Offense
The turnovers have to stop. The offensive line has to muscle up fast after losing almost everyone, the quarterback situation has to be settled, and playmakers have to be found in the receiving corps. No matter how it all works out, the offense has to stop giving the ball away.
The Monarchs lost the ball 20 times on the year after giving it up 20 times in 2017. The multiple giveaways were the killer, turning it over two times or more seven times going 1-6 in those games.
Biggest Key To The Old Dominion Defense
The defense has to come up with its star pass rusher. The 4-2-5 alignment isn’t going to change. but the secondary has to be a whole lot better, the run defense has to hold up after getting pounded on way too easily, and there have to be more big sacks.
Oshane Ximines is gone after leading the way with 12 sacks, and second-leading pass rusher Tim Ward is gone, too. Now it’ll be up to a few JUCO transfers and other options, but no matter what, the plays have to start happening behind the line.
The Monarchs came up with three sacks or more three times – and won all three games. The program is 11-2 over the last three seasons when it generates three or more sacks.
Key Player To A Successful Season
QB Messiah deWeaver, Soph.
Or JUCO Transfer Stone Smartt, or sophomore Steven Williams, or freshman Hayden Wolff. Someone has to rise up and take over for last year’s starter, Blake LaRussa, who threw for over 3,000 yards with 15 scores.
No matter who the quarterback is, the goal is to get more rushing out of the position and to make the starter even more of a star. The 6-5, 220-pound deWeaver might not be the runner the offense might want, the former Michigan State Spartan is the type of passer who can make big things happen down the field.
Key Game To The Old Dominion Season
at Marshall, Oct. 12
If there’s any home whatsoever of getting to six wins and going bowling, ODU has to beat Norfolk State, East Carolina and WKU at home over the first part of the season. The date at Marshall will show just how good the team really is.
The Herd are 4-1 over the last five seasons in the series, but the Monarchs could use a big road win with three of the next four games on the road.
– Old Dominion Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2018 Old Dominion Fun Stats
– Onside Kicks: Opponents 3-for-3 – Old Dominion 1-for-2
– Rushing Yards Per Game: Opponents 216.4 – Old Dominion 130.8
– Fumbles: Old Dominion 12 (lost 8) – Opponents 8 )lost 5)
NEXT: What Will Happen
1. OLD DOMINION WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN
Under head coach Bobby Wilder, Old Dominion has hit the six-win or more mark three times in the six seasons at the FBS level. The program might not be Clemson, but it has known success, and it’s supposed to be a whole lot better than it was last season.
The defense was absolutely miserable, so in come the changes to fix that – maybe.
The JUCO transfers coming in have to matter right out of the box on a retooled defensive front, and the three safeties in the 4-2-5 have to emerge. But for the most part, defense has been a rumor over the last six seasons.
The O has to do more to keep up. It put points on the board, but thanks to the lousy defense, it usually took 28 just to get in the discussion – that might be the case again.
This year, the line is undergoing an overhaul, a new quarterback has to emerge, and the receiving corps needs new parts who can shine. Even so …
Set The Regular Season Win Total At … 5
The Monarchs will beat Norfolk State to start the season, and they should win at least three of the four easy home games against East Carolina, WKU, UTSA and Charlotte.
Can there be a shocker like the Virginia Tech win last year? That’s asking for too much, but there can be one like the 34-31 win over a strong North Texas squad.
And there can be losses like the 52-10 embarrassment to Liberty to start the year.
The team will be one win stronger, but the changes won’t be enough to go bowling.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
