*** NCAA Football Preview - Arkansas State Indians ***

From The My Sportsbook

By Ralph Lauro, College Football Staff Writer

2003 SEASON IN REVIEW: It was another season and another disappointing finish for Arkansas State, which went 5-7 overall and 3-4 in Sun Belt Conference action in 2003. Last year's team was filled with experienced players and positive things were expected, but the Indians still found a way to fall flat. ASU started off the '03 season by dropping a hard-fought battle against Big 12 foe Texas A&M, 26-11, in one of the toughest placed to play, College Station, Texas. Although the Indians lost, they had nothing to be embarrassed about as nobody expected them to give the Aggies much of a game. The Indians then clobbered a pair of Division I-AA members, Tennessee-Martin and Southeast Missouri State, by a combined score of 84-9. However, following those two wins was a thrashing at the hands of a dismal Tulane squad, 54-7. The club then split its next two games before being shutout in its next two games by Ole Miss (55-0) and Utah State (49-0). With just four games left, ASU was looking at another losing season, but the team still had some fight left and it showed in back-to-back wins over New Mexico State (28-24) and Idaho (24-23). Needing just one win in its two remaining games to finish at .500, the Indians fell flat on their face with setbacks to North Texas (58-14) and Middle Tennessee State (24-14). The team won just three games against Division I-A programs in 2003, all of which came by four points or less. Of the Indians' seven losses, four were by 40 points or more.

2004 ANALYSIS:

OFFENSE: The Indians owned one of the worst offenses in the nation last season and with the departure of QB Elliot Jacobs things may not get any better this time around. Jacobs, who started the last 24 games for the Indians, has decided to forgo his senior season to concentrate on baseball. Replacing Jacobs will be either Devin Hollis or Nick Noce. Hollis is a former Wisconsin recruit who lit up the West Coast last season for West Los Angeles Community College with his strong arm and accurate passes. Noce was Jacobs' backup last year but struggled in that role. In limited action, he completed just 8-of-31 passes for 176 yards and seven interceptions. Whoever is handling the play calling duties in '04 will have the luxury of an experienced running back in the backfield in Shermar Bracey. The 228-pounder has good speed and led the team with 530 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in his first season away from the juco ranks. Antonio Warren will also see plenty of carries after racking up 938 yards over the past two seasons at ASU. As for the receiving corps, several players with experience return, including Jerome Stegall and Chuck Walker. The two combined for 53 catches and 631 receiving yards in 2003. On the offensive line, three starters return from last year's team which helped pave the way for 159.2 rushing ypg. Steven Gibbs highlights the group with his massive size at 6-3 and 348 pounds.

DEFENSE: The bottom line on the defensive side of the ball is that the Indians must stop opposing teams from scoring, as they allowed 33.4 ppg last season to rank 100th of the nation's 117 Division I-A teams. That may be hard to do considering the squad welcomes back just three starters from a year ago. Still, head coach Steve Roberts is optimistic that his young defense can make a bigger impact this year. Courtney Todd is the only returning starter on the line and will be looked upon for leadership. He has made 28 tackles last season and has eight sacks over the past two years. Myron Anderson, a top reserve in the past, is expected to make a splash up front. In the middle of the field is where Steven Tookes will be once again for the Indians. The hard- hitting linebacker is considered the team's best defensive player after making 183 tackles over the past two seasons. He led the squad with 90 tackles, including 47 solo efforts, in 2003. Josh Williams, a redshirt freshman, who is a tremendous athlete will line up across from Tookes. As for the secondary, it was flat out awful last year after shining the season before. The pass defense was 16th in the nation in '02 but dropped off the map last year allowing more than 250 yards per game and giving up 25 touchdowns. This year the secondary is ever younger and less experienced. Chris Littlejohn, who has made 58 tackles over his first two seasons, is one of the team's most experienced defensive backs and will hold down one of the safety jobs. Leading the secondary will be strong safety Alex Peoples, who has been a starter over the last two years, making 174 tackles during that time. Peoples is a big hitter who can also get out and cover.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Junior Eric Neihouse has never had trouble kicking the ball far, but doing it accurately has been a problem. Neihouse has made just 13- of-29 field goal attempts in his career. Jared Little will be back to handle the punting duties in 2004. In his freshman season last year, Little averaged a solid 39.6 yards per kick, putting 15 of them inside the 20. The more experienced he gets, the more likely it is he'll turn into an All-Sun Belt performer.

OUTLOOK: Things are going to be tough once again for ASU this season, as it was hit hard by graduation, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The team also lost its top quarterback in Jacobs. If the Indians win five games this year their season will be a success considering they play games at Missouri, LSU and Ole Miss.