*Preview courtesy Libertine on AGS
Gardner-Webb’s 2015 campaign had a few bright spots – the brightest certainly being their upset win over a ranked Liberty team – but, on the whole, inconsistent play forced their season into a slow boring descent toward winter.
Things started off reasonably well as G-W took a second-half lead in their opener against FBS South Alabama. Despite ultimately losing the game, the Runnin’ Bulldogs played well and the general outlook for the year looked pretty good. Then came an absolute quagmire of a home opener against Elon in which neither team scored more than seven points in regulation and which Gardner-Webb would, again lose. This was followed by a close 13-9 win – but still a win – against Division II afterthought Virginia Union. Following a shutout loss to an average Wofford squad and a week off, the Bulldogs team finally showed a jolt of life against 15th-ranked Big South enemy* Liberty, managing to pull off their first win against LU since 2006. This moment of euphoria, however was short-lived as Gardner-Webb promptly went and laid an egg the next week at Kennesaw State. This pattern would repeat itself over the next five weeks as the G-W team would manage to lose in depressing fashion then pull out a win before losing yet again. The end result was a 4-7 record and a nice break at Thanksgiving. It should be noted that the nice break at Thanksgiving would have happened regardless as the NCAA had banned GWU from the postseason due to low APR scores.
*(I defend my use of the term “enemy” and not something more usual like “rival”. On average, Gardner-Webb fans hate Liberty and I use THAT term in the definitive sense. This could be due to historically religious and denominational similarities between the two schools. It could be due to the fact that a fair number of current and former athletic administrators and coaches at Gardner-Webb were, at one time, athletic administrators and coaches at Liberty. Either way, the hostility is real although it generally only flows one direction from south to north. As I walked out of last year’s game, the GW student walking in front of me, weeping with joy, called her mom to tell her that their team had “just beat Liberty” and, for her part, dear ole Ma on the other end of the line was none too quiet about her happiness either.)
The 2016 season could see quite a few changes for Gardner-Webb. The defense was reasonably strong, however, graduation cost G-W every starter on the defensive line, including All-American nose guard OJ Mau. Chad Geter remains to anchor the linebacking corps but two of the four starters there are gone as well as both starting corners. In addition, defensive coordinator Randall McCray – and head coach Carroll McCray’s brother – who had been largely credited with the success of the Bulldog defense, departed at season’s end, ultimately ending up as the defensive coordinator at Texas State.
On the other side of the ball, the offense was, largely, a hot mess. Except for one glorious night, Tyrell Maxwell was wildly erratic at quarterback and the offense struggled to even approach the red zone let alone score. In June, QB Ramsey Rigby transferred into the G-W program after spending just the 2016 spring semester at Troy and, if nothing else, should certainly provide the position with some competition. At running back, leading non-QB rusher Bobby Clark is gone to graduation, leaving behind him a pile of question marks at the position. On the offensive line, multi-year starters Dylan Hopper and Matt McAlvin are gone; however, they will be getting a little FBS help up front as, after a long battle with pancreatitis, Rigby’s teammate* at Troy, Blake Hudson, has followed his QB to the bright lights of Boiling Springs. TE Mike Estes was far and away the best receiver on the roster last year, catching five of the team’s seven total receiving touchdowns and, at 29 catches, nearly one-third of the team’s total receptions. While Estes’ value to the Bulldogs cannot be overstated, when one player represents nearly by himself the entirety of the downfield passing attack, it’s not necessarily a positive. When that player is a tight end, it pretty much becomes a negative.
*(Hudson and Rigby seem practically joined at the hip. They were not only teammates at Troy but also teammates just down the road at Elba High School. Both graduated high school and enrolled at Troy at the mid-year and both left the program for Gardner-Webb after one semester.)
The kicking game for G-W was average at best but, at least, it was consistent. K Paul Schumacher and P Andrew Komornik both return for what should be more of the same.
The schedule:
@ Elon (9/3)
@ Western Carolina (9/10)
The Citadel (9/17)
@ Ohio (/24)
Benedict (10/1)
Presbyterian (10/8)
Coastal Carolina (10/15)
@ Kennesaw State (10/22)
@ Liberty (10/29)
@ Charleston Southern (11/5)
Monmouth (11/19)
