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40 NWA College Football Preview 2019 Sunday, August 25, 2019 Most things look different for Red Wolves this season JONESBORO — So much is different these days with the Arkansas State Uni- versity football program. Set aside the program's impressive new north end zone facility that has opened up — which is equipped with a new locker room, weight room, training area, players' lounge and plenty other modern amenities — or all of the loge box renovations and two constructed waterfalls inside Centennial Bank Sta- dium over the past few years, or simply the elevated brand and general football investment. Take this entire offseason, for ex- ample. How does seven new assistant coaches on the staff — including an of- fensive coordinator and defensive coor- dinator — sound? "Well, it's not that typical that you have that many staff changes in one year," ASU Coach Blake Anderson said last month at Sun Belt Media Day in New Orleans. "It just kind of all happened." Then digest the unfortunate reality that Anderson is currently away from the team after the death of his wife, Wen- dy, on Monday evening. She had battled breast cancer since April 2017. Before her death, ASU had announced that Blake Anderson was taking a leave of absence, and first-year defensive co- ordinator and linebackers coach David Duggan — who Anderson had named the assistant head coach at the start of fall camp as a precaution for that very reason — took over as the interim head coach. Anderson missed two previous practices during camp. "One good thing about Blake and I is we share the same values," Duggan said during camp before Anderson took leave. "It's the same message. I'm just an extension of his message, and all the coaches are an extension of his message. "Our message to Coach A is 'Hey, we got this, Coach.'" Some of Anderson's previous assis- tants left for other jobs, while others were fired. Anderson also needed a new offensive play-caller after relinquishing that role. The only assistant coach who's been with Anderson at ASU since the begin- ning nearly six years ago is Allen John- son. Even he has a new responsibility on staff this season, switching from coach- ing the safeties to cornerbacks. "[The program] has changed tremen- dously," Johnson said. "Over the years, it's gotten bigger and bigger, and I think that's a testament to the new facilities, the excitement our support staff helps with and stuff like that. It's been really good." First-year offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Keith Heckendorf could have been in that exclusive assis- tants club with Johnson had he decided to stay in Jonesboro longer than a month back in 2014. Heckendorf was hired to be ASU's tight ends coach and recruiting coordi- nator on Anderson's first staff, but he left soon after to return to North Carolina to coach quarterbacks under Larry Fedora. "My stay here is six times longer than it was the first time," Heckendorf said with a grin. "It feels great to be back. The unique thing about having been here for a short period of time when Coach An- derson first got here is I can appreciate how much this place has changed be- cause I saw what it was and I see where it is now. "I don't think people really realize how far it's come in a short period of time. Just what they've been able to do here in terms of growing this place has been phenomenal." All of that change and growth, though, has led to greater expectations. After they claimed back-to-back Sun Belt Conference championships in 2015-16, the Red Wolves have fallen short of the league title in each of the past two sea- sons. ASU finished 8-5 overall and 5-3 in the Sun Belt last year, which included a 16-13 overtime loss to Nevada in the Arizona Bowl. Since then, the Red Wolves have had a number of key departures, including quarterback Justice Hansen, a three-year starter; running back Warren Wand; wide receiver Justin McInnis; offensive linemen Lanard Bonner and Marvis Brown; defensive ends Ronheen Bing- ham and Griffin Riggs; and defensive backs Justin Clifton and Brandon Byner. But ASU has 13 returning starters and is loaded with talented playmakers, especially on the offensive side of the ball. The Red Wolves return three of their four leading receivers from 2018 — seniors Kirk Merritt, Omar Bayless and junior Jonathan Adams — as well as their leading rusher in sophomore Mar- cel Murray. Senior receiver Dahu Green is also back healthy from injury. A big focus this offseason has been on the offensive line, which returns three starters but has to replace a left tack- le. ASU ranked 111th nationally in red- zone offense last season. Anderson has stressed that the offensive line has to get better at moving the line of scrimmage to improve that metric. TRENTON DAESCHNER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Arkansas Democrat-Gazette File Photo Arkansas State wide receiver Kirk Merritt tries to keep his balance after a catch Nov. 3 during a game against South Alabama at Centennial Bank Stadium in Jonesboro. v Continued on next page ASU football schedule and results ASU 2019 SCHEDULE DATE OPPONENT TIME Aug. 31 ......................SMU .........................6 p.m. Sept. 7 .................... at UNLV .......................9 p.m. Sept. 14 ..............at Georgia 11......................a.m. Sept. 21 ............Southern Illinois ................6 p.m. Sept. 28 ...................at Troy* .......................5 p.m. Oct. 5 ...............at Georgia State* ..........2:30 p.m. Oct. 17 .......... Louisiana-Lafayette* ........6:30 p.m. Oct. 26 ................ Texas State* ...................6 p.m. Nov. 2 .......... at Louisiana-Monroe* ............4 p.m. Nov. 16.............Coastal Carolina* ...............2 p.m. Nov. 23 .......... Georgia Southern* ..............2 p.m. Nov. 29 .......... at South Alabama* .................TBA *Sun Belt Conference game ASU 2018 RESULTS DATE OPPONENT RESULT Sept. 1 .. Southeast Missouri State ........ W, 48-21 Sept. 8 ..............at Alabama .......................L, 57-7 Sept. 15 ...............at Tulsa ...................... W, 29-20 Sept. 22 ................ UNLV .........................W, 27-20 Sept. 29 ... at Georgia Southern* ............ L, 28-21 Oct. 9 ......... Appalachian State* ................ L, 35-9 Oct. 18 ...........Georgia State* ................ W, 51-35 Oct. 27 .... at Louisiana-Lafayette* ............L, 47-43 Nov. 3 ...........South Alabama* ............... W, 38-14 Nov. 10 .......at Coastal Carolina* ............ W, 44-16 Nov. 17....... Louisiana-Monroe* ..............W, 31-17 Nov. 24 ..........at Texas State* .................. W, 33-7 Dec. 29 vs. Nevada (Arizona Bowl) L, 16-13 (OT) *Sun Belt Conference game