Stony Brook Seawolves
Overall Rank: #22
#1 Big South
Stony Brook Team Page
Sometimes it is just not fair for the rest of the Big South. After winning three straight conference titles, Stony Brook is only getting better. The Seawolves dominated the conference, but now the picture is getting bigger. Coach Chuck Priore led his team to a victory over Albany in the opening round of the playoffs and gave top seeded Sam Houston State a very good game. Not to overlook the Big South, but the Seawolves will be looking to make a bigger run in the playoffs this time around.
2011 Record: (9-4, 6-0)
2011 Postseason: FCS Playoffs
Coach: Chuck Priore (37-31 at Stony Brook, 76-40 overall)
Offensive Coordinator: Jeff Behrman
Defensive Coordinator: Rob Neviaser
Returning Leaders:
Rushing: Miguel Maysonet, RB, 1,633 yards
Passing: Kyle Essington, QB, 1,919 yards
Receiving: Kevin Norrell, WR, 673 yards
Tackles: Dan Mulrooney, S, 75
Sacks: Jawara Dudley, LB, 4.5
Interceptions: Davonte Anderson, CB, 2
Other Key Returnees: OT Michael Bamiro, DT Jonathan Coats, LB Reginald Francklin, WR Jordan Gush, OT Scott Hernandez, C Mike Lisi, LB Grant Nakwaasah, G Cody Precht, S Dominick Reyes
Key Losses: WR Matt Brevi, G Mario Dattilo, OT Joe Faiella, DE Ryan Haber, CB Al-Majid Hutchins, RB Brock Jackolski, DT Roosevelt Kirk, CB Donald Porter, DT Alex Probasco
Strengths:
Last year Miguel Maysonet rushed for 1,633 yards and 15 touchdowns while Brock Jackolski added 1,418 yards on the ground and 16 rushing touchdowns. The bad news is Jackolski is gone, but the good news is nobody really is paying that much attention to that fact…and for good reason. The one-two combination of Maysonet and Jackolski was good, but the combination of Maysonet and Marcus Coker will be great. Coker broke onto the national scene as a freshman at Iowa during the Insight Bowl. As a sophomore he rushed for 1,384 yards while with the Hawkeyes. Now he will team up with Maysonet and give the Seawolves the best running back duo in the FCS. With an offensive line that returns tackles Scott Hernandez and Michael Bamiro, as well as Mike Lisi and Cody Precht, there is little reason to believe that Stony Brook cannot match their impressive numbers on the ground in 2011. They ranked fourth in the nation with 267.31 yards per game on the ground last year. This time around they could move up a spot or two. While this is a team that could win the Big South with me at quarterback, fortunately Stony Brook has senior leader Kyle Essington. Essington just needs to be an efficient passer and after throwing for 20 touchdowns and just four interceptions last year, he is just that. Boosting his completion percentage a bit would be nice, but often Essington throws deep just to keep the opposition honest. Essington’s top receivers are back in Kevin Norrell and Jordan Gush. Norrell is a solid deep threat receiver, while Gush is more of a possession receiver.
Weaknesses:
Stony Brook’s postseason dreams may come down to the defense. The line will have to almost completely rebuild around defensive tackle Jonathan Coats. Kevin Hauter is moving to tackle and Dimetrius Bernard, a junior college transfer, will have to help out Coats. This was not a defense that did a good job of getting to the quarterback and now there is a lot of inexperience on the ends. Junior Solice is a solid player and Andres Trujillo has starting experience at linebacker, but must make the transition to the end spot. Leston Simpson has some D1 experience spending a year at Minnesota and could emerge as the best pass rusher on the team. The linebackers are in good shape with Jawara Dudley, Reginald Francklin and Grant Nakwaasah. Those three have plenty of experience, but the question is whether they will need to help get pressure on the quarterback and stop the run or drop back and help out a secondary that struggled in 2011. The answer is probably both. Rover Dan Mulrooney can hold his own in the secondary and Dominick Reyes has been a starter for three years. The corners should be better with Davonte Anderson back to pick off some more passes and Cedrick Moore returning after missing the 2011 campaign with an injury.
The Bottom Line:
But the secondary will be under a lot of pressure if the front four fails to get consistent pressure in the backfield. The unit ranked 100th in the nation in passing yards allowed last season and even with all of the returning talent, that number may not improve. That is partially due to the fact that the Seawolves are almost always winning and thus their competition is forced to go to the air, but it also due to the lack of a pass rush and while the front line rebuilds, the pass rush may be non-existent. But this is a team that should have plenty of time to work out those kinks. Stony Brook will still win the Big South and reach the playoffs, but those defensive issues will need to be taken care of by then if they hope to pull off an upset this time around.
Projected Postseason: FCS Playoffs
2011 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 267.31 (4th in nation, 1st in conference)
Passing Offense: 174.31 (88, 5)
Total Offense: 441.62 (8, 1)
Scoring Offense: 38.00 (1, 1)
Rushing Defense: 101.00 (11, 1)
Pass Defense: 235.08 (100, 6)
Total Defense: 336.08 (29, 1)
Scoring Defense: 23.31 (35, 2)
Turnover Margin: 1.23 (7, 1)
Sacks: 1.62 (90, 4)
Sacks Allowed: 1.38 (32, 2)
