Norfolk State Spartans
MEAC
Norfolk State is making their first ever trip to the FCS playoffs. A strong defense and a consistent offense paved the way for Coach Pete Adrian to win a MEAC title and win the conference’s automatic berth to the playoffs. The Spartans did have a favorable schedule, getting South Carolina State, Hampton and Bethune-Cookman at home while avoiding Florida A&M altogether. Yet, this is a program that has been building towards this goal and the schedule was just a small part of their success. Coach Adrian took over the team in 2004 following a 1-11 season. Since then, NSU has been improving and it was just a matter of time before they won a MEAC title.
2011 Record: 9-2, 7-1
Last Playoff Appearance: none
Coach: Pete Adrian (43-35 at Norfolk State, 79-72-1 overall)
Big Wins: 10/1 South Carolina State (17-14), 10/15 Hampton (34-24)
Bad Losses: 9/10 at West Virginia (12-55), 10/20 Bethune-Cookman (6-14)
Strengths:
This team won games with its defense. The only opponent who scored more than 24 points all season long was West Virginia. The Spartans won every other game, except for a 14-6 loss to Bethune-Cookman. Even against more potent offenses, the defense will at least keep this team in the game. It all starts with the front line led by Josh Turner, Joey Christine and Hasan Craig. Turner is a big nose guard who can push the line of scrimmage and Christine and Craig spearheaded the pass rush effort and each tallied 5.5 sacks on the season. Linebackers Jamal Giddens, Terrence Pugh and Chad Battles are also fine pass rusher and the opposing quarterback knows that somebody from the NSU defense will get pressure on him on just about every play. Corwin Hammond and Onyemechi Anyaugo man the middle of the linebacker corps and are the main tacklers on the team, totaling 108 and 89 during the season, respectively. Those two always seem to be around the ball. With the help of the pass rushers, the secondary can make some big plays. Safety DeVonte Reynolds is the leader of the unit, but corners Keenan Lambert, Marcus Cooperwood and Natturner Harris can shut down just about any receiver.
Weaknesses:
The offense has been very efficient and consistent, but when needed it remains to be seen if the offense is explosive enough to score a lot of points. The good news is that Norfolk State finished the regular season by posting 45 points at Savannah State and 47 points at Morgan State. That is pretty explosive. Quarterback Chris Walley has had a great season. He completed over 69 percent of his pass attempts and threw for 2,301 yards and 17 touchdowns. More importantly, he threw just four interceptions. It is that efficiency that makes this team so hard to defeat. Walley and the offense rarely put the defense in a tough position. Walley has a couple fine targets in receivers Xavier Boyce and Victor Hairston. Those two have caught a majority of the passes and will be counted on in the playoffs. The ground game is led by Takeem Hedgeman, who rushed for 669 yards and three scores on the season. Randy Maynes and the scrambling ability of Walley do give Norfolk State a pretty good running game, but they will need to be successful on the ground in order to get the air game moving against some of the strong defenses they could face in the playoffs.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Takeem Hedgeman, RB, 669 yards
Passing: Chris Walley, QB, 2,301 yards
Receiving: Xavier Boyce, WR, 729 yards
Tackles: Corwin Hammond, LB, 108
Sacks: Jamal Giddens, LB, 6.5
Interceptions: DeVonte Reynolds, S, 3
2011 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 167.55 (41st in nation, 3rd in conference)
Passing Offense: 225.09 (44, 2)
Total Offense: 392.64 (36, 2)
Scoring Offense: 27.82 (49, 5)
Rushing Defense: 98.45(12, 2)
Pass Defense: 167.55 (11, 2)
Total Defense: 266.00 (3, 1)
Scoring Defense: 15.45 (4, 1)
Turnover Margin: .45 (36, 5)
Sacks: 3.09 (10, 1)
Sacks Allowed:1.18 (19, 2)
