SarCoog: So I realized that it is now 13 days from the Houston Cougars season opener against Northwestern State of Louisiana… and I couldn’t tell you the first thing about the Demons.
Well I did a little research and here’s what I’ve found out about the NSU football program:
The Coach: Bradley Dale Peveto; 1st year (0-0 record); The longtime assistant Peveto is finally getting his first shot here as a collegiate head coach. Most recently Peveto was a co-defensive coordinator at LSU and he was also the defensive coordinator at NSU from 1996-98. One of the most interesting things I’ve read about him has been the “Peveto Promise”. Basically if you buy 2009 season tickets and you aren’t happy with the product on the field and the game experience 2 games into the season: you get a full refund. That’s really cool and I applaud Peveto and NSU for having the balls to do that. Also, Peveto brought OC Todd Cooley from Southland foe Central Arkansas where he orchestrated one of the most explosive passing attacks in Division 1-FCS. Also last year’s DC Brad Laird has been retained and will be joined be co-DC with Shawn Quinn, who followed Peveto from LSU.
The Offense: Considering they didn’t have a healthy signal caller for much of last season, the Demons didn’t do too badly for themselves: averaging 26.7 points/game. The offense mainly centered around the run game where they averaged 172.7 rushing yards per contest. New OC Cooley has stated that he will still run the ball, but wants to create a high-powered identity and has thus dubbed the offense: the Purple Strike. Senior QB John Hundley (112-205, 1,307 yards, 8 TD, 3 INT) is the most experienced signal caller and will be the starter against Houston. Also, a guy who’s shined in fall drills has been senior HB Willie Griffin (472 rushing yards, 4.3 yards/carry, 4 TD) and he should be the #1 back. The most experienced receiver will be senior WR Darius Duffy (19 receptions, 287 yards, 2 TD) and he’s described in his NSU profile as the team’s most “complete” receiver. The Demons did lose 3 of their top 4 receivers from a year ago. Senior C Marcus Washington will be the anchor of the Purple Strike at his center postion, but is versatile enough to play all 3 line positions. In addition to Washington, all of the 5 full-time offensive line starters from last year are back.
The Defense: As much as Cooley and the offense hope to build an identity, the NSU defenses already have the pressure of being the “Purple Swarm” and last year’s 28.2 points/game was not ‘Swarm worthy’. The name may be the same, but Peveto has the Demons playing a 4-3 defense for the first time since 2003. Senior S Wesley Eckles (89 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 INT) is the heart and soul of this defense, and a returning 1st team All Southland Conference selection. Joining Eckles in the defensive backfield is senior Gary Riggs (72 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 3 INT) who’s a preseason 1st team All Southland pick and had 2 defensive TDs in ’08. In the linebacking corps senior Blake Delcambre (69 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks) is a preseason 2nd team All Southland pick and will be joined by senior Rogers Loche (38 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack) and junior Colby Arceneaux (46 tackles, 0.5 TFL). Finally, up front junior DE Ledell Love (50 tackles, 11 TFL, 3.5 sacks) leads all returners in TFL and sacks. I know this, Peveto is a defensive guy and won’t stand for the Demons having a mediocre or substandard defense.
The Special Teams: As a former special teams coordinator I’m sure Peveto takes the defense even more seriously than your average head coach. The Demons do lose Robert Weeks who holds more than a few NSU kicking records. Junior Bradley Russo was the team’s top punter last year, although he averaged only 37.2 yards per punt. There isn’t an experienced kicker, so sophomore Nic Russo (no relation to Bradley) and freshman John Shaughnessy will battle for the job.
While I don’t expect the Demons to give the Cougars too much of a contest, this looks like it could be a good team. If the returning players do not have too much trouble with the new coaching staff and new schemes then they should content for the Southland title.
Scott & Holman: Houston, Sports and All Things In Between 
