2023 Preview Part 2: The Replacements
Every off season teams are left with holes to fill from the departure of key contributors from the year before. This has become even more prevalent with the advent of the transfer portal, which allows talented players an opportunity to move up a level (or two) to test themselves against better and better competition. When you add in a highly successful three season run and sprinkle on top a coaching change, you’ve got a recipe for a very new-look roster come Week 1. That is exactly where Argonauts’ first year Head Coach Kaleb Nobles finds himself going into camp this year. Make no mistake, despite some key losses, this is still among the most talented rosters in the GSC and all of D2 football, boasting several returning All-Conference players and a slew of crucial backups and role players looking to make the next step. For this second installation of the 2023 season preview, we will take a look at the five biggest departures from the 2022 roster and how this new coaching staff will look to replace them heading into camp.
Who steps up after the loss All-American David Durden?
Arguably the biggest departure is one of the best individual offensive players the Argonauts have ever fielded, uber talented Wide Receiver and Cowboys UDFA signing David Durden. Anyone who has watched UWF over the last two years is going to be familiar with Durden, who lead the Argonauts in receiving each of the last two seasons, totaling just shy of 2000 yards (1915) while averaging over 20 yards per reception in both the ‘21 and ‘22 campaigns. Durden was a big time playmaker who had eight 100+ yard games in his time with the Argonauts, burning opposing DBs both inside and outside.
The good news for Kaleb Nobles, WR Coach Ron Dickerson, and QB Peewee Jarrett is that this team brings back a heck of a player in Caden Leggett, who is well positioned to take over the reigns from Durden. Leggett came to UWF in 2022 after spending a year at Snow College (JUCO) and three seasons with Texas Tech, where he started his career as a walk-on in 2018 before earning a scholarship in 2o19. He immediately made a name for himself as a great pair for Durden, finishing his inaugural season in Pensacola second on the team in receptions (38) yards (602) and TD (9), and third on the team in yards per reception among players with at least 1o catches (15.8). He scored multiple TDs in three separate contests, including against GSC powers Valdosta State (6 receptions-98 yards-2 TD) and Delta State (4-41-2). His debut performance with the Argos landed him 1st Team All-GSC post season honors.
UWF boasts a couple more talented receivers who have contributed in the past, Jakobe Quillen had only 11 receptions last season but 4 TDs. He is a big body former FCS transfer, who could prove a valuable redzone target for the new coaching staff. Junior Jared Smith also returns for the Argos, the third year player caught 11 balls for 133 yards and 2 TD last season as a follow up to a stellar Freshman year hauling in 14 receptions for 274 yards and 3 TD. Smith has proven to be a nifty playmaker on the outside, having made some impressive aerial catches.
Best Guess: With year of familiarity with Peewee, and a lot of touches opened up with Durden moving on (54 receptions in 2022) definitely positions Leggett as the likely WR1 for the Blue and Green. Especially when you consider no other returning player had more than 11 receptions last fall, Leggett seems like the obvious answer. The bigger question is going to be: who will step up to work along side Leggett in that WR room? Right now I would lean to Quillen, but that position battle is a conversation for another day.
Hometown hero NT Pooda Walker transfers up, UWF goes to a four man front.
The transfer portal giveth, and the transfer portal taketh away. UWF has more than had its fair share of transfer successes, but Pensacola product Pooda Walker is one of the biggest transfer losses the Argos have suffered over the last couple of seasons. Both literally, with Walker coming in at 6-1 320 pounds, and in terms of his impact on the field, leading all DL in 2022 with 39 tackles and 4.5 TFL, along with a team high 2.5 sacks, starting every game in 2022 and earing a 1st Team All-GSC nod. The RS Soph. was an instant contributor for West Florida coming in after a COVID redshirt in 2020 as a key backup to Matt Gotel in ‘21, racking up 18 tackles 3.5 TFL and a half sack in his freshman campaign. Following the departure of HC Pete Shinnick, Walker hit the portal quickly garnering a flurry of FCS offers before settling on Kennesaw State, where he will likely compete immediately for a starting job.
Not only did UWF lose the anchor of the defensive line from last season, but they’re also transitioning from a 3-man front under former DC Darian Dulin to a 4-man look under first year DC Kavell Conner, so they’re replacing Pooda and looking for another interior DL starter. I’m just going to focus on the Nose Tackle spot, or the 1-Tech DT. Historically, UWF’s fronts consisted of three big guys who ate a lot of blocks, allowing the second level players to fill and make plays. This means there are a bunch of big bodies to deploy in the middle following Walker’s departure, the downside is there isn’t any starting experience in the group. In the spring, it appeared the primary guys playing inside were RS-SR Michael Police (6-0 305 10 games 13 tackles), RS-JR Traquan McNair (6-1 320 3 games 3 tackles), GR Dante Johnson (6-5 315 12 games 15 tackles 1 TFL 1 sack), and JR James Kitt (6-3 290 DNP). Since the end of spring ball Michael Police has transferred, leaving an already thin room even thinner. This group has good size some experience during the fall, but it was also a position with limited number of healthy participants during spring ball.
One guy that should be in the competition in fall camp is RS-SO Justice “Juice” Williams, who was tied with Walker for the team lead in sacks with 2.5. Williams possesses ideal size for the interior DL listed at 6-3 335 to go along with solid participation and stats from 2022 (11 games 14 tackles 2.5 TFL 2.5 sacks). UWF also added a talented 2023 signee in Johnnie Perdue, the 6-2 280 Daphne HS product had 17 sacks and 27 TFL during a three year prep career. Interior DL is a hard spot to contribute as a true freshman though, so this is a position where there could be an important addition or two still from the transfer portal.
Best Guess: While there is a lot that could happen between now and then, McNair is the current pick to take over Pooda’s NT job. He didn’t play much in 2022, but does have the size you’d like to see in a Nose, all the major reps in the spring, and 8 games of experience from his three seasons at UTM. I think he is going to have to fight off Juice Williams for his starting job and Super Senior Dante Johnson could get in the mix here as well.
New look OL after losing LG Dalton Simpler.
UWF’s OL in 2022 may have been the best unit in program history for the position, they boasted three 1st Team All-GSC players (LT Jacob Bruce, along with Simpler and Center Zac Elam) with Simpler bringing home 1st Team All-American Honors. Simpler started at LG for the Argos in 2021, but was forced inside to C for the remainder of the season after Elam went down with a season ending injury week 2. He made two consecutive seasons without a missed start after being a key backup in 2019. He was part of a two man force in the middle of the line with Elam, leading the way for the best rushing attack in school history which totaled over 3300 yards on an eye popping team average of nearly 7 yards per carry.
There is, frankly, not a lot returning other than Stipe on the interior of the OL, at least in terms of experience or production. However the OL room is stocked with numbers (14 total on the spring roster, 3 high school signees, 1 FBS transfer), so there should be a good competition to replace Simpler and Elam. Coming out of spring practice it appeared that Emanuel Rushing had the leg up at LG. Rushing is in his second year with the Argos after spending the ‘20 and ‘21 seasons at FBS Southern Miss, he hasn’t seen any college action. The second team OL appeared to consist of Kingston Grady and Matthew Adcock at guard, both Juniors who have been with the program throughout their careers, while RS Junior Nash Nelson has seen action in each of the last two seasons. Joseph Stone, a MTSU transfer, has T/G flexibility and could potentially get in on the battle.
Best Guess: Giving the nod to Rushing right now based on the lack of experience with the group overall but, it is hard to say without seeing him in a real game previously. With the lack of experience, Stone could also have an advantage coming from an FBS program where he saw some action. When everyone is back healthy, Jacob Bruce was out all spring, there could be some shifting in an effort to get the best five onto the field. UWF could also look to the late transfer portal to try and find a plug and play guy for the fall.
How to make up for 26 lost starts at Safety?
Along with the defensive line, this will be the most remade position for the Argonauts on either side of the ball in 2023. Coaches Remsza and Sanders who will be leading the Argos’ DB room have one returning starter out of four from last season, and he is a good one. Third year player Anthony Johnson Jr. has been a weapon in Blue and Green since game one, combining for 5 INT and 15 PBU in the last two years. An 11 game starter at CB in 2022, he has three career INTs returned for TDs, and will be called on to lock down one side of the field after choosing to withdraw his name from the transfer portal before spring practice began. Departing from the room, however, is basically everyone else who contributed significantly in 2022. At Safety, UWF loses both full time starters Shannon Showers Jr (14 starts 66 Tackles 1 INT 4 PBU) and Keon Voisin (12 starts 61 Tackles 1 INT 5 PBU), along with key reserve player De’Mareyae Givens (5 starts 25 Tackles 1 INT 3 PBU). The Argonauts’ new defensive staff will need to find two new starters, plus depth quickly but they should have some solid options to consider.
The most likely returning player to step into a starting role is McGrew Fortune at SS. He started one game there in 2022, and possesses an intriguing build for a secondary player (6-0 220). Fortune recorded 6 Tackles and a PBU in 7 appearances last season, and appeared to be regularly running with the first team defense during spring practice. The Junior has been with the Argos his whole career, joining as part of the 2020 signing class, seeing his first action last season. Another returning player who appeared to make some noise in the spring was Amari Mitchell playing the Free Safety spot. The True Soph. out of Jacksonville did see action in 9 games last season posting 12 Tackles. He brings a lot of athleticism to the back end of the defense, and was a ballhawk during his Senior year as a prep hauling in 4 INTs. RS Senior Rodney McGraw could play a factor in this competition, he played in 11 games for the Argonauts in 2022 and his 14 tackles is 2nd among returning DBs. McGraw, a former starter at New Mexico State, came to UWF last season from ASA College Miami (JUCO). He has by far the most college experience of anyone in the current Safety group, 34 games played and 109 tackles in his 5 years of college football between the FBS, JUCO, and D2 levels.
A few young guys who haven’t seen time with the Argos but were getting run this spring are Soph. Jayden Simmons, as well as RS Soph. Braylon Anderson. Two locals, Simmons from Ford Walton Beach and Anderson from Saraland, the former probably competing with Fortune and McGraw at SS and the later with Mitchell at FS. On top of that, UWF signed an extensive defensive back class during the past recruiting cycle, FSU High’s 4 year starter DJ Barnes, converted QB Ernest Flythe from Belleview, south Florida product Norman Gadsen II, and Georgia Athlete AJ Eason, plus an experienced transfer in big bodied JUCO Safety Eli Williams.
Best Guess: Right now I’m leaning with McGrew Fortune at Strong Safety and Amari Mitchell at Free Safety. I expect based on the amount of bodies they had rotating at Safety in the spring, they’re going to keep working the group to find the best pair, but Fortune and Mitchell bring a great set of complimentary skills to the back end and are both deeply entrenched in the program. Don’t be shocked to see one of the True Fresh. getting significant snaps at Safety.
Argos’ multi-headed rushing attack needs a new second.
Last season, UWF fielded the seventh most potent rushing attack in the country in terms of yards per game (233.9) while averaging a staggering 6.53 per rush, second best nationally. A big part of that was RS Junior Ra’veion Hargrove whos 843 yards was second on the team, behind star Junior Shomari Mason. Hargrove lead the way on the team in yards per rush, an eyepopping 8.3 on 101 carries. A shifty runner with a good burst of speed, the former D1 player ran surprisingly tough for a guy standing only 5’6”. However, Hargrove has since hit the portal and the Argonauts will be looking for someone to step up into that #2 role.
UWF shouldn’t have to search far, as the team returns 2400 yards and and 30 TDs from last year’s roster, including possibly the best RB in the conference, the aforementioned Mason. Sho has been a steady presence for the Argonauts dating back to his freshman season in 2019. Already the runaway leader in career rushing yards for UWF (2549 yards, 7.8 per carry), Mason has 8 of UWF’s 19 100 yard rushing games including 5 in 2022, and has eclipsed the 1000 yard mark each of the last two seasons. It isn’t just #5 returning, star QB Peewee Jarrett chipped in almost 800 yards and 9 TDs, which were good for 3rd and 2nd on the team, although who knows how much a new offensive staff is going to want to run their star QB.
The real surprise in 2022 was CJ Wilson, a transfer from South Dakota State where he was a significant contributor in his first two seasons at the FCS level. Wilson stormed onto the scene in his first year in Pensacola, leading the team with 12 rushing TDs (3rd best in the GSC). He became UWF’s TD specialist, scoring in six consecutive games as the team’s RB3, and posting four multi TD games last fall. Wilson wasn’t just a pile pusher though, averaging a very respectable 6.3 per carry, and taking 7 of his 84 carries for more than 2o yards. There should be more touches to go around, and guys like RS Juniors Seth Johnson and Daryel Garcia could pick up that slack. The dark horse in that room is going to be uber productive true frosh TJ Lane, who finished his senior scene with over 1900 yards rushing and 9.1 per carry, finishing with at least 180 yards rushing in six of his final seven games.
Best Guess: Wilson is the odds on favorite to takeover as RB2, and depending on how the coaching staff wants to handle Peewee’s usage, he will probably end up being the team’s second leading rusher. Wilson brings a great combination of skills to the room that really compliment Shomari, good size, tough running, and a guy who can finish runs between the tackles. Similar to the WR room, the real question is going to be who picks up his spot as RB3.
