On the heels of the most successful season in Yellow Jacket football since 2008, the Yellow Jackets start the 2018 campaign Thursday against rival University of Charleston Golden Eagles in the Kanawha Classic.
Kickoff for the Kanawha Classic is set for 7:05 p.m. Thursday from Laidley Field in downtown Charleston.
State won last year’s meeting 51-28. The muddy field victory helped lead the Yellow Jackets to an overall record of 6-5.
Hensley Returns as QB
On offense, State will need to find replacements for Quarterback Matt Kinnick who threw for over 2,900 yards and 28 touchdowns, and Wide Receiver Quinton Gray, who had 89 receptions, nearly 1000 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns.
The top returning offensive player is sophomore running back Calil Wilkins. In nine games last year, the speedster had more than 830 rushing yards and five touchdowns. The top returning receiver is AJ Barrette, with 38 receptions with over 400 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Quarterback Austin Hensley of Hurricane is set to fill the shoes of the departed Kinnick. In three games in 2016, when he last played, Hensley was incredibly impressive, completing 97 of 158 passing attempts, with more than 1,200 total yards passing.
Much like Kinnick, Hensley suffered an injury as well, which ended his 2016 season prematurely. However, the patient team leader spent last season beside his coach, calling coverages and occasionally plays, preparing for his turn at the helm.
Kicker Receives National Attention
Kicker Aaron Ball is also receiving much preseason acclaim. Ball was named a preseason second team All-American by d2football.com after going 15 of 17 on field goals in 2017, and 46 of 50 on extra point kicks. The talented Californian was also named to the Fred Mitchell watch list, an award given to the best kicker in the country, regardless of classification of the school. Only 36 kickers are named to the list nationwide.
Defensive Back Moises Valcarcel is the top returning defender, after leading the team with two interceptions, and finishing second on the team with 84 tackles and a team high 55 solo tackles.
