2007 Harding University Football Preview 2007 SEASON OFFENSIVE TaCKLE • The 2007 season will be the 57th football season in school history • Sophomore Chris Boatright will protect Knighton’s blind-side as the and the 49th since the school reinstated the sport in 1959. Bisons starting left tackle. Boatright played in six games in ‘06 with two • Harding enters the season with a 256-263-18 all-time record and a starts. Boatright’s backup is sophomore Jeff Walker, who played in all 58-47 mark since joining the NCAA in 1997. 10 games last season as a reserve. • This season marks Harding’s eighth as a member of the Gulf South • Junior Wheeler Parsons has started 19 consecutive games on the line Conference. The Bisons are 31-31 in GSC games, including 5-3 in for the Bisons and will man the right tackle spot for the second straight 2006. season. Redshirt freshman Matt Colley is in line as the backup on the • Randy Tribble enters his 14th season as head coach. He is the longest- right side. tenured college football coach in Arkansas and in the GSC. • Harding will play without assistant coach Klay Bartee for the first OFFENSIVE GUARD time since 1993 ... Bartee and his family will spend the fall semester • Junior Ross Conn was a consensus All-Region honoree and 1st Team in Greece as part of Harding’s overseas program. All-GSC performer in 2006 despite being Harding’s smallest offensive • Harding’s 2007 schedule includes non-conference games against lineman at 250 pounds. Conn will move from right guard to left guard Southwest Baptist and Missouri Southern. The Bisons are 15-4 in in 2007. His backup is redshirt freshman Spencer Adams. non-conference games since joining the NCAA and have won eight • On the right side, sophomore Brad Parker moves into a starting role of the last nine. after seeing action in five games last season. Junior Hayden Cruce, • Harding will play twice on the Gulf South Conference’s television HU’s starting fullback in 2006, will be a reserve guard and see time as package, hosting North Alabama on Thursday, Sept. 13 and West a blocker out of the backfield. Georgia on Thursday, Oct. 4. The Bisons were 1-1 in two television games in 2006. CENTER • Junior Jacob Greer will assume the starting snapping duties after 2007 BISONS starting all 10 games in 2006 at right guard. • The 2007 Bisons will have many new faces. Harding returns only • Redshirt freshman Alex Franklin, a converted tight end, will backup eight of 22 starters off last season’s team, five on offense and three Greer. on defense. HU returns 33 letterwinners and lost 21. • Harding’s top offensive returnees include junior offensive guard Ross WIDE RECEIVER Conn and junior quarterback David Knighton. The Bisons also have • The weapons are plentiful out wide for the Bisons in 2007 as well. HU five experienced offensive linemen returning. will typically have at least three wide receivers in the game at a time • Defensively, Harding returns All-Region defensive back/linebacker with the likely starters being sophomore Kurt Adams (3 TD in ‘06), Sevohn Greer and senior safety Rocky Hall. senior Heath Adams (187 yards, 2 TD in ‘06), and junior Daniel Phipps, • Junior punter Ryan Ferrell returns after missing half of last season who will return after missing the entire season with an injury. with a knee injury. • Top reserves include talented redshirt freshman Jordan Watson, sophomore Nate Ware, and junior Julian Firman, who ranked second OFFENSIVE POSITION-BY-POSITION on the team in 2006 with 22 receptions for 303 yards. OUTLOOK QUARTERBACK DEFENSIVE POSITION-BY-POSITION • Junior David Knighton returns for his third season as a starter for the OUTLOOK Bisons. Last season, the strong-armed Knighton passed for 2,110 yards and tied the school record with 22 TD passes. He was in the top four DEFENSIVE END in the GSC in passing yards, total offense, and passing efficiency. • Harding does not return a starting defensive lineman from last season. • Junior Brandon Moreland saw action last season on special teams At one end, the likely starter is senior Michael Solano, HU’s starting and is listed as the backup quarterback. Moreland will be looking tight end from last season. Also seeing time will be sophomore Ray to come back from a knee injury suffered in spring practice. Hatfield, who had 11 tackles and 2.0 sacks in 2006. • Additional reserve quarterbacks include sophomore Adam Brewer • Junior Corwin Brown is the scheduled to start at the other defensive and redshirt freshman Zach Tribble. end slot. Brown had 11 tackles as a reserve last season. Redshirt fresh- man Josh Brown, a converted linebacker, will also see action. RUNNING BACK • The Bisons have a stable full of offensive threats in the backfield, led NOSE GUARD by senior Ardell Briggs, HU’s leading returning rusher. Briggs led • The Bisons will also welcome two new players to the nose guard the team with four rushing TD in 2006. Senior transfer Calvin Roberts position. The projected starter is sophomore Andrew Jackson, who will join Briggs in the starting backfield. Roberts came to Harding redshirted last season. from Oklahoma State in January. • Junior Keenan Kitchen, a transfer from Minnesota West Community • Sophomore transfer Zac Ross and junior Landon Taylor will spell College, will also be in the rotation at nose guard. Briggs at the halfback spot. Ross is another Oklahoma State transfer, and Taylor played in seven games last season. LINEBACKER • Redshirt freshman Alan Webster, a punishing runner at 260 pounds, • Harding will also have three new starters at linebacker, with two start- and sophomore Teddy Luke will back up Roberts at fullback. Luke ing jobs up for grabs. carried eight times for 51 yards and a TD last season. • Starting at the bandit linebacker spot is sophomore Jermaine 2007 Harding Football Media Guide 2007 Harding University Football Preview Blanchard, who had 45 tackles and 3.0 tackles for loss last season. His backup is sophomore J. McCoy. McCoy served as Harding’s long snapper last season as a true freshman. • At weak-side linebacker, sophomore Jeremy Townsend, who had 11 tackles last season, will battle redshirt freshman Jason Thomasson for the starting assignment. • The middle linebacker position will feature both redshirt freshman Braden Binkley and junior Reggie Kimmons (7 tackles in ‘06). CORNERBACK • Harding will also employ two new starters at cornerback, junior Cor- ran Conner, a transfer from Coahoma Community College, and junior Quannell Butler, a transfer from Kilgore College. • Top reserves will include junior Tracy Brown, a transfer from West Hills College, and true freshman Rashad Rayner. SAFETY • The Bisons have three starters returning in the secondary--senior strong safety Sevohn Greer, senior free safety Rocky Hall, and senior nickel back Cam Clark. • Greer was a consensus All-Region honoree in 2006. He led the team with 2007 Returning Statistical Leaders 70 tackles, 11.0 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks. His backup is redshirt freshman Steve Hudson. Passing Comp. Att. Pct. Yards TD-INT Rating • Hall was also a leader on the Harding defense in 2006, recording 52 David Knighton 157 272 57.7 2,110 22-15 138.54 tackles and two interceptions. Clark, who had 43 tackles last season, will be Hall’s backup. Rushing Att. Yards Avg. TD • Sophomore Morgan Toline, who had 21 tackles in ‘06, has earned the Ardell Briggs 53 226 4.3 4 starting nod at Rover. Senior Jordan Huckeba, who missed eight games David Knighton 97 182 1.9 3 last season with a broken leg, will also see action at Rover. Teddy Luke 8 51 6.4 1 Receiving Rec. Yards Avg. TD Harding will host two Julian Firman 22 303 13.8 3 Heath Adams 15 187 12.5 2 GSC-TV games in 2007. Jonathan Paulson 14 202 14.4 3 The Bisons have Kurt Adams 13 117 9.0 3 Tackles Total Solo Assists appeared on television Sevohn Greer 70 53 17 Rocky Hall 52 27 25 five times since 2005. Jermaine Blanchard 45 26 19 Interceptions No. Sacks No. SPECIAL TEAMS Rocky Hall 2 Sevohn Greer 4.5 • Junior Ryan Ferrell, who missed much of last season with a knee injury, Sevohn Greer 1 Ray Hatfield 2.0 will return as the kickoff specialist and added placekicking to his duties. He averaged 57.5 yards per kickoff in 2006 with nine touchbacks. Kicking FGM-A Long PAT Pts. • The battle for the starting punting job is wide open with the leading None candidates being redshirt freshmen Zach Tribble and Micah Can- terbury. Punting No. Avg. I20 Long • The Bisons’ probable kickoff returners include Ardell Briggs and Ryan Ferrell 15 37.5 7 59 Daniel Phipps. Sophomore Zac Ross will likely handle the punt-return chores. Kick Returns No. Avg. Long TD Julian Firman 8 17.9 33 0 Teddy Luke 4 19.5 24 0 Punt Returns No. Avg. Long TD Julian Firman 1 4.0 4 0 For more information visit www.HardingSports.com 2007 Harding Bisons RETURNING PLAYERS NUMERICAL ROSTER No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class Exp. Hometown (Previous School) 5 Rocky Hall DB 7 Michael Solano DL 14 Heath Adams WR 6-5 215 SR 3L Searcy, Ark. (Harding Academy) 9 Kurt Adams WR 9 Kurt Adams WR 6-4 175 SO 1L Searcy, Ark. (Harding Academy) 10 Teddy Luke RB 40 Jermaine Blanchard LB 6-1 210 SO 1L Memphis, Tenn. (White Station) 11 Daniel Phipps WR 66 Chris Boatright OL 6-3 350 SO 1L Little Rock, Ark. (Central Arkansas Christian) 12 Brandon Moreland QB 15 Adam Brewer QB 6-1 190 SO SQ Huntsville, Ala.