West Chester Bursting With Talent In Backfield And On The Perimeter

EDITOR'S NOTE: Today's segment is the second in a short series that will preview the 2014 West Chester University Golden Rams football team. Today's segment will include the running backs and wide receivers with the offensive line coming on Monday.

WEST CHESTER, Pa. - Replacing first-team consensus All-America Rondell White is the top priority. It's not easy to reproduce 4,000 yards rushing, 2,000 yards receiving, 1,000 yards in returns and over 7,000 career all-purpose yards. However, Zwaan believes he concocted the perfect formula to do just that.

How do you replace 1,989 yards rushing and 3,107 all-purpose yards? I mean … White touched the football 494 times last fall, including an NCAA Division II record 406 carries out of the backfield. Finding another "Delly" is virtually impossible.
 
Since it will take more than one running back to mimic the numbers that White put up, that is exactly what Zwaan plans on doing.
 
Junior Brandon Monk begins the season atop the depth chart at tailback. He is coming off a year in which he rushed for 495 yards and four touchdowns on 66 carries. He averaged 7.5 yards per rush in limited use due to the over-usage of White. Monk has all the tools to be the Golden Rams' No. 1 option in the backfield. Playing behind White for the first two years of his career has hidden the local product's talents from the rest of the PSAC. This fall it is his turn to show people what he can do on a regular basis.
 
Monk will also be asked to return punts and kicks, which means classmate Eddie Elliott will have plenty of opportunity to run the ball. Elliott has mainly been used as a slot back, or wide receiver, in his first two college seasons. He can catch the ball out of the backfield and is elusive in space. Elliott rushed for 177 yards on 14 carries while scoring two touchdowns in 2013. He averaged 12.2 yards per rush a year ago. He also caught 20 passes for 345 yards and three more scores. He returned four kickoffs for 49 yards as well. Look for him to get more touches, especially on returns.
 
Any head coach would consider it a luxury to have three viable options at running back. Few times is that actually the case. However, Zwaan feels that red-shirt freshman Jarel Elder should have a breakout season. Elder spent a year in the program and is coming off an excellent spring practice. Though only a red-shirt freshman, he has the ingredients to be a solid running back in this league. At 5-feet, 7-inches tall and 160 pounds, Elder hides behind the bigger offensive lineman and explodes through the hole. He possesses the most speed among the bevy of runners in the Golden Rams' stable. Opposing defenses will find it hard to see him in time, and West Chester's defense is tired of facing him in practice.
 
The only other running back returning with experience in Zwaan's system is fellow red-shirt freshman Anthony Brown. Brown spent a year, along with Elder, learning the playbook and adjusting to the college game. He will have to fight for playing time alongside some pretty talented runners to get on the field this fall.

Wide Receivers
The perimeter players should be strong as ever. The talented upperclassmen provide McCartney with plenty of options in the passing game. Throw in the possibility of Eddie Elliott splitting out wide, and the Golden Rams have some dangerous weapons on the perimeter.
 
Shannon Mayer, Erick Brundidge and Adam Dempsey are the featured stars out wide. Each holds ample game experience, and Zwaan senses that they are ready to take on a larger role. Mayer caught 14 passes for 195 yards and one TD in 12 games while Dempsey ranked third on the team with 37 catches for 526 yards and four TDs. Mayer has big-play ability and can run in the open field. He looks ready to assume the role Lee played the last four years. Meanwhile Dempsey is coming off a campaign in which he rotated with Keyser. He is just going to be the guy full-time now.
 
Brundidge registered 46 catches for 759 yards and a team-best 10 touchdowns a year ago. If he gets behind the defense, watch out. There is not a defensive back in Division II that can run him down from behind. He hauled in nearly one-third of all of West Chester's TD receptions in 2013. A.J. DePietro, a full-time special teams player last season, will assume a larger role on offense this year. He is coming off an excellent spring, and the coaching staff likes his development.
 
Senior transfer Mike Doty enters the Golden Rams system from Temple. The coaching staff does not know what to expect from the senior, who has not played college football in a couple of years. Doty appeared in 11 games in 2011 for the Owls, including their bowl win over Wyoming. At 6-4, Doty owns the height that makes him dangerous within striking distance of the end zone.
 
Jim Hurley and Jordan Banks are two young wide receivers, who have not yet tapped their potential. Hurley is an option to fill LaRonn Lee's role. He caught three passes for 83 yards and a score last season. His playoff experience from a year ago would suggest that he is ready to step into a bigger role this fall. Banks red-shirted in 201 and is coming off a stellar spring campaign. He is tall and possesses a great deal of speed. Fellow red-shirt freshman, Marcus Sydnor, will also fight for playing time, along with sophomore Ryan Boyd.