2013 Sun Belt Conference Preview

By: Rich Douglas

The Sun Belt, in my opinion, was the most underrated conference last year. They put themselves on notice after UL Monroe defeated Arkansas early last year, but the conference turned out to be much more than that. Unfortunately, the Sun Belt has been left effected from the changing college football landscape and is not deep as it had been. Still, there are some teams to watch with plenty of potential NFL talent.


UL Monroe - Kolton Browning is no doubt the best player in the conference. He heads into his senior season after a 29 touchdown 3,049 yard breakthrough season. Je'Ron Hamm and Tavarese Maye come back after stellar seasons. Four of the five big bodies on the OL will be back as well. On the defensive side of the ball, seven starters return to make for a very formidable unit. While they might not be the most talented bunch, they're asked to do a lot as the Warhawk quick strike offense puts the defense on the field fairly often.

UL Lafayette - Blaine Gautier is gone at QB and the very talented Terrance Broadway will take over full time under center. Broadway may challenge Browning as the player of the year due to his elite athleticism. He didn't play a full season last year and still managed to pass for 2,842 yards and rush for 769. Alonzo Harris is back at RB, but will have a bit of a challenge ahead of him as two of the starting members of last year's OL have graduated. The defense remains in tact and is very strong up front. Look for DE Christian Ringo to have a big season as the anchor to their big DL.

Western Kentucky - Coach Bobby Petrino takes over a Hilltopper team that underachieved a bit last season. Senior RB Antonio Andrews comes into the season as one of the more explosive players in the conference. He rushed for 1,728 yards last season and will be relied upon heavily again. With Kawaun Jakes gone at QB, Brandon Doughty looks to take hold at QB. Last year, the Hilltopper defense was arguably the best in the Sun Belt, their DL might suffer though as they are breaking in all 4 of their players as first year starters.

Arkansas State - The Red Wolves were one of our favorite teams to play last season, and it paid dividends week in and week out. They won the conference title after winning the final 8 games of the season. Unfortunately, QB Ryan Aplin is gone as well as 4 other members on offense. RB David Oku returns as well as top receiver J.D McKissic. They will look to make things easier on projected starter Philip Butterfield.

Troy - The Trojans would be projected to finish last in most other conferences, but two out of three of  the teams that I have below them will be new to the conference. They have just six total starters returning this year. Luckily for them, their three most important players on offense will return. QB Corey Robinson, RB Deon Anthony, and WR Eric Thomas will all be back. Thomas will have some NFL teams watching and will be rewarded if he has a big year. On defense, they'll likely struggle with just 2 starters coming back.

South Alabama - The Jags will probably have a strong defense, but their offense will struggle to keep up with the firepower of the other teams in the conference. Ross Metheny is back under center for his senior season, but he struggled greatly last year throwing for 12 TDs and 12 INTs. On the defensive side of the ball, LB Enrique Williams and DE Alex Page will disrupt plenty of backfields as South Alabama will rely on them to keep them in their games.

Texas State - Newcomers Texas State are coming in fresh off of their first season at the D-I level. They went 4-8 in the WAC last season and will try to match that number this year. Tyler Arndt will be a first year starter at QB, but he saw some time last season. Defensively, they should have a tough time in the conference, especially against some of the better teams. While there are no real impact players, Michael Orakpo will need to lead the way at LB to slow down some of the opposing attacks.

Georgia State - The Panthers will have a tough time this season. There isn't much to say about them other than they'll be one of the worst teams in all of Division I football. Their only win last season was against winless Rhode Island. The good news is 8 starters are back on offense, including QB Ben McLane…so there's that.