Ferrum @ Muskingum

 This blog post begins the 15th season of posting the Ferrum College Football Report. I started on September 6th, 2008, after a gut-wrenching loss to Emory and Henry. Since then, I have followed Ferrum football with great interest and hopefully have generated interest in the program along the way.

As this year begins in Ohio against Muskingum, I honestly am at a loss as to what to expect out of this year's Panthers. If you look back at the final post from last season, I pinned a lot of my hopes for a successful season on a fairly solid quarterbacking crew. The sun brings a new day, and new questions. Those quarterbacks listed in that article are not back with the team this year....neither are three of their running backs, and at least two of last year's Wide Receivers are gone......all of these I refer to had eligibility still remaining.

While these developments do concern me, losing players happens....you have to keep it moving. There are several things that I look at as positive. The return of Tony Konieczka '17 as defensive coordinator. Tony had a stellar career as a Ferrum linebacker. Since that time, he has had some solid experience to prepare him for this job. His online bio reads as follows:

Anthony Konieczka began as Assistant Football Coach and Defensive Coordinator at Ferrum in February 2023. He previously served a year as Linebackers Coach at Wilkes University in 2022, four years as Linebackers Coach at St. Andrews University from 2018-21, and a year as Graduate Assistant Coach at St. Andrews in 2017.

At Wilkes, he helped the Colonels finish in the top 40 in five defensive categories last season, three of which being in the top 25, while coaching a pair of All-Conference players. Worked hand in hand with Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Interns on all aspects of the defense, including Gameplans, Scouting Reports and Practice Schedules/Scripts.
 
At St. Andrews, he served as Recruiting Coordinator as well as Weight Training and Conditioning Coordinator for the Knight football program. Konieczka also coached three All-Conference Linebackers for the Knights with one holding the school record for tackles in a season and in a game. During his tenure, he mentored two top 5 tacklers in the nation in his linebacker room.

Konieczka played football four seasons at Ferrum from 2013-16, earning USA South All-Conference and VaSID All-State his senior year in 2016. He was Ferrum's Big Green Award recipient in 2016, the top award for a graduating senior in the Panther football program. Konieczka was also a USA South All-Academic Team member in 2015 and 2016.

 The recruiting emphasis for the defense is evident and was much needed. This year of the 61 freshmen on the roster, 29 are defensive recruits. The defensive line has added some bulk up front, with the Defensive Freshman Hulk award going to Kaleb Benson. Benson comes out of West Forsyth High School in Winston-Salem N.C. and checks in at 6'0" 300 lbs.

The linebacker corps looks quite solid. There are 21 listed on the roster, of which 7 are Freshmen.

With a solid returning unit in the CB and Safety department, I feel pretty good about Ferrum's defense. After giving up 28.1 ppg, Ferrum has a lot of room for improvement, but their recruiting tells me they are laying a foundation for success.

WE HAVE FOUND THE BEEF

If you are old enough, you should remember the Where 's The Beef Commercial from Wendy's. Well folks, I think we have found it. You need to look no further than the Ferrum offensive line. There is a lot of beef up there....take a look:

Quintell Henderson  6'0" 380 lbs.

Joshua Watson 6'2" 370 lbs.

Claudel-Paul Mondo 6'6" 350 lbs.

Mitchell Krause 6'4" 330 lbs.

Gaige Brooks 6'4" 319 lbs.

Zeke Surber 6'2" 300 lbs.

Ok, so what about the Quarterback position? Well, there may be good news there too. I think Ferrum has recruited some strong Freshmen quarterbacks, and while there may not be a lot of experience at the quarterback position from recruiting, the Panthers picked up a transfer from University of Richmond. Braxton Hughes comes to Ferrum as a graduate student, and has experience in an FCS offense. Time will tell, but the quarterback position seems well staffed. look for Hughes to be the starter.

As for Running back and Receivers, there is no shortage at either position, there are 18 WR's listed on the roster, along with 10 running backs. 5 of the 10 running backs are Freshmen, and of the 18 Wide Receivers, only 7 are Freshmen.

Ferrum was picked to be tied for the last spot in the ODAC with Averett. All in all, I think this will be a rebuilding year for Ferrum, but I am looking forward to this team developing over the course of the season, and the next 4 years. There is a lot of upside to this team, but it will develop over time. Today will be the beginning of that development. Today may not go well, but over time you will see improvement. Support this team, and support the college. Come to a game. Its a great atmosphere at W.B. Adams Stadium.

Go Panthers!