Henderson State to open fall camp on Monday
ARKADELPHIA - Henderson State, the three-time champions of the Great American Conference and one of the most successful programs in the state of Arkansas over the last decade, returns to the practice fields on Monday to begin fall camp in preparation for the 2019 season.
Players report to campus on Saturday and will go through their first team and position meetings of the year over the weekend. Henderson State will have 13 practices and three scrimmages in the month of August leading up to the season opener at Oklahoma Baptist on Sept. 7 at 6 p.m.
The scrimmages, set for Aug. 17 at 6:45 p.m., Aug. 24 at 10 a.m. and Aug. 28 at 6:30 p.m. at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium and Ruggles Field, are all open and free to the public.
The Reddies, who are looking to rebound after a 5-6 season, return seven starters on offense, six on defense and 31 total lettermen from the 2018 team.
QUARTERBACKS
The Reddies bring back a wealth of experience under center with both Richard Stammetti and Kody Whitaker returning in 2019. Stammetti, who started all 11 games last season, threw for 2,459 yards, 18 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his first year in the program.
The senior from Las Vegas, Nevada, will look to make a jump in his second season after he was fifth in the GAC in passing yards and passing yards per game (223.5) in 2018. Whitaker, who served as Henderson State’s change of pace, dual-threat quarterback, played in six games, accounted for 242 total yards and two scores.
He should continue to provide Henderson State with a mobile option commanding the offense. The Reddies finished fourth in the GAC in passing offense per game in 2018 and threw the ball 426 times — more than every team in the league with the exception of Oklahoma Baptist.
RUNNING BACKS
Henderson State has a luxury many teams do not in the backfield by returning not one, but two, capable ball carriers from
2018.
Logan Moragne and Querale Hall combined to form a two-headed monster for the Reddies last season and will look to build on that success as both players enter their senior seasons. Moragne, who transferred from Arkansas State in 2017, carried 118 times for 707 yards and five touchdowns to earn Honorable Mention All-GAC recognition, while Hall, who caught fire midway through the 2018 campaign, rushed for 461 yards and five touchdowns.
He also caught 13 passes for 82 yards and two scores. A new name to watch in 2019 is redshirt freshman Caleb Horton, who has worked his way into the rotation and will likely spell both Moragne and Hall at times this season.
The Attalla, Alabama, native rushed for over 2,000 yards with 22 touchdowns in his final two years at Etowah High School.
WIDE RECEIVERS
One of the deepest positions on the team, the wide receivers group at Henderson State will be out to prove it is the best collection of pass catchers in the GAC this season. Returning for the Reddies is one of the breakout players of 2018, junior Chase Lodree, who burst onto the scene as a sophomore last season with 34 receptions for 462 yards and five touchdowns in his first year as a starter.
Alongside him is fifth-year senior Darion Gray, who caught 34 passes for 348 yards as a junior in 2017 before missing last season due to injury, and senior Doug Johnson, who caught 18 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns in 2018.
Seniors Zac Newbell and Roderick Jackson also figure to see playing time as a part of the deep rotation at receiver.
OFFENSIVE LINE
The Reddies, who were inexperienced across the offensive front last season, have no such issue in 2019, as they return a trio of everyday starters in junior guard Ugo Amadi, junior tackle Blake Dybala and senior tackle Clifford Jackson III.
The three returners will look to anchor and shore up a unit that, with four new starters last season, struggled at times.
Henderson State was 10th in the GAC in sacks allowed, giving up 27 total in 2018, but also blocked for an offense that finished fourth in the league in passing yards and was third in the conference in yards per carry (4.2) on rushing attempts.
The Reddies finished seventh in the GAC in rushing offense (134.6 yards per game) despite running the ball less than any team in the conference outside of East Central (353 total rushes).
DEFENSIVE LINE
Along the trenches on the defensive side of the ball, the Reddies return several key contributors to a group that is led by senior end Robert Thomas, who was an Honorable Mention All-GAC selection last season. Thomas, who finished the year with 38 tackles, 5 1/2 tackles for loss, 2 1/2 sacks and a forced fumble, will spearhead a unit that finished 11th in the league with just 12 sacks in 2018.
Joining him up front are senior tackles DQ Scott and Jacquez Neilson, who are both coming off of productive seasons. Scott, who made the switch from offensive to defensive line in 2018, made 14 tackles with a tackle for loss and a forced fumble, while Neilson had 16 tackles, a half tackle for loss and started the final four games of last season.
Also returning are juniors Zach Singleton and Antoine Roshell, who each saw action in every game last fall and will provide further depth up front.
LINEBACKERS
The unit patrolling the middle of the field will have to cope with the departures of two dependable starters in Cameron Sonnier and Logan Edwards, but should be buoyed by the return of sophomore Jake Chatman. Chatman, who had 26 tackles and three interceptions to lead all GAC linebackers last season, will look to build on a terrific redshirt freshman campaign where he earned GAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career.
Competing alongside him will be juniors Colby Turner and Josh Puryear, who each played in all 11 games of 2018, as well as sophomore Jacob Greenfield, who came on late at the end of the year.
SECONDARY
The back end of the Reddies' defense returns multiple contributors and should have both talent and depth in 2019. Leading the group is senior nickel Mercardo Anderson, who burst onto the scene as a junior with 55 tackles, 8 1/2 tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries, and will enter this season as the leading returning tackler on the team.
Senior CJ Jones, who proved to be Henderson State’s best lockdown corner in his first year on campus with 42 tackles, three tackles for loss and 10 pass break-ups in 2018, is back.
Also returning are junior defensive backs Antonio Franklin and Bryston Gipson, who each played in every game last season. Franklin made 13 tackles and eight solo stops as a sophomore, while Gipson had 14 tackles, an interception and a pass break-up.
Gipson earned GAC Special Teams Player of the Week following the win over Arkansas Tech where he blocked a field goal.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Henderson State returns a great weapon in sophomore kicker Temo Martinez, who proved to be one of the best place-kickers in the conference as a true freshman last season.
Martinez, of Dardanelle, was an Honorable Mention All-GAC selection after going 10-for-16 on field goal attempts and 34-for35 on extra points to lead the Reddies in scoring and finish seventh in the GAC with 64 total points. Martinez tied the school record with a 49-yard boot against Southeastern Oklahoma State on homecoming and hit the game-winning 40-yarder with seconds remaining in that same contest.
Tristan Heaton, a freshman from Humble, Texas, looks to have a leg up in the race for to be the Reddies punter. Heaton punted 44 times as a senior for Atascocita High School and averaged 40.3 yards per punt.