Athlon Sports named four Texas State players to their preseason All-Sun Belt Conference teams. Inside linebackers Bryan London II and Gabe Loyd were named to the first team, while center Aaron Brewer and tight end Gabe Schrade are on the fourth team.
Some good information on the four players via Texas State's press release:
"London enters his sophomore season at linebacker after receiving All-SBC Second-Team accolades in 2016 when he ranked third nationally with 11.8 total tackles and 6.9 solo stops per game. He tallied a career-best 19 tackles against Idaho and had 18 stops versus Arkansas State. He also forced a fumble against the Red Wolves after forcing another fumble at New Mexico State.
Brewer enters his sophomore campaign after earning All-SBC Third-Team honors as a true freshman when he made 11 starts and recorded 54 knockdowns. He played in 12 games last season and joined Texas State’s starting offensive line as a left guard at Arkansas. Brewer finished the season starting seven games at guard and the final four contests as a center.
Loyd enters his senior campaign alongside London at linebacker after earning All-SBC Third-Team honors last year and tying for sixth place among league leaders with 8.5 tackles per game. He had seven or more tackles in 10 games in 2016, registering a career-best of 12 tackles at ULM. He also had 11 stops against Idaho and recorded 10 in his Bobcat debut at Ohio while serving as a team captain.
A senior tight end, Schrade also served as team captain in 2016 and caught 25 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns in his first full season as a starter. He caught a season-best six catches for 72 yards at Ohio and recorded four receptions for 61 yards and two touchdowns against Incarnate Word."
No surprise with London II and Loyd, 100-plus tackles each last season. I will say that those numbers were high because both players were on the field often due to an inept offense (defense wasn't great either outside of those two). I think they will be just as good this season ( if not better) but I also don't feel either player's numbers will be as high. They won't be asked to do as much so it will be difficult for them to repeat that feat, statistically speaking. Both are still great players and more than deserving of being named to the first team.
Brewer is primed for a solid season and I think he should have been higher. After never playing center in high school, he started the last four games there for the Bobcats and earned third team honors as a true freshman. While one would expect some growing pains with the position switch (snapping the ball isn't easy), it was a relatively seamless transition for him. He had a solid spring as well and was routinely mentioned by the coaching staff as one of the best players on the offensive (Tryston Mizerak is up there as well).
Adding Pesa Tupa and Anthony Mayes this summer is going to do wonders for this team. Hard to not be, but no doubt the offensive line will be much improved compared to last season with better starters and more depth. This will improve both the run and pass games, which in turn will lead to less three-and-outs and give the defense a much needed break.
Bringing in offensive line coach Eric Mateos from LSU is also a big factor. Mateos brought a spark to that has turned into a fire on the offensive line unit. Not to mention offensive coordinator and running backs coach Zak Kuhr should improve the running game, as he was the running backs coach at Rutgers before joining the Bobcats this year.
Schrade is one of the more vocal leaders on the team and deserving of the honor. He's a good blocker and formidable player on special teams. Not to mention he was a favorite target for Tyler Jones when broken plays turned into check-downs. However, his receiving numbers may not be as high this season with the emergence of sophomore Brendon Rushing and the recent addition of Elijah Rogers. I also don't expect Damian Williams to check-down as much as Jones did from what I saw of Williams this spring.
Discuss in the War Room here.
