Will the Red Wolves be any good this year? I get that question from people who care, and from people who don’t. It’s a difficult question to answer no mater from where the query is posed. I always think the Red Wolves could be good. I buy into hype as much as the next guy – and I ignore the flaws.

For example, last year it was pretty obvious that we had far too few offensive lineman to compete, and not enough speed on both ends of the ball to win. This year, I’m concerned about quarterback. I wonder if we have enough playmakers at receiver and RB. The defensive line seems a bit light on bodies. I’m only overly confident in our ability to kick field goals. I’ve made my mind a sunless place. I share my dreams with ghosts.

All of my hopes and dreams rest on a handful of people – not all of them players. For example, you, Dear Reader, are very essential to the success of the program. We need you in the stands. We need you in the imPACKt Club. We need you to say something nice on Twitter for once.

But the weight doesn’t all fall on you! There’s plenty of pressure for everyone, especially the following:

Keith Heckendorf, Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach

A holdover from the Blake Anderson Era, Heckendorf is in his fifth season as offensive coordinator and QB coach at Arkansas State. His tenure is marked by extreme challenges, including depth issues at offensive line and uncertainty at quarterback. The latter issue continues into 2023, when three athletes (Jaxson Dailey, Jaylen Raynor and JT Shrout) compete for the starting position in Spring.

Quarterback is only one side of the Rubik’s Cube to solve. The Red Wolves run game has been historically woeful in recent seasons, and the team’s total offense finished a dreadful 118th last year. Hopefully, new depth and experience at offensive line – and found leadership behind center – will help Heckendorf return the Red Wolves offense to its former glory.

Eddie Smith, Red Shirt Senior, Safety

In 2021, the Red Wolves defense was repeatedly torched for crippling plays of over 50 yards, with running backs, wide receivers and even (gulp) lumbering tight ends racing past A-State’s overmatched secondary. Enter Eddie Smith, a transfer from Illinois who stuck a cork in surrendering those big plays by accruing 58 total tackles and a pair of picks.

Smith will see some valuable assistance from Trevion Thomas rising star Justin Parks in 2023, but it will be the savvy and experienced Smith who will be relied on to provide the veteran leadership in the backfield.

The Running Backs

No corps in the A-State locker room has seen a more extended time of frustration than the running backs. The Red Wolves haven’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since the great Michael Gordon compiled 1,068 yards in 2015. Last season, Johnnie Lang led the Red Wolves with a paltry 419 yards. Where is the run game, guys?

This season, Brian “Battering Ram” Snead (red shirt senior) returns to run the rock, alongside Ja’Quez Cross (red shirt sophomore) and Mike Sharpe II (sophomore). However, the overall success of the unit might lie in 6’0″, 200-pound transfer Zak Wallace, a native from Benton who looked strong alongside Cross in the Spring Game. The ceiling for this squad is very, very high: the Red Wolves finished dead last for rushing in the Sun Belt in 2022.

Melique Straker, Senior, Linebacker

Linebacker was a disaster unit in 2021, but transfer plug-n-plays like Charles Willekes and Jordan Carmouche made the squad a far more reliable force last season. Straker was an oft-starter last season, finishing second on the team with 81 tackles and 8.0 TFL.

Willekes returns this season, as does Cruz Temple, Jaden Harris (another starter), and incoming transfer Gavin Potter out of Kansas. But this autumn, it will be Straker leading the Havoc Team, a corp of athletes that may be among A-State’s deepest in quite some time.

Andy Kwon, Offensive Line Coach

Kwon joined Butch Jones’ staff as a TE coach, but the former Georgia Southern offensive lineman found himself instructing the O-line in 2022. The offensive line was both a medical ward and a freshman dorm in 2022, with experience being a prime problem.

However, Kwon now has more than a full measure of experience linemen with which to work, with 11 athletes weighing in at 300+. He and Butch Jones brought in a number of key transfers to plug up gaps, including Jacob Bayer (Lamar), Tobias Braun (Ole Miss), Hamilton Hall (Ole Miss) and Jalen Cunningham (Ole Miss). But it may be a couple of Jones-grown products that make the deepest impact in the trenches: Elijah Zollicoffer (sophomore) and Makalin Thomas (redshirt sophomore). Also, look for 2022 CC pickup Mehki Butler (redshirt junior) to get starting minutes.

William Przystup, Redshirt Senior, Punter

Only a handful of Red Wolves were selected to Phil Steele’s All-Sun Belt teams, but Przystup makes the cut on Phil’s fourth team. Przystup (who average 43.47 yards per boot in 2022) recorded seven punts over 50 yards last season, and five of those landed inside the 20 yard line. We understand that football is a game of field position, and Arkansas State has been particularly blessed with gifted kickers and punters in recent seasons. Let’s try not to spoil Pryzystup’s good work by giving up big plays.

Corey Rucker & Jeff Foreman, Wide Receivers

In 2020, we appeared to be witnessing the genesis of pigskin magic when Foreman and Rucker combined for nearly 900 yards and 8 touchdowns on the season. Since that time, Foreman has only shown tantalizing flashes of wizardry while Rucker parlayed an 800 yard 2021 season into at ticket to South Carolina before making a return to Jonesboro.

Now the Boys are Back, Baby, and the pair looked strong in the Spring. The two will get a boost with Syracuse transfer Courtney Jackson (red shirt junior) running interference, and will also receive some breathers with guys like Wyatt Begeal, Regan Ealy and Adam Jones providing veteran routes. But the onus will be on Rucker and Foreman to cash in on their potential and make a star of whoever winds up behind center for Arkansas State.

The Student Section, Arkansas State University

“Well, they haven’t had much to cheer for in quite awhile,” said a colleague of mine upon my noting of the student’s woeful attendance at games. Kids are fickle beasts. Losing is for losers. But the students need to take ownership of their team in 2023 – stagger out of The Pines and divert their youthful energies to loudly slandering our opponents. If you sing the team’s praises for the duration of a football game, the team will sing the fight song for you, I promise.

Artificial Intelligence Failed Me in the Writing of This Article

“As an AI language model, I don’t have access to real-time information or the ability to predict future events beyond my knowledge cutoff in September 2021. Therefore, I cannot provide you with the specific names of the five best players for the Arkansas Red Wolves football team in 2023.” – ChatGPT

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine