The Chanticleers visit Jonesboro for Red Wolves Homecoming

It wasn’t just too long ago when a visit from Coastal Carolina was an insta-win for Arkansas State. In those Joe Moglia salad days, the Chanticleers ran a weird, hybrid-sorta triple option where as many as three quarterbacks would see numbers on the final box score. They were heroically small and slow. By game’s end, Red Wolves statistics looked fantastic and everybody ate.

This ideal world imploded in November of 2019, when a last second touchdown heave from Layne Hatcher to Kirk Merritt resulted in a 28-27 home victory for Arkansas State. Yes, the Red Wolves won, but the year before, Arkansas State had trashed Coastal in Conway 44-16. The win in 2019 would be the Red Wolves’ last over the Chanticleers, who pounded A-State 52-23 the following season. What the hell was happening?

Jamey Chadwell took over the team in 2017, and by 2019, the seeds of selective recruiting were bearing fruit. Grayson McCall threw for 322 yards and four touchdowns in the 2020 win over the Red Wolves – one of those was a 72 yard connection to future NFL draft pick Isiah Likely. The Chanticleers was the 90-pound weakling who gambled a dime on Charlie Atlas’ training manual and punched-out the beach bully.

But Has The Reign of the Chanticleer Come to a Sticky End?

Three years later, Grayson McCall is still the signal caller for Coastal, but stalwarts like Jaivon Heiligh, CJ Marable, Shemari Jones, Isiah Likely, Silas Kelley, Josiah Stewart, CJ Brewer and Willie Lampkin are gone – mostly to the NFL. Also missing: head coach Jamey Chadwell, who may have seen the paint drying and grabbed the bag at Liberty (where he is currently 7-0).

Tim Beck is in his first year as head coach in Conway, and it’s evident that the 3-3 Chanticleers aren’t the dominating machine they once were. While McCall and his offense received the lion’s share of attention over the years, it was that Chanticleers defense that wrecked terror upon the Sun Belt. Today, the unit is ranked 94th in the nation, sporting an uncharacteristically soft rush defense that is allowing 155 yards a contest. Coastal’s defensive line, once the most feared in the Sun Belt, has recorded the fewest sacks (6) in the conference.

While the Chants Era may be coming to an end, Coastal is still a dangerous team – just ask Shawn Clark and the Mountaineers, who fell to the Chanticleers in a Tuesday evening dogfight last week. McCall is still able to go on the road and find a crease to victory. To underestimate Coastal Carolina is to add an insta-loss to your schedule.

The BYE Week is a Healing Balm for Arkansas State’s Defense

Six weeks of football has taken its bite out of the Red Wolves defense, with key guys like Melique Straker, Micah Bland, Samy Johnson, Tim Hardiman and Justin Hodges are all dinged. According to head coach Butch Jones, all will be available for action against the Chanticleers on Homecoming Saturday – and all will be needed.

Not by any measure are the Red Wolves a “shut down” defense. Though gradually improving, Arkansas State continues to have trouble bringing down quarterbacks and creating the havoc necessary to assist a stressed secondary. In addition, the Red Wolves have been dastardly at stopping the run, ranking 116th nationally while allowing season-defining games from Frank Gore Jr. and Kimani Vidal. To have every Red Wolf healthy and ready could be a deciding factor.

This is a Big Game for Jaylen Raynor

After assembling god-like statistics in three big wins for the Red Wolves, freshman quarterback Jaylen Raynor received a bucket-splash of ice-cold reality against Troy in Week 6, when he was limited to just 156 passing yards, five rushing yards, and zero scores. After weeks of playing bad defenses, Raynor and the Red Wolves did not have the skills or tools to confront a top 15 defensive unit.

How Raynor responds after this setback is important to his maturation as a quarterback. Coach Butch Jones has called Raynor “mature” and “growing as a student of the game.” Rebounding from a setback is a fine sign of maturity. If Rayner learns lessons from his struggles at Troy, Arkansas State will be a great position moving forward.

Chant to Shut Down: Sam Pinckney, WR

Formerly of Georgia State, Pinckney is a 6’4″ beast of a receiver currently ranked second in the SBC for receiving yards (545 yards, 3 TDs). The Red Wolves secondary will need to focus on putting Pinckney in a box if they want to mitigate damage from Grayson McCall.

Red Wolf to Wolf Out: Melique Straker

Held out of the Troy game, the Red Wolves’ leading linebacker needs to unleash every once of savagery upon McCall and running back Braydon Bennet, who has four rushing touchdowns on the year. If Straker and his young battery mate, Javante Mackey, can plug the run lanes, we could see a one-dimensional Chanticleers team in Jonesboro.

The Student Section Will Feature a Party Deck

Per the Arkansas State Athletic Department, the Centennial Bank Stadium Student Section will now feature a Party Deck with a DJ and “it and give the students/student groups opportunities to use it in different ways on game days and give the student section a different look from the rest of the stadium and be something the students can take ownership.”

Well hell yeah, A-State Athletics! The Cent is in desperate need of energy, and doping up the student section could supply the electricity required to jumpstart the fans.

The Red Wolves Are Where They’re Supposed to Be

During the Red Wolves’ three game win streak, Arkansas State faithful were beginning to feel the tidal shift within the program – from despair to hope. One loss to Troy later, some fans have thrown their hands up in frustration, openly wondering if the team’s sudden transformation was a mirage.

Truth is, the Red Wolves have defeated a trio of awful programs while losing to a triumvirate of really good teams. The truth is, Jaylen Raynor is a gifted quarterback who is also a true freshman who is still learning the position. The truth is, the Red Wolves defense is likely a year from truly being a FBS-worthy unit. Butch Jones calls this team “developmental,” which is a term that may buffer him from critics, but doesn’t make it any less true. The Red Wolves are a team powered by sophomores and red shirt freshmen – the program has started more true freshman this season than any Group of Five program in the country. They’re learning on the job, and we have a front seat to seeing how a team is built from the ground floor.

The Final Analysis

The Red Wolves enter Homecoming weekend well rested and, we hope, well prepared to confront a foe that has destroyed Sun Belt opponents for three years. It should be said that beating Appalachian State may have given Tim Beck and his team a jolt of confidence it was likely missing since losing to Georgia State in Week 4. A road win would signal a delay in the Fall of the House of Chants.

In many ways, the Red Wolves are like the 2019 Chanticleers team that lost by one in Jonesboro – young, promising, and hungry of identity. This game will be the Red Wolves closest apples-to-apples test yet. We’re eager to see how we stack up.

Photo Credit: Mine