By David Asbury
The Fifth Battle of the Beaches
Sun Belt Conference play will open against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. There is a history with this team. The Monarchs, led by Taylor Heinicke, kicked off the series with the Chants in the 2012 FCS playoffs with a 63 to 25 blowout victory. In 2022, reunited in the Sun Belt Conference, Blake Watson has the day of days, running for a school-record 259 yards and 3 touchdowns as Old Dominion upset the Chants to start the series 2-0. Unfortunately, Chesapeake native QB Ethan Vasko, who decommitted from ODU to attend Kansas, found his way to Coastal 2023 after entering the portal. He would lead the Chants to two straight victories, one with his feet and one with his arm, to even the series in 2023 and 2024. This last offseason Vasko jumped into the portal again and will play for another ODU opponent in Liberty. His departure marks a new chapter in the series with it tied at 2 games a piece.
This also marks a new chapter for third-year head coach Tim Beck. His first two years at Coastal have been fine with a bowl victory in year-one and bowl loss in year-two. But Coastal wants more than that. Beck is supposed to be an offensive guru but his offenses have been a step behind what they were under his predecessor (and current Liberty Head Coach) Jamey Chadwell. His seat is getting warm so he needs to get this team back in Sun Belt contention. To do so, he hired two new offensive coordinators and brought in 67 new players. That is a lot of turnover for a team keeping their head coach.
Quarterback is no exception to the turnover. After Vasko transferred, Tad Hudson started in the Myrtle Beach Bowl and struggled mightily. So, Beck brought in three new guys. MJ Morris (Maryland), Emmett Brown (San Jose State) and Samari Collier (JUCO). All four quarterbacks are in the battle but Morris is favored to win the job. Morris had a pretty mediocre performance at Maryland and NC State before joining the Chants, throwing 19 touchdowns to 11 interceptions over three seasons. However, he has potential to play better in a G5 league. Meanwhile, Emmett Brown (insert Back to the Future joke) played a good amount in 2024 throwing 16 touchdowns to only five interceptions, however he only completed 57% of his passes.
The good thing for the camp battle winner is that he will have help on offense. The O returns some good pieces at receiver and the offensive line. Leading receiver Jameson Tucker is back on the outside after an explosive six-touchdown season, averaging over 17 yards per catch. All-Sun Belt tackle Nick Del Grande and guard Heston Edwards are solid on the left side of the line. Thomas Johnson is a veteran at center. And the three serve as a great foundation to potentially have one of the best offensive lines in the conference. The Chants do need a new feature back though after losing their top five rushers. Sophomore Ja'Vin Simpkins is young but is a quick back with a lot of potential. He could be the breakout player the Chants need. If there are no speed bumps in finding a quarterback, this unit should match their average Sun Belt numbers from last year and has the potential to see improvement from 2024.
Receiver Jameson Tucker (82, now 8) oversees current Cleveland Brown Lamareon James recover a fumble in 2023. Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography.
Turning to the defense, there's a lot more turnover. Only three starters return but at least one of those starters is linebacker Shane Bruce who led the Chants in tackles in '24 (75). Linebacker Wyatt Gideon also returns to the linebacker corp. Meanwhile, 307-pound nose tackle Sawyer Goram-Welch will plug up the middle, opening up lanes for linebackers. So the linebackers should be stars. After that, it is pretty much all new transfers. Noah Arinze (New Mexico) needs to be a big pass rusher right away. But the biggest question mark will be the secondary. Myles Mooyoung and Robby Washington are corners coming in from Miami who should fill in nicely. With so many newcomers, this team may struggle against the pass and may be a bottom-half Sun Belt defense overall.
Shane Bruce (1) recorded 75 tackles last year, and 52 the year before. Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography.
Overall, CFN sets the win total at 6, where Vegas sets it at 5.5. Phil Steele ranks them fifth in the Sun Belt East. CFBudge ranks them an average eighth in the entire conference. I am a little less hopeful though. There is just a lot of turnover here that reeks of desperation as well as a tough schedule with two road P4 games and East Carolina. They do draw ULM from the West for some relief in the schedule but other than that, it is going to be tough (but not impossible) to reach six wins. With two new coordinators, 67 new players, and a pretty damn tough schedule, I prefer the under on this team. Which is a shame too because Tim Beck's seat may be scorching hot if this team does not excel.
ODU opens conference play against this team at the Castle on October 4th. The lead in the series is on the line. The Monarchs should have probably beat this team the last two years so revenge is also available. It is way too early for any locked-in predictions but I like the Monarchs to open conference play with a win at home. I hope the Chanticleers surprise and beat some of our fellow Sun Belt brethren but I am just not very high on this team until I see how all that turnover worked out.
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ODU Football 2025 Opponent Preview - Marshall