The Toledo Rockets were one of the initial faves to win the MAC last season, but a distressing home loss to Northern Illinois late in the season nixed those chances. The Rockets and Huskies had similar 7-1 MAC records, but Northern Illinois won the tiebreaker, and eventually went on to take home the conference championship game. Toledo completed the campaign with a 9-4 record beating Air Force 42-41 in the Military Bowl.
Head coach Tim Beckman departed to take the Illinois job which authorized offensive coordinator Matt Campbell to take over the team. He'll definitely have his hands full in his first year, because the Rockets bring back just eight starters from their talented 2011 squad.
Offense
Toledo featured the best offense in the MAC last year, notching up a particularly impressive 42.2 points and 481 total yards/game. They were ,of course, one of the more exciting teams to observe in the entire country last campaign, but with only 4 starters returning, Toledo will pretty much certainly take a step backwards offensively in 2012.
Surprisingly enough, the Rockets welcome back their top two quarterbacks from last season in junior Terrance Owens and senior Austin Dantin. These 2 frequently swapped possessions last season, but Owens will probably get more repititions than Dantin just because he's more productive.
Toledo suffers a big setback in the backfield as it loses its top 2 running backs from 2011 in Adonis Thomas and Morgan Williams. The premiere runner on the team is junior RB David Fluellen who will probably get the bulk of the rushes this campaign.
The receiving group loses star wide receiver Eric Page, who took off early to join the NFL. This unit returns a single starter in junior Bernard Reedy, who will be the new go-to option. Junior James Green and sophomore WE Cassius McDowell will step into beginning roles, as will senior Illinois transfer TE Cordale Scott.
The offensive line loses 3 starters and 124 career starts, including first-team All-MAC LT Mike VanDerMuelen. With just two guys remaining and 24 career starts returning, the offensive line will not have a shot at matching last season's production. The 2 linemen who remain are second-team All-MAC C Zac Kerin and freshman All-American RG Greg Mancz.
Defense
Toledo wishes to enhance defensively after allowing 31.7 points and 402 total yards/game. The below average defense forced the Rockets to play in a large amount of high scoring games and things may become worse before they get better as they return only four starters on this side of the ball in 2012.
The defensive line loses 3 productive guys, but brings back five of its top 8 up front, including seven who've made 15 or even more career tackles. The projected starting line-up will incorporate senior DE TJ Fatinikun, junior DE Christian Smith, junior DT Elijah Jones and senior DT Danny Farr.
The linebacker corps will be the strongest part of the defense. They have their top two returning in senior WLB Robert Bell and senior MLB Dan Mills. They've also added Michigan transfer Vladimir Emilien to play the STAR LB position.
The secondary must replace three quality defensive backs, including first-team All-MAC CB Desmond Morrow. They do have three players with beginning experience coming back in the defensive backfield and after an abysmal showing last year, should only improve in 2012. Senior CB Byron Best moves from LB to add depth, and senior SS Jermaine Robinson is their best player back. Accomplished Florida transfer sophomore CB Jordan Harden will start straight away.
MAC West Prophecy - 4th Place
This roster has more skill than the eight returning starters would indicate. The offense at the very least has proven playmakers at quarterback in Owens and Dantin. Their losses on the offensive end are at running back, WR and along the offensive line. Regardless of the defense only having 4 starters remaining, this team should be more talented than its 2011 edition. Toledo should be tough to beat in the MAC West, but sadly they must play both Western Michigan and Northern Illinois on the road. Both these teams are projected to finish ahead of the Rockets in the division.
Head coach Tim Beckman departed to take the Illinois job which authorized offensive coordinator Matt Campbell to take over the team. He'll definitely have his hands full in his first year, because the Rockets bring back just eight starters from their talented 2011 squad.
Offense
Toledo featured the best offense in the MAC last year, notching up a particularly impressive 42.2 points and 481 total yards/game. They were ,of course, one of the more exciting teams to observe in the entire country last campaign, but with only 4 starters returning, Toledo will pretty much certainly take a step backwards offensively in 2012.
Surprisingly enough, the Rockets welcome back their top two quarterbacks from last season in junior Terrance Owens and senior Austin Dantin. These 2 frequently swapped possessions last season, but Owens will probably get more repititions than Dantin just because he's more productive.
Toledo suffers a big setback in the backfield as it loses its top 2 running backs from 2011 in Adonis Thomas and Morgan Williams. The premiere runner on the team is junior RB David Fluellen who will probably get the bulk of the rushes this campaign.
The receiving group loses star wide receiver Eric Page, who took off early to join the NFL. This unit returns a single starter in junior Bernard Reedy, who will be the new go-to option. Junior James Green and sophomore WE Cassius McDowell will step into beginning roles, as will senior Illinois transfer TE Cordale Scott.
The offensive line loses 3 starters and 124 career starts, including first-team All-MAC LT Mike VanDerMuelen. With just two guys remaining and 24 career starts returning, the offensive line will not have a shot at matching last season's production. The 2 linemen who remain are second-team All-MAC C Zac Kerin and freshman All-American RG Greg Mancz.
Defense
Toledo wishes to enhance defensively after allowing 31.7 points and 402 total yards/game. The below average defense forced the Rockets to play in a large amount of high scoring games and things may become worse before they get better as they return only four starters on this side of the ball in 2012.
The defensive line loses 3 productive guys, but brings back five of its top 8 up front, including seven who've made 15 or even more career tackles. The projected starting line-up will incorporate senior DE TJ Fatinikun, junior DE Christian Smith, junior DT Elijah Jones and senior DT Danny Farr.
The linebacker corps will be the strongest part of the defense. They have their top two returning in senior WLB Robert Bell and senior MLB Dan Mills. They've also added Michigan transfer Vladimir Emilien to play the STAR LB position.
The secondary must replace three quality defensive backs, including first-team All-MAC CB Desmond Morrow. They do have three players with beginning experience coming back in the defensive backfield and after an abysmal showing last year, should only improve in 2012. Senior CB Byron Best moves from LB to add depth, and senior SS Jermaine Robinson is their best player back. Accomplished Florida transfer sophomore CB Jordan Harden will start straight away.
MAC West Prophecy - 4th Place
This roster has more skill than the eight returning starters would indicate. The offense at the very least has proven playmakers at quarterback in Owens and Dantin. Their losses on the offensive end are at running back, WR and along the offensive line. Regardless of the defense only having 4 starters remaining, this team should be more talented than its 2011 edition. Toledo should be tough to beat in the MAC West, but sadly they must play both Western Michigan and Northern Illinois on the road. Both these teams are projected to finish ahead of the Rockets in the division.
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