Coastal will likely start three walk-on receivers in Saturday's game against Monmouth, coach David Bennett said during his weekly press conference Wednesday.
Flanker Marquel Willis and split end Paul Nicholas started the opener, so it's no surprise that they will remain in the lineup this week. However, 5-foot-6 redshirt freshman Adrian Sullivan will likely join them as a starter this week, Bennett said. I'm assuming that means Brandon Whitley will come off the bench unless the Chants open in a four-receiver set.
The news isn't really that much of a surprise considering the impact Sullivan has made over the course of the last month. A scout teamer in 2008, he began to emerge as a legitimate option this spring, but he really began to turn heads in preseason camp, when many of the other players ahead of him on the depth chart faltered.
Still, the coaching staff probably had some reservations about Sullivan until seeing him perform under the lights. In the opener against Kent State, the Charleston native played sparingly, but he caught two passes for 14 yards, ran once for one yard (turning a sure three-yard loss into a positive gain) and had a solid tackle on Coastal's free kick late in the game.
"You've got three guys that are probably going to start at wideout that walked onto this football team," Bennett said. "Good ol' hard-working, hard-nosed, blue-collar guys. My favorite kind of guy. Marquel Willis. Paul Nicholas. Adrian Sullivan. You've got guys on scholarship that are going to back them up."
Willis is probably the team's most complete receiver. Nicholas is solid, though he certainly lacks straight-line speed. Sullivan is fast and super quick, though his size is a limiting factor.
Those three are certainly not the most gifted receivers in the program. Players like Keith Graham, Kenny Jones, Chris Presley, Akeem Wesley and Trae Long might be more athletic, but they haven't impressed the coaching staff enough during the preseason to earn a starting nod. Graham has all-American potential but has been banished to running the scout team over the past two weeks, perhaps illustrating the maturity issues that he and many of the team's receivers share.
That certainly isn't a problem with Willis, Nicholas and Sullivan, however.
Flanker Marquel Willis and split end Paul Nicholas started the opener, so it's no surprise that they will remain in the lineup this week. However, 5-foot-6 redshirt freshman Adrian Sullivan will likely join them as a starter this week, Bennett said. I'm assuming that means Brandon Whitley will come off the bench unless the Chants open in a four-receiver set.
The news isn't really that much of a surprise considering the impact Sullivan has made over the course of the last month. A scout teamer in 2008, he began to emerge as a legitimate option this spring, but he really began to turn heads in preseason camp, when many of the other players ahead of him on the depth chart faltered.
Still, the coaching staff probably had some reservations about Sullivan until seeing him perform under the lights. In the opener against Kent State, the Charleston native played sparingly, but he caught two passes for 14 yards, ran once for one yard (turning a sure three-yard loss into a positive gain) and had a solid tackle on Coastal's free kick late in the game.
"You've got three guys that are probably going to start at wideout that walked onto this football team," Bennett said. "Good ol' hard-working, hard-nosed, blue-collar guys. My favorite kind of guy. Marquel Willis. Paul Nicholas. Adrian Sullivan. You've got guys on scholarship that are going to back them up."
Willis is probably the team's most complete receiver. Nicholas is solid, though he certainly lacks straight-line speed. Sullivan is fast and super quick, though his size is a limiting factor.
Those three are certainly not the most gifted receivers in the program. Players like Keith Graham, Kenny Jones, Chris Presley, Akeem Wesley and Trae Long might be more athletic, but they haven't impressed the coaching staff enough during the preseason to earn a starting nod. Graham has all-American potential but has been banished to running the scout team over the past two weeks, perhaps illustrating the maturity issues that he and many of the team's receivers share.
That certainly isn't a problem with Willis, Nicholas and Sullivan, however.
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