In just 15 days, the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers will play at UCLA to kick off the 2023 season.
The game starts on Saturday, September 2nd at 10:30 p.m. and will be televised. Analysts claim this will be the toughest matchup for Coastal Carolina Football of the 2023 Fall schedule.
Over the last six seasons since Coastal Carolina entered FCS, it’s been a wild ride.
From out of nowhere, the team went 31-3 over the next 2.5 seasons, only to fall off the rails with a three-game losing streak to close out 2022.
The late slip was partially due to star QB Grayson McCall getting banged up – he missed two games and wasn’t 100% in the two final losses – but the pass defense went bye-bye, while James Madison, Troy, and East Carolina were strong. In the next step, we must make the transition.
Former head coach Jamey Chadwell took time to turn Liberty into a killer program – now he’s off to take Liberty even higher – and Tim Beck will be the new head coach.
As long as the defense improves, this will still be one of the biggest Group of Five stars, but…
Offense preview for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
This new offense won’t be full of pyrotechnics. A coaching change means a lot of QB Grayson McCall and a lot of running for Coastal Carolina Football. If the goal is to control the game, dominate the clock, and keep everything moving at the O’s pace, there will be no unnecessary chances. It’s because that’s exactly what the team has been doing for a few years – it just used to be WAY funkier. That means…
McCall will be in charge. With just eight interceptions and 78 touchdowns, he’s a 70% career passer with a lot of experience. He’ll be able to throw the ball to his veteran targets in a hurry. The receiver corps is led by Sam Pinckney, who tallied 71 grabs for more than 1,000 yards last year. Jared Brown and Tyson Mobley round out what is arguably the best group of targets in the Sun Belt.
The offensive line loses some terrific blockers – center Willie Lampkin is off to North Carolina – but this is a veteran group that will pick up the tweaks in style right away. With CJ Beasley and Reese White getting lots of work as the O tries to win as much as possible on the ground, there shouldn’t be any problems at running back.
Defense preview for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Just to say, the secondary needs to improve. Last year, Chanticleer’s secondary stopped picking off passes – one interception over the last eight games – and allowed over nine yards per throw after giving up less than seven yards per pass the previous two years. There isn’t much evidence of big play ability among the defensive backs, despite their experience.
Against the run, the defensive front should be fine, but pass rushers must return to the game. The defense was fantastic at getting into the backfield, but the loss of Jerrod Clark inside and Josaiah Stewart wherever he wanted to line up hurts the Coastal Carolina Football chances. There’s good size and some options to play around with, but the pressure will be there for a while.
Linebackers are the early strength of the Defense. JT Killen is a proven All-Sun Belt hitter, and Shane Bruce and Tre Pinkney will produce on the outside.
Should the team clear the hurdle of UCLA, teams in the division include Appalachian State, a surprising James Madison squad, Georgia Southern, and an improved Marshall squad that is said to be greatly improved this year.