It was already academic the Wildcats would have a new head coach after Ron McBride retired at the conclusion of the 2011 season. Initially, veteran coach John L. Smith, a one-time graduate assistant at Weber State, was hired to lead the Wildcats program after serving as special teams coach at Arkansas. But when Razorbacks head coach Bobby Petrino was fired for his own off-field shenanigans stemming from a motorcycle accident, Smith went back to Fayetteville to keep the Razorback program afloat.
Now, defensive coordinator Jody Sears is serving as head coach, and will already have his hands full in coaching the team's safeties as well. Sears is one of two Big Sky head coaches serving as their own defensive coordinator (Idaho State's Mike Kramer is the other). He comes to the Wildcats after serving as an assistant at Washington State under former Eastern Washington head coach Paul Wulff.
The team ran a relatively balanced attack on offense in 2011, averaging 209.5 yards/game in the passing game and 205.5 yards/game on the ground. Junior running back Josh Booker led the team in rushing last season (118 carries for 715 yards), but senior C.J. Tuckett finished 2011 strong with two huge performances in the Wildcats' last two games (47 carries, 467 yards, and 8 touchdowns). Starting quarterback Mike Hoke is back as well, after throwing for 19 touchdowns last season.
On defense, the teams leaders in tackles, sacks, and interceptions are all back, and all hail from the state of Oklahoma. Junior linebacker Anthony Morales led the Wildcats with 115 total tackles (10 for loss of yardage). Senior defensive lineman Trevor Pletcher had 6.5 sacks, and shared the team lead in tackles for loss with Morales. Sophomore cornerback Devin Pugh had amazing freshman season (after redshirting in 2010), leading the Wildcats in interceptions with three.
MY THOUGHTS: The Wildcats were picked to finish mid-pack in both coaches' and media polls, and I think that's about where they'll finish the 2012 campaign. They traditionally have one of the most physical teams in the entire conference, as much of the players are more physically mature than other teams, in large part because some players have served LDS church missions before playing football. With the talent they have coming back, they should be better than the 5-6 mark they ended last season with.
UP NEXT: Idaho State
Image credit: August Miller/Deseret News
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