Game Preview: Long Island University

The Jacks will host the Long Island University Sharks on Saturday in the 2019 home opener.  LIU is transitioning from D2 to FCS football and is part of the NEC.  Recent Jackrabbit opponents from the NEC include Duquesne (2018 and 2017) and Robert Morris (2015).    The Sharks are actually combining two of the Long Island University campuses (Post and Brooklyn) to form this squad.  The Sharks have yet to play a game this season so once again, most of these projections are based on 2018 data and whatever news articles I can find.  Last season they enjoyed a perfect regular season before falling in the first round of the NCAA D2 playoffs to Slippery Rock.  That group was senior laden and will be looking to replace 16 starters in 2019. They do not have any games to watch on ESPN+ that I can find.  However, their head coach Bryan Collins has been at LIU 21 years and has a career record of 160-72.  This will certainly help in the D1 transition.

Offense
In their final season of D2, LIU averaged 30 ppg.  They are known for being an explosive offense and had 260 ypg passing and just over 141 ypg rushing.  From the highlights that I was able to find on youtube, it looks like they operated out of the pistol.  Unfortunatly for them, they graduated their leading rusher, passer, and top four leaders in receptions and yards.

At Quarterback the Sharks brought in former Iowa Western Community College signal caller #4 Clay Beathard (6'1, 192).  If the last name sounds familiar it is because he is the younger brother of former Iowa standout CJ Beathard.   At IWCC he played in 9 games with his two biggest games coming against Hutchinson CC and Fort Hayes CC.  In those games he went a combined 36 for 68 for 532 yards, 5 TDs, and 2 INTs.  It looks like he made spot appearances for the rest of the season but in those two games he showed that he can really sling it.  We all know that IWCC produces some of the top juco players in the country so I don't think this a quarterback that the young Jackrabbit secondary can sleep against.

The running back group is lead by senior #32 Tim Marinan who had 44 attempts for 233 yards and 1 TD and sophomore #24 Jonathan DeBique who finished with 77 attempts for 398 yards and 3 TD.  Marinan was also a threat to catch the ball where he had 10 receptions for 134 yards and 1 TD.  Marinan shows a good burst and is a tough runner while DeBique is a little bigger (6-0, 225).  Both averaged over 5 ypc last season so they are effective.  I would expect the offense to feature them as the young offense finds it's identity early in the season.

At wide receiver, #2 Jake Bofshever (6-0, 195) returns for his senior campaign after catching 22 passes for 252 yards 2 TD in 2018.  #9 Derek Eugene is a big bodied receiver (6-3, 200) who finished with 8 receptions for 110 yards. #11 Alex Dauban is a transfer from DuPage with good size (6-2, 200) where he had 15 receptions for 243 yards. Outside of these three, the rest of the WR's have zero receptions collectively so it is too hard to say who will be contributing.  The tight end position is also a position with a huge question mark. On the roster, the group has 3 freshmen and 1 sophomore.  Physically, I'd say the sophomore (#82 Damien Caffrey) is most ready.

The offensive line returns just one starter in Ronin Guerra (6-3, 310). He started all 11 games as a redshirt freshman and will be counted on to lead this group. #74 Steve Almada is a transfer from Long Beach Community College (6-3, 335) and #73 Brian Gibson (6-4, 290) is a transfer from Erie Community College.  Both will need to contribute this season for the Sharks to have any type of success. Sophomores #71 Dareus Smith (6-3, 285) and #78 Julian Singh (6-3, 300) each appeared in 5 games last year and could see that role expland in 2019.  For an NEC roster, this offensive line actually has pretty good size but much of that size is young.  I think the move to bring in juco offensive linemen was smart for the next couple of seasons while the young linemen develop.

Defense 
The Shark defense also lost a lot of talent due to graduation.  Last year they suffocated their opponents and held them to under 13 ppg, 102 ypg rushing, and 190 yards passing.  All of these stats are good no matter the level you are playing at.  The Sharks play an agrresive attacking style of defense and will look to bring pressure from all levels.

The defensive line for LIU is a probably a strength of the team.  They return three contributors from the 2018 squad and have added a juco and a transfer to bolster the unit.  #52 Abel Joseph (6-1, 265) and #71 Anthony Lavio (6-1, 255) are very active and disruptive.  Joseph finsihed with 29 tackles, 7 TFL, 3 sacks, and 9 QBH and was named to his all-conference squad. Lavio had 42 tackles, 5 TFL, and 2 sacks.  #99 Joe Amalfitano (6-3, 235) played as a reserve in 2018 and notched 17 tackles, 4.5 TFL, and 1 sack. He'll likely move into a more significant role this season.  A player that has a Jackrabbit connection is #4 Tavon Joseph (6-2, 225) who is a juco transfer and was teammates with Jackrabbit defensive end Jassan Eubank at Nassau CC where he logged 14.5 tackles and 2 sacks. #96 Gerald Crawley (6-3, 275) is a transfer from Morgan State and played as a true freshman where he logged 9 tackles and a sack.  #97 Jordan Valerius-Twyman (6-3, 285) is another transfer and played at Monroe College where he had 15 tackles and 4 sacks.  Again, there are a lot of bodies that LIU can trot out onto the field.  For an NEC school they have good size.  I think this should probably be a competitive unit in the NEC.

The linebackers lost a couple of great players to graduation but do return one starter in #1 Ricco Aaron Jr. (6-1, 225) who recorded 47 tackles, 5 TFL, 2 sacks, and a forced fumble. #5 Abdoulaye Konate (5-11, 205) was a key reserve in 2018 notching 28 tackles and 1.5 TFL.  He is a transfer from Towson so he knows what FCS football is all about.  #21 Ramshar Clarke and #55 Tommy Kempton have some experience and could potentially be the third starting LB.  The rest of the group is young and doesn't have any stats yet. 

The safeties and secondary are even more of a mystery.  One player I would expect to see on the field is grad transfer #2 Grant Ibeh (6-2, 190).  Ibeh played cornberback at Central Connecticut State University where he had 40 tackles and an interception in 2018.  CCSU plays stout defense so I would expect Ibeh to be pretty decent.  Junior #3 Jahmel Johnson (5-10, 175) had 17 tackles and 10 PBU's in just 9 games.  #7 Kiyon Santos (5-10, 170) had 8 stops as a junior and #17 Jerome Brooks III (6-2, 195) played running back at Stony Brook before transferring to LIU.  #20 Spanky Dixon (6-1, 190) is an intriguing freshman out of Baltimore who could contribute right away. 

Special Teams
The Sharks don't return their kicker/punter or any of their primary returners.  Because they haven't played a game yet, I have no idea what this unit will look like in 2019. Sorry folks! I can guess that Justin Norcini will be the kicker as he kicked at Nassau CC (I'd never heard of this place until July when Jassan joined the Jacks so it is odd it keeps popping up).

Go Jacks!
Matt