As we prepare for the 2018 football season, we will be previewing each team over the next few weeks. Leading off the previews are the VMI Keydets.
VMI -
Head Coach: Scott Wachenheim 4th year (record: 5-28)
2017 Record: 0-11
Conference: SoCon
2017 was a rough year for the Keydets as they finished their worst season since 2004, going winless. One could even argue that it was the worst season in school history, as they lost every game by at least 15 points, except for division 2 Catawba. If Wachenheim can't turn things around this season, there could very well be an opening in Lexington. While VMI has a long history of not firing coaches, last season was unprecedented. Wachenheim was hired to give the Keydets an offensive boost, yet they averaged 8 points per game last year.
Key losses:
Allan Cratsenberg - LB
Despite the offensive issues, VMI's defense actually showed some sparks at times. Leading the way was an exceptional linebacker, Allan Cratsenberg. In 2017, he led the team in tackles and interceptions with 57 and 3 respectively.
Key returners:
Kris Thornton - WR
Despite an incredibly poor offensive showing in 2017, Kris Thornton was one of the few bright spots. Even though he only averaged 3 receptions per game, he averaged just over 10 yards per catch. If VMI can get him the ball in space, he is capable of making special plays.
Mason Dermott - WR/ST
As a RS-SO, Mason saw most of his 2017 action on special teams. While he's likely to see more action on offense, it's also reasonable to believe that he'll be back as a returner. His consistency on special teams will be an asset to an offense that needs massive improvement.
2018 Schedule:
Sept. 1 at Toledo
Sept. 8 at Wofford
Sept. 15 ETSU
Sept. 22 at Western Carolina
Sept. 29 MERCER
Oct. 13 at Samford
Oct. 20 THE CITADEL
Oct. 27 at Chattanooga
Nov. 3 TUSCULUM
Nov. 10 FURMAN
Nov. 17 at Old Dominion
One of the biggest issues facing the Keydets is this schedule. They open at the 2017 MAC champions, Toledo. Then they head to Wofford, a team that made the 2017 FCS playoffs and lost to NDSU in the quarterfinals. On September 22nd, they travel to WCU, who was ranked late last season. Samford, Chattanooga, and Furman are typically very competitive squads and all crushed VMI last season. Lastly, ending the season at FBS foe, ODU won't help the W/L record.
Offensive Outlook:
It's hard to find many bright spots from a squad that averaged 8 points per game last year. However, they were a young squad and return many starters. Duncan Hodges returns as the team's expected starting QB, after just throwing for 3 TD's in 9 games last year. The first key to his success is coach Wachenheim giving him gameplans that elicit more completions. In 2017, both of VMI's QB's completed just an average of 52% of their throws.
Defensive Outlook:
There were times last year where the Keydets defense looked capable, but then there's games against 3 win Chattanooga, where they allowed 63 points. Again, most of this team was young last year. So, returning most of their starters should result in some improvement. Regardless, there must be an upgrade from last year and they can't let teams like Mercer pick them apart.
Prediction:
While we do believe a massive upgrade is in store for the Keydets, this schedule features some incredibly formidable opponents. Coach Scott Wachenheim will likely feel pressure if his squad can't drum up a win by mid-October and according to the schedule, that's a real possibility. With this many returning starters, it's hard to imagine 2018 will be as bad as last year.
We predict VMI will beat division 2, Tusculum, and likely win one more. Final record: 2-9
