A Look at the Monmouth Hawks

K.B. Assante

Week 4 opponent Monmouth whipped the Lions last season at Wien Stadium, 37-14 and now it’s time for the return engagement in South Jersey.

The Hawks finished 2013 a respectable 6-6 with notable wins over the Lions, Cornell, and Holy Cross.

The double-headed monster running attack of Julian Hayes and KB Assante is cut down by half as Hayes has graduated. But West Virginia transfer Assante was still a 1,000+ yard rusher last season and he actually scored more TD’s than Hayes with eight.  It was also Assante who torched the Lions for 132 yards on just 15 carries last year including a TD.

Also back is star QB Brandon Hill, who had 2,356 yards passing and 19 TD passes last season.

The top receivers are also back. 5th year seniors Neal Sterling and Lamar Davenport were key parts of the Hawk offense, but star TE Mike McLafferty has graduated.

The offensive line was stellar in the run blocking department last year, with two 1,000+ yard rushers to prove it. 5^th year senior Reece Johnston will be back at RG. Also back is senior starter Peter Ireland but the rest of last year’s starters are gone, so this could be a concern this season.

Defense is also a concern, as all four of Monmouth’s top four tacklers have graduated. But star defensive end Darnell Leslie, who had 7.5 sacks as a red shirt freshman last year is back. Also back is 5^th year lineman Pat O’Hara who had three forced fumbles against the Lions last season.

The secondary was not a strong suit last season and it lost its most solid player to graduation in Tevrin Brandon.

Kicking could also be an issue as the excellent Eric Spillane has graduated too.

The big news is that Monmouth is now a member of the Big South Conference along with Coastal Carolina, Liberty, Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb, and Presbyterian. Monmouth was just picked to come in 5^th out of 6 in the conference. They open their season in just 23 days at Delaware State.

Is this a winnable game? It seems more winnable than most on the Lions schedule this fall, but this will be Homecoming for the Hawks and they do have a formidable offense and Assante was just getting warmed up last year. Obviously we’ll know more after Monmouth plays a few games.