Post by FUBeAR on Aug 5, 2018 16:38:43 GMT -5
FUBeAR was looking at the Mercer Online Football Roster recently and noticed a few changes...there may be others that were 'missed.'
RB, CJ Leggett is no longer on the Mercer roster. Some quick sleuthing work turned up this info: CJ Leggett - Alabama State Hornets - I'm not sure if that link will work for everyone as it is the 7/26/18 cached version of the URL. Mr. Leggett doesn't presently 'show up' on the Full Alabama State Football roster. No idea what is going on there. Also no idea on his eligibility to play for ASU this season, which I believe will be his final season of NCAA eligibility.
Update 8/9/18 - Mr. Leggett is now listed on ASU’s online roster as a Graduate Student. So, congrats to him for completing his degree at Mercer!
You may recall that Mr. Leggett signed with Georgia Tech as a highly regarded Recruit (3 Stars/#30 RB in the Nation & #34 Recruit overall in GA) out of North Gwinnett HS in the Atlanta area as part of their 2014 signing class. He transferred to North Gwinnett from Chattahoochee HS before his Sr Year. He redshirted at GT in 2014 and then was rumored to be pressing for serious playing time during 2015 spring practice before tearing his ACL, which caused him to miss the 2015 season at Tech. His recovery continued during Spring of 2016, but I'm not sure he was really 'pressing for playing time' as he had in 2015. Then, over the summer of 2106, Mr. Leggett was dismissed from the Team at Tech for "a violation of Team rules." He then transferred to Mesa CC in AZ for the 2016 season and then transferred to Mercer, enrolling in January of 2017 and participating in Spring Practice with the Bears. During the 2017 season, Mr. Leggett's 2017 stats were as follows:
Rushing
Receiving
So, 100 'touches' in 10 games or 10 'touches'/game for 378 yards or 37.8 yards/game or 3.78 yards/'touch' and 6 TD's (2, 2, 14, 1, 3, 3) rushing. He had 0 fumbles. He also had 0 Returns and 0 Tackles.
No idea why Mr. Leggett has decided to leave Mercer Football at this late date after going though Spring Practice / Summer Workouts, etc. Of course, I know we all wish him the best in his future endeavors, whether those endeavors include Football or not.
In terms of my opinion about what this means for Mercer Football in the 2018 season, I actually think it could be one of the rare cases of "addition through subtraction." Mr. Leggett is a talented Player and he played hard at Mercer, but those 10 touches he got every game were 10 touches that didn't go to another Player, specifically, in this case, to Alex Lakes. Mr. Lakes was a proven clutch performer for the Bears in his 1st 3 years in Macon. With the addition of Mr. Leggett in 2017, Mr. Lakes touches dropped from 115 to 81...and 20 of those 81 were in the 1 game Mr. Leggett missed; Mercer's defeat of WCU in their stadium, when a win meant a Playoff berth for the Catamounts. In the game, Mr. Lakes went for 87 hard-earned yards and scored 2 TD's as Mercer had one of their best days running the football all season. For the season, despite his reduced role, Mr. Lakes still had the highest yards/rush (4.5) of any of Mercer's ball carriers. I'm sure there was a good reason for Mr. Leggett getting 37% more 'touches' /game last year than Mr. Lakes, but I just don't know what that reason was.
Yes, Alex Lakes finished his eligibility last year, so him 'losing touches' to Mr. Leggett this year wouldn't have been a 'problem.' BUT Tyray Devezin, a 5-8/233 Sophomore is back and I believe he will be THE power back that Mercer can 'go to' this year as they had 'gone to' Mr. Lakes prior to 2017. I also think we all saw what Rashad Haynes could do prior to his injury last year. I think with Tee Mitchell up over 200 pounds now and these 2 young bucks ready to tote the rock, the Bears will be better served than they might have been with, PERHAPS, 'worrying' about how many 'touches' they were providing for a once highly-recruited R-Sr RB with NFL aspirations. Hopefully, that will turn out to be the case AND also, hopefully, Mr. Leggett will be eligible to play at ASU; will get all of the touches he needs, and will go on to a great career in the NFL.
2 Other Departures Noted...
WR, Kelby Brock is no longer on the Roster. No idea if he is transferring or has given up Football or what. Mr. Brock had a strong year as a True FR and showed a lot of promise for the future in 2016, but his playing time and production dipped substantially last season...
No idea why this he 'dropped off' last year, nor why he left, but I do wish him the best. Enjoyed watching him play - always fought hard for that extra yard of YAC!
AND
LB, Jonathan Ward - Many of us know him as former Mercer All-SoCon Player, Tyler Ward's, younger brother. Well, Jonathan was an excellent Player in his own right. He had a little better wheels than 'big' bro and was actually a little bigger, physically (taller, at least). Not sure if his Heart was as big as Tyler's, but it would be HARD to match that. Anyway, Jonathan caught the "injury bug" early in his career and has never been able to get that hex removed - shoulder and knee, I believe. And, I heard he hurt the shoulder again a couple of weeks ago in a non-football-related accident and had to have another surgery. So, he is OUT as a Player...BUT....the good news...as I understand it, Jonathan is going to be Student Assistant Coach for Mercer this season and will graduate this spring (on time). I think given his injuries, while Mercer would have certainly benefited from having him ON THE FIELD PLAYING this season, they have planned accordingly and prepared other Players to step up into Jonathan's 'slot.'
UPDATE 8/9/18: A few more departures noticed...
Naji Abdullah - R-JR LB - transferred to Mercer from Virginia last year - ‘spot’ Player for Mercer on D last season, played in 4 games and was credited with 1 Assist on a Tackle - no other info
Ahmad Arnold - R-SO LB - highly recruited Player, from whom FUBeAR expected big things. Strong special teams contributor last season who played in 9 games, rang up 13 Tackles, including 5 solo, and 1 sack vs. Chatt - Hate to see him leave before he had a chance to really get his career going - no other info
Jean Luc Brown - R-SO LB - did not see any game action last season. I believe he was a walk-on Player - no other info
James Camon - R-FR RB - redshirted last season. I believe he was a walk-on Player - no other info
Alex Comer - R-FR OL - saw action in 4 games last season as a R-FR, including 2 Starts (Samford & WCU). I believe, though Mr. Comer did get 2 Starts in 2017, he was expected to provide depth on the OL for Mercer this season. Always hate to lose OLmen with 2 years in the program including game experience. - no other (solid) info, but my hunch is his departure may have been due to a ‘hometown honey’ situation. For some reason the word “undefeated” just entered my mind.
Tucker Coody - R-FR OL - redshirted last season. I believe he was a walk-on Player - no other info
Dawson Hillard - R-FR LS - redshirted last season. I believe he was a walk-on Player - no other info
Davis Markham - R-FR DB - redshirted last season. I believe he was a walk-on Player - no other info
Mitch Mathes - SR OL - promising OLman that had garnered his most playing time as a true FR, back in 2015. Played in 3 games in 2016 before suffering a season ending injury. Returned in 2017 & played in 5 games as a backup. Serious injuries affect young men in different ways & the grind of playing college football and OLine is, well, it’s just HARD! My sense is Mitch lost his passion for playing following his injury and ‘slowly’ decided to give up the game. Nothing wrong with that. It ends for everyone sometime. I had the pleasure of getting to know MItch and his family a bit and I’m confident he will be extremely successful in any endeavors he chooses to undertake. Hate to see that he won’t finish out his eligibility on the field with the Bears, but completely respect & understand his decision and wish him the very best!
Saw a couple of unexpected ADD's - 2 FBS Transfers - 1 from Idaho (TE) and another (OL) from Western Kentucky. Could see the OLman, possibly, contributing early and the DE has the frame to develop into a heckuva Player. May come back with more info about them later or may just let them get 'settled in' first.
RB, CJ Leggett is no longer on the Mercer roster. Some quick sleuthing work turned up this info: CJ Leggett - Alabama State Hornets - I'm not sure if that link will work for everyone as it is the 7/26/18 cached version of the URL. Mr. Leggett doesn't presently 'show up' on the Full Alabama State Football roster. No idea what is going on there. Also no idea on his eligibility to play for ASU this season, which I believe will be his final season of NCAA eligibility.
Update 8/9/18 - Mr. Leggett is now listed on ASU’s online roster as a Graduate Student. So, congrats to him for completing his degree at Mercer!
You may recall that Mr. Leggett signed with Georgia Tech as a highly regarded Recruit (3 Stars/#30 RB in the Nation & #34 Recruit overall in GA) out of North Gwinnett HS in the Atlanta area as part of their 2014 signing class. He transferred to North Gwinnett from Chattahoochee HS before his Sr Year. He redshirted at GT in 2014 and then was rumored to be pressing for serious playing time during 2015 spring practice before tearing his ACL, which caused him to miss the 2015 season at Tech. His recovery continued during Spring of 2016, but I'm not sure he was really 'pressing for playing time' as he had in 2015. Then, over the summer of 2106, Mr. Leggett was dismissed from the Team at Tech for "a violation of Team rules." He then transferred to Mesa CC in AZ for the 2016 season and then transferred to Mercer, enrolling in January of 2017 and participating in Spring Practice with the Bears. During the 2017 season, Mr. Leggett's 2017 stats were as follows:
Rushing
| # | Player | GP | ATT | Gain | Loss | Net | AVG | TD | Long | AVG/G |
| 7 | Leggett, CJ | 10 | 96 | 371 | 27 | 344 | 3.6 | 6 | 22 | 34.4 |
Receiving
| # | Player | GP | NO | YDS | AVG | TD | Long | AVG/G |
| 7 | Leggett, CJ | 10 | 4 | 34 | 8.5 | 0 | 20 | 3.4 |
So, 100 'touches' in 10 games or 10 'touches'/game for 378 yards or 37.8 yards/game or 3.78 yards/'touch' and 6 TD's (2, 2, 14, 1, 3, 3) rushing. He had 0 fumbles. He also had 0 Returns and 0 Tackles.
No idea why Mr. Leggett has decided to leave Mercer Football at this late date after going though Spring Practice / Summer Workouts, etc. Of course, I know we all wish him the best in his future endeavors, whether those endeavors include Football or not.
In terms of my opinion about what this means for Mercer Football in the 2018 season, I actually think it could be one of the rare cases of "addition through subtraction." Mr. Leggett is a talented Player and he played hard at Mercer, but those 10 touches he got every game were 10 touches that didn't go to another Player, specifically, in this case, to Alex Lakes. Mr. Lakes was a proven clutch performer for the Bears in his 1st 3 years in Macon. With the addition of Mr. Leggett in 2017, Mr. Lakes touches dropped from 115 to 81...and 20 of those 81 were in the 1 game Mr. Leggett missed; Mercer's defeat of WCU in their stadium, when a win meant a Playoff berth for the Catamounts. In the game, Mr. Lakes went for 87 hard-earned yards and scored 2 TD's as Mercer had one of their best days running the football all season. For the season, despite his reduced role, Mr. Lakes still had the highest yards/rush (4.5) of any of Mercer's ball carriers. I'm sure there was a good reason for Mr. Leggett getting 37% more 'touches' /game last year than Mr. Lakes, but I just don't know what that reason was.
Yes, Alex Lakes finished his eligibility last year, so him 'losing touches' to Mr. Leggett this year wouldn't have been a 'problem.' BUT Tyray Devezin, a 5-8/233 Sophomore is back and I believe he will be THE power back that Mercer can 'go to' this year as they had 'gone to' Mr. Lakes prior to 2017. I also think we all saw what Rashad Haynes could do prior to his injury last year. I think with Tee Mitchell up over 200 pounds now and these 2 young bucks ready to tote the rock, the Bears will be better served than they might have been with, PERHAPS, 'worrying' about how many 'touches' they were providing for a once highly-recruited R-Sr RB with NFL aspirations. Hopefully, that will turn out to be the case AND also, hopefully, Mr. Leggett will be eligible to play at ASU; will get all of the touches he needs, and will go on to a great career in the NFL.
2 Other Departures Noted...
WR, Kelby Brock is no longer on the Roster. No idea if he is transferring or has given up Football or what. Mr. Brock had a strong year as a True FR and showed a lot of promise for the future in 2016, but his playing time and production dipped substantially last season...
| # | Player | GP | NO | YDS | AVG | TD | Long | AVG/G |
| 86 | 2016 - Kelby Brock | 11 | 14 | 131 | 9.36 | 0 | 25 | 11.91 |
| 86 | 2017 - Kelby Brock | 10 | 4 | 53 | 13.25 | 0 | 15 | 5.30 |
No idea why this he 'dropped off' last year, nor why he left, but I do wish him the best. Enjoyed watching him play - always fought hard for that extra yard of YAC!
AND
LB, Jonathan Ward - Many of us know him as former Mercer All-SoCon Player, Tyler Ward's, younger brother. Well, Jonathan was an excellent Player in his own right. He had a little better wheels than 'big' bro and was actually a little bigger, physically (taller, at least). Not sure if his Heart was as big as Tyler's, but it would be HARD to match that. Anyway, Jonathan caught the "injury bug" early in his career and has never been able to get that hex removed - shoulder and knee, I believe. And, I heard he hurt the shoulder again a couple of weeks ago in a non-football-related accident and had to have another surgery. So, he is OUT as a Player...BUT....the good news...as I understand it, Jonathan is going to be Student Assistant Coach for Mercer this season and will graduate this spring (on time). I think given his injuries, while Mercer would have certainly benefited from having him ON THE FIELD PLAYING this season, they have planned accordingly and prepared other Players to step up into Jonathan's 'slot.'
UPDATE 8/9/18: A few more departures noticed...
Naji Abdullah - R-JR LB - transferred to Mercer from Virginia last year - ‘spot’ Player for Mercer on D last season, played in 4 games and was credited with 1 Assist on a Tackle - no other info
Ahmad Arnold - R-SO LB - highly recruited Player, from whom FUBeAR expected big things. Strong special teams contributor last season who played in 9 games, rang up 13 Tackles, including 5 solo, and 1 sack vs. Chatt - Hate to see him leave before he had a chance to really get his career going - no other info
Jean Luc Brown - R-SO LB - did not see any game action last season. I believe he was a walk-on Player - no other info
James Camon - R-FR RB - redshirted last season. I believe he was a walk-on Player - no other info
Alex Comer - R-FR OL - saw action in 4 games last season as a R-FR, including 2 Starts (Samford & WCU). I believe, though Mr. Comer did get 2 Starts in 2017, he was expected to provide depth on the OL for Mercer this season. Always hate to lose OLmen with 2 years in the program including game experience. - no other (solid) info, but my hunch is his departure may have been due to a ‘hometown honey’ situation. For some reason the word “undefeated” just entered my mind.
Tucker Coody - R-FR OL - redshirted last season. I believe he was a walk-on Player - no other info
Dawson Hillard - R-FR LS - redshirted last season. I believe he was a walk-on Player - no other info
Davis Markham - R-FR DB - redshirted last season. I believe he was a walk-on Player - no other info
Mitch Mathes - SR OL - promising OLman that had garnered his most playing time as a true FR, back in 2015. Played in 3 games in 2016 before suffering a season ending injury. Returned in 2017 & played in 5 games as a backup. Serious injuries affect young men in different ways & the grind of playing college football and OLine is, well, it’s just HARD! My sense is Mitch lost his passion for playing following his injury and ‘slowly’ decided to give up the game. Nothing wrong with that. It ends for everyone sometime. I had the pleasure of getting to know MItch and his family a bit and I’m confident he will be extremely successful in any endeavors he chooses to undertake. Hate to see that he won’t finish out his eligibility on the field with the Bears, but completely respect & understand his decision and wish him the very best!
Saw a couple of unexpected ADD's - 2 FBS Transfers - 1 from Idaho (TE) and another (OL) from Western Kentucky. Could see the OLman, possibly, contributing early and the DE has the frame to develop into a heckuva Player. May come back with more info about them later or may just let them get 'settled in' first.
