Oct. 20, 2011

By Dan Ryan
B-CUAthletics.com

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Bethune-Cookman Head Football Coach Brian Jenkins doesn't consider himself a trendsetter, even though it appears that the rest of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference has gone to the spread offense one year after the Wildcats.

"Everybody's following somebody," said Jenkins.

One of those teams is Norfolk State, the Wildcats' opponent Thursday night at 7:30 in an ESPNU televised contest that will have a major effect on the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference post-season picture. The Spartans (6-1 overall, 4-0 MEAC) are atop the MEAC standings and lead the league in total offense (415.9 ypg) and scoring defense (18.4 ppg).

 "NSU is very proficient offensively and sound defensively," Jenkins said. "The quarterback is completing passes at a high percentage rate and the receivers are excellent when it comes to yards after catch. They have a good rhythm going."

That could spell problems for a B-CU secondary that's given up big plays in the recent stretch of the season. Fort Valley State racked up 321 passing yards in last week's B-CU 58-30 victory.

"What's up with the defensive secondary is nothing that can't be fixed.," Jenkins said. "One guy's on one page and another guy's on another. One sits on a read too long. We've made some changes and that's created a few mishaps."

 As far as quarterback goes, we'll find out who had the best week in practice between David Blackwell, Jamarr Robinson and Jackie Wilson Thursday night.

"We have three guys who can play and we allow them to compete," Jenkins said. "The guys understand and are accepting to it. Last year, we had one guy [Matt Johnson] and when he went down, that slowed us down a lot."