Not hearing much about former Oklahoma 6A Player of the Year Jamall Shaw.
Photo by SFA Athletics
Stephen F. Austin Football
Is SFA's backfield better without 2016's leading rusher?
When Stephen F. Austin's 2016 leading rusher announced his departure from the football program in a post on Twitter back in May, fans were understandably disappointed. Loren Easly, an exciting player who burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2015, frequently battled injury - but when he was on the field, it was a treat to watch:
With a roster of inexperience at quarterback (and faced with the reality that a backup will start the season under center), the running game will undoubtedly be a focus of offensive coordinator Gary Crowton's scheme in 2017. Carrying the load will be senior running back Kijana Amous and a committee of talented young players led by breakout candidate and redshirt freshman Josh McGowen.
It will be a change from Easly, the player once dubbed "Baby Gus," echoing the name of Lumberjacks' legend and 2014 Walter Payton Award finalist Gus Johnson, but possibly a needed one. Leaving Nacogdoches was the junior runner's choice, and he did so with the blessing of the coaching staff, but our source tells us the program was largely fed up. "He's talented, but they had enough," we're told. "They see it as a blessing that he's chosen to find a greener pasture."
Easly's season was already mostly in doubt when he had a second ACL surgery in May of this year. It followed a similar procedure on the other knee after his senior year of high school but it was, ultimately, off-the-field issues that frustrated the SFA staff with his growth as much as injury concern. It's partly what makes his decision to transfer, effectively leaving a full scholarship on the table, while injured, to walk on at an FBS program, even more bizarre. Still, Easly's choice was evidently thought by those in his corner to be in his best interest - and for the SFA program, probably mutually beneficial.
It also comes during a summer where the Lumberjacks have secured a transfer from a former Arkansas Razorback, another talented back with injury concern, Juan Day. The former three-star recruit has also had both knees operated on since his final year at North Little Rock High School, but he brings solid academic prowess (Day is on pace to graduate with a diploma this summer), and the pedigree of a high-level recruit still chasing a playing opportunity.
How Day fits into the Lumberjacks' deep backfield has yet to be seen, but he will be eligible immediately per FBS to FCS transfer rules. Meanwhile, McGowen, who arguably had the best spring of any player on the roster, will be seeking a chance to become a household name in Nacogdoches behind a proven senior in Amous who has generally excelled in somewhat limited opportunities up to this point.
The entire Easly saga, from his stealing the heart of Lumberjacks-nation during the 2015 Battle of the Piney Woods, to his untimely and curious exodus to Denton, certainly crosses the thresholds of weird. It sounds, in the end, like it was probably time for a clean break on both sides.
While SFA's 2016 leading rusher tends to his health and presumably represents the Mean Green next year, the Lumberjacks are moving on, too. The purple-and-white team in Nacogdoches said goodbye, undoubtedly, to one of its former stars: but, as with any departure, it's a chance for another to shine brighter.
Who that turns out to be, Amous, McGowen, Day - or a healthy mix of all three - will be seen at a Homer Bryce Stadium near you in a couple short months.
With a roster of inexperience at quarterback (and faced with the reality that a backup will start the season under center), the running game will undoubtedly be a focus of offensive coordinator Gary Crowton's scheme in 2017. Carrying the load will be senior running back Kijana Amous and a committee of talented young players led by breakout candidate and redshirt freshman Josh McGowen.
It will be a change from Easly, the player once dubbed "Baby Gus," echoing the name of Lumberjacks' legend and 2014 Walter Payton Award finalist Gus Johnson, but possibly a needed one. Leaving Nacogdoches was the junior runner's choice, and he did so with the blessing of the coaching staff, but our source tells us the program was largely fed up. "He's talented, but they had enough," we're told. "They see it as a blessing that he's chosen to find a greener pasture."
Easly's season was already mostly in doubt when he had a second ACL surgery in May of this year. It followed a similar procedure on the other knee after his senior year of high school but it was, ultimately, off-the-field issues that frustrated the SFA staff with his growth as much as injury concern. It's partly what makes his decision to transfer, effectively leaving a full scholarship on the table, while injured, to walk on at an FBS program, even more bizarre. Still, Easly's choice was evidently thought by those in his corner to be in his best interest - and for the SFA program, probably mutually beneficial.
It also comes during a summer where the Lumberjacks have secured a transfer from a former Arkansas Razorback, another talented back with injury concern, Juan Day. The former three-star recruit has also had both knees operated on since his final year at North Little Rock High School, but he brings solid academic prowess (Day is on pace to graduate with a diploma this summer), and the pedigree of a high-level recruit still chasing a playing opportunity.
How Day fits into the Lumberjacks' deep backfield has yet to be seen, but he will be eligible immediately per FBS to FCS transfer rules. Meanwhile, McGowen, who arguably had the best spring of any player on the roster, will be seeking a chance to become a household name in Nacogdoches behind a proven senior in Amous who has generally excelled in somewhat limited opportunities up to this point.
The entire Easly saga, from his stealing the heart of Lumberjacks-nation during the 2015 Battle of the Piney Woods, to his untimely and curious exodus to Denton, certainly crosses the thresholds of weird. It sounds, in the end, like it was probably time for a clean break on both sides.
While SFA's 2016 leading rusher tends to his health and presumably represents the Mean Green next year, the Lumberjacks are moving on, too. The purple-and-white team in Nacogdoches said goodbye, undoubtedly, to one of its former stars: but, as with any departure, it's a chance for another to shine brighter.
Who that turns out to be, Amous, McGowen, Day - or a healthy mix of all three - will be seen at a Homer Bryce Stadium near you in a couple short months.
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