Furman still has high expectations

Paladins look to improve on last season's 6-5 mark

Bobby Lamb

It's been nearly 20 years since that frigid night in Pocatello, Idaho, but Furman head football coach Bobby Lamb can still see linebacker Jeff Blakenship running down the field like it was yesterday.

It was Blakenship's interception in the waning seconds that night two decades ago that secured Furman's 17-12 victory over Georgia Southern and the Paladins' only Division I-AA national championship.

Rarely a day goes by that Lamb, in his seventh season as the Paladins head coach, doesn't think about that night and that historic game.

"It's been 20 years, but that night is never too far from your thoughts, especially when I'm on the field coaching," said Lamb, who served as the Paladins' defensive end coach in 1988. "I can still see Jeff Blakenship making that interception. That pretty much sealed the deal for us."

A picture of several Paladins players holding the national championship trophy, featuring former Summerville High School star John Bagwell, is displayed prominently on the front of Furman's media guide this season.

But winning a national championship, as Lamb has learned over the years, can be a double-edge sword at times — opening doors with recruits that normally would be shut, but making expectations for the program unusually high.

"I always see winning a national championship as a good thing," Lamb said. "It opens a lot of doors. Not many schools can go around saying they've

won a national championship. To me there's never a downside to winning a national championship. Does it make the expectations a little higher? You bet. But that's OK with me. I would rather be around a program that expects to win than one that is surprised to win every Saturday."

While Furman's 6-5 record in 2007 would be considered a better than average season at most schools, the Paladins missed the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the first time since 2003.

"It's not really one thing you can put your finger on," Lamb said. "We lost some close games early in the season and it took us until midway through the year to get our legs underneath us. Literally a play here or there in a couple of games and we're 8-3 and in the playoffs. We were that close to having a playoff-caliber season."

Furman returns just nine starters from last season and has significant holes to fill at the skill positions on offense and most of the defensive line and linebackers. Nowhere will the holes be more glaring than in the skill positions. Gone are quarterback Renaldo Gray, leading wide receiver Patrick Sprague and All-American fullback Jerome Felton.

"There's no doubt we're got a lot of question marks all over the field," Lamb said. "But to be honest, I think we've got some answers, too."

Junior Jordan Sorrells will take over at quarterback for Gray. The son of Paladins offensive coordinator Tim Sorrells, Jordan has played in 23 games over the past two years, completing 124 of 199 passes for 1,404 yards and six TDs.

"Jordan has proven he can lead this team," Lamb said. "This is his fourth year in the program and he has the respect of everyone on this team and the confidence of the entire coaching staff."

The task of replacing Felton, who was taken by the Detroit Lions in the fifth-round of last April's NFL Draft, will fall to senior Brantley Kendall, who has rushed the ball just 38 times over the past three seasons.

"I'm not sure you can replace a player like Jerome Felton," Lamb said. "Brantley is one of the leaders of this team. I expect him to have a great season."

The major problem last season for the Paladins was their defense, which was worst in the Southern Conference against the pass and seventh in turnover margin (-0.64). As a result, Lamb has shifted from a 4-3-4 alignment to a 4-2-5 scheme to utilize the Paladins' team speed.

"We've got to play better on defense," Lamb said. "I think switching to a 4-2-5 is playing more to our strengths as a defense. It's going to make us a little quicker and get a better athlete on the field."