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Athlon Sports
Middle Tennessee Football: 2024 Blue Raiders Season Preview and Prediction
By Athlon Sports,
14 hours ago
Even with the sense of newness surrounding MTSU, it’s still a very experienced team. Blue Raider fans are likely tired of having an average football program, but there are worse alternatives. One thing that isn’t new for the club that former Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason inherited: another brutal non-conference schedule. MTSU plays Ole Miss, Duke and Memphis in the first month of the season. How the Blue Raiders fare during that stretch will be telling.
Middle Tennessee 2024 Season Preview and Prediction
Previewing Middle Tennessee’s Offense for 2024
Last season, MTSU was decidedly average on offense, ranking fifth out of CUSA’s nine teams in total offense and averaging 5.7 yards per play. A highlight, however, was the play of tight end Holden Willis, who led the team in receiving yardage with 697 and averaged 15 yards per catch. Willis was one of two first-team All-CUSA selections from MTSU and the only one returning.
At quarterback, the Blue Raiders return redshirt junior dual-threat Nicholas Vattiato as the likely starter. He started every game for MTSU last season and posted 3,092 passing yards on 286 completions with 23 touchdowns, adding a career-best 397 rushing yards. His progress under new offensive coordinator Bodie Reeder should be interesting to watch.
Leading rusher Jaiden Credle (427 yards) also returns, alongside UConn transfer running back Brian Brewton and veteran Frank Peasant. Peasant should be back at full strength after being limited by injury in 2023. They’ll be working behind an offensive line that lost several players with starting experience to graduation and the transfer portal.
Holden Willis, MTSU’s leading receiver a year ago, projects to be quarterback Nicholas Vattiato’s top weapon once again in 2024.
Helen Comer&solThe Daily News Journal&solUSA Today Network
Previewing Middle Tennessee’s Defense for 2024
Like the offense, the defense will be working under a new coordinator in Brian Stewart. There are also important pieces to replace on that side of the ball. The three leading tacklers from 2023 have all either graduated or transferred.
Among the new faces, former four-star safety Brendon Harris transferred in after a six-year college career that has included stops at Vanderbilt and Wake Forest. He’ll look to help improve a defense that forced fewer turnovers per game than 88 other FBS teams last year. While there are few returners, redshirt senior linebacker Drew Francis is back after posting 3.5 tackles for a loss in each of the last two seasons.
Derek Mason enters his first season as MTSU head coach after last serving as defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State. He went 27-55 in seven years as Vanderbilt head coach, with two bowl appearances.
Helen Comer&solThe Daily News Journal&solUSA Today Network
Previewing Middle Tennessee’s Specialists for 2024
Placekicker Zeke Rankin returns for his redshirt senior season with a career field goal percentage of 76.6. He’s missed just two extra points out of 82 tries over the last two years. Punter Trey Turk also returns after a 2023 season in which he landed 12 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Receiver Kellen Stewart will likely get more of the return duties this season after taking a handful last year.
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