BOONE, N.C. — Position switches. Jersey changes. Starter shuffling.
App State had an unusual look and altered approach as it took the field before its 52-21 home win against Campbell on Saturday. Missing more than 20 players due to COVID-19 contact tracing, with most of the absences at offensive skill positions, the Mountaineers used contributions from veterans, inexperienced returners and debuting newcomers alike to seize control of their final nonconference game on the 2020 schedule.
Despite all of the adversity, coaches and players both talked about focusing on having fun when they were on the field.
"Any time you have a really good offensive line and a quarterback like
Zac Thomas, I'll take those odds any day of the week, no matter what's stacked against us," head coach
Shawn Clark said. "I told our players, there are no excuses in this program."
In all, nine players made their App State debuts Saturday, highlighted by true freshman
Nate Noel's 131 rushing yards as the second-string back and true freshman linebacker
Jalen McLeod's strong performance in a starting role. He recorded a sack, forced a fumble and made four tackles.
With the five tight ends who had played in the first two games all unavailable against Campbell, three freshmen reserves appeared there for the first time:
Eli Wilson,
Peter Hennigan and
August Drews.
Wilson and Hennigan were the lead blockers on a third-quarter touchdown run by Thomas, and App State also used offensive linemen
Damion Daley and
Anderson Hardy frequently as tight ends with new position-eligible numbers in the 90s, making it seem like the Mountaineers had seven linemen on the field at once. With defensive end
Caleb Spurlin even acting as the fullback on one touchdown run by
Daetrich Harrington, who gained a career-high 211 yards, App State rushed for 404 yards as a team.
"We have faith in everyone out there," offensive guard
Ryan Neuzil said. "We know everyone can play, it's just getting the assignments done and making sure everyone knows their jobs. Up front, everyone was back, so we just had to establish the run. We got the ball outside to some players when we did that."
In addition to the previously noted changes, cornerback
Milan Tucker appeared at receiver, as did redshirt freshman walk-on
Sean Horton, who made his App State debut. Outside linebacker
Anderson Castle, a high school quarterback at nearby Watauga High School, acted as the third-string running back and gained 42 yards on eight carries.
There were several other firsts, including the first sack from graduate transfer
Tristan Walliser, the first career carries for redshirt freshman
Ben Williams and the first career tackle for junior linebacker
Tanner Ellenberger.
With
Thomas Hennigan as the only starting receiver available, nine of
Thomas' 12 completions went to teammates who entered Saturday with no career catches.
Dashaun Davis made his first career start and caught all six passes thrown in his direction, converting a key fourth down on App State's first touchdown drive, and junior
Jake Henry's two catches for 22 yards in his first start were both third-down conversions. He gained 17 yards on a third-and-12 pass to prolong a series in which the Mountaineers took the lead for good.
"A couple of these receivers, they've been waiting for their opportunity to shine, and they both did today," Thomas said. "It's a matter of, as a player, when you come here, you know that people in front of you are good. Unfortunate events happen in football, and you have to be ready to play whenever the time comes."
