With the season just around the corner, we sit down with John Wright, the football beat reporter for the Murray Ledger, to break down the Murray State Racers ahead of kickoff on Saturday night.
With the season just around the corner, we sit down with John Wright, the football beat reporter for the Murray Ledger, to break down the Murray State Racers ahead of kickoff on Saturday night.
Biggest Story of Murray State Camp:
Wright spoke about what he has seen as the biggest story in the Racers’ preseason camp.
“We have a lot of newcomers, a lot of folks who left the program due to graduation and in most cases, especially the defensive line,” Wright said. “They did very good with the transfer portal and they had one of their best recruiting years in around 20 years.”
The Murray State roster carries a clean bill of health into this weekend and the roster should pose a challenge to the Red Raiders.
“As of right now, what I’m hearing, we don’t have any injuries going on right now,” Wright said.
Offense:
The Racers’ quarterback, redshirt sophomore DJ Williams, comes into his second season of regular playing time after a 2021 season that ended in the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year award. Wright gave some insight into the standout quarterback.
“Obviously he’s more of a runner right now, but he’s got a great throwing motion,” Wright said. “He threw the ball really well, at times, very well last year. He has some passes where he threaded the needle pretty good. They can move the ball I think, the question will be about the defense.”
Another important piece to the Murray State offense is the all-conference preseason running back, Damonta Witherspoon.
“Witherspoon is a very tough guy,” Wright said. “He’s tough to bring down, very low to the ground. Big hips, wide, not easy to bring down. You’ve got to have four-five hats on to bring him down.”
The wide receiving core includes a few guys who returned to the program for their extra season of eligibility.
“LaMartez Brooks has been a star here for three years, he’s going to be a real, real player,” Wright said. “The guy I’m really excited to see back though is DeQuan Dallas, they didn’t have him from the Cincinnati game on last year. This guy, full strength, is a game breaker.”
Defense:
As mentioned earlier, the Murray State defensive line is expected to be unexperienced, but the linebackers and the secondary is returning a lot of talent.
“The leader of this entire defense is Eric Samuta,” Wright said. “Head coach Dean Hood will tell you that it’s like having another coach out there.”
The linebacking core carries some third-year sophomores along with the veteran in Samuta.
“We’ve got Lawaun Powell, a returner with Samuta,” Wright said. “We’ve got Darnell Victor, he’s a very good player.”
The secondary also carries some strong veteran players in the group in Davontae McKee, Quinaz Turner, Cayvian Holmes and Jarad McCray. Wright said he believes this group should be formidable despite the loss of Marcus Floyd, who landed at West Virginia via the portal.
“We do have Davontae McKee who had an interception against Bowling Green last year,” Wright said. “Quinaz Turner, very talented defensive back who made some plays for them last year.”
Founded by a Red Raider, All Hands Craft Cocktails is proud to announce their partnership with RedRaiderSports.com. Try these bar strength, ready-to-drink vodka cocktails at Jones AT&T Stadium this football season or find them at a retailer near you. Cheers.
