Hollis: Indians must be physical against MTSU

By Alex Lott, Herald Staff

Coming on the heels of that dramatic victory, the Indians face the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, who lead the Sun Belt with a 6-2 record overall and a 4-1 record against conference foes.

The Indians are overflowing with confidence following their win over Idaho and will head into Murfreesboro with a new starting quarterback, a hard-hitting defense that is just beginning to come together, and a winning attitude.

Junior quarterback Tommy Miller, who engineered a 98-yard scoring drive late in the fourth quarter Saturday and went from third-string to hero, will start for the first time in his career against Middle Tennessee. Miller's four of five passing, 20 yards rushing and touchdown in relief of the ineffective freshman starter Elliot Jacobs changed last week's game entirely.

In his press conference Monday, Indians Head Coach Joe Hollis said that the ASU game plan would not change because of Miller's presence under center.

"We're not going to handicap Tommy in any way," Hollis said. "He demonstrated to me that he can run the play action pass, he can get us into the right runs. He can throw the ball accurately."

Arkansas State wide receiver James Hickenbotham earned Sun Belt Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his 93 yard kickoff return for a touchdown, which is tied for seventh in school history. Hickenbotham also caught passes for 47 yards and a touchdown against Idaho, finishing the day with 250 all-purpose yards.

The Indian defense took a big step forward last week, hitting harder and playing more inspired than they have all season, but this Saturday they will face a significant challenge.

The Blue Raiders possess the top-rated offense in the conference, averaging 494.4 total yards and 37.8 points per game.

After holding Idaho to 125 yards rushing, the Tribe will try to slow down Doak Walker candidate Dwone Hicks, who has piled up 799 yards on the ground this season.

Hicks is 26th in the nation in rushing, averaging 6.0 yards per rush on the season, and is also the Sun Belt leader in scoring with 12.2 points per game.

The Blue Raiders' have another potent scoring threat in All-America candidate wide receiver Kendall Newson.

Newson is 35th in the nation with 78.2 receiving yards per game and 23rd in the nation with 6.38 catches per game. He caught 12 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown against New Mexico State last week and was named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week.

Middle Tennessee's formidable offense will be meeting an ASU defense that is just beginning to peak.

Sophomore Indian linebacker Les Echols was named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week after totaling 11 tackles with an interception and a fumble recovery against the Vandals. Echols leads the team in tackles and interceptions and is eighth in the conference in tackles.

Along with cornerback Chris Jones, Echols makes up one half of a dynamic sophomore duo who will lead the Indian defense for the next several years.

Jones ranks fourth on the team in tackles with 41 and is tied with Echols for the interception lead.

"We feel good about the way we are playing defensively, and, more important that that, I think our players feel good about the way they are playing," Hollis said. "I would venture to say that contact on the defensive side of the ball was as good as it's been since I've been here. We were pretty physical. We put our hat on people Saturday."

Despite the struggles earlier in the season, the Indians have begun to turn things around and find their rhythm.