NEW ORLEANS -- A lot has changed around Blake Anderson since he walked off the field at the Arizona Bowl in Tucson, Ariz., on Dec. 29 after Arkansas State University's 16-13 overtime loss to Nevada.
From the conference he coaches in, to the coaches who work for him, to the quarterback who will start for him, there's been plenty of adjustments this offseason.
Some of that change was evident Monday at Sun Belt Football Media Day inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. First-year Commissioner Keith Gill was on hand to give his first "State of the Sun Belt" address. There was a fresh batch of first-year head coaches, too -- Appalachian State's Eliah Drinkwitz, Troy's Chip Lindsey, Coastal Carolina's Jamey Chadwell and Texas State's Jake Spavital.
"I've been following Coach Anderson for a long time," Spavital said. "He's a stand-up, high-character guy, which he's probably the best ambassador for this conference right now."
When Scott Satterfield departed Appalachian State for Louisville after last season, Anderson assumed the title of longest-tenured head coach in the conference.
Coming off one of the most pivotal offseasons in his tenure -- in which he brought in seven new assistants, including replacing both coordinators -- Anderson's sixth season in Jonesboro is setting up as one of his most important and uncertain ones yet.
"Obviously transition is hard, but to get those kind of quality coaches on your staff, I mean, it makes us better in a lot of areas," Anderson said. "It truly lets me step back into a CEO-type role. There's things that got missed over the course of the last two years I'm now able to be more involved in. Transition is hard, but good as well."
For the first time since 2016, Anderson won't be calling Arkansas State's offensive plays. Keith Heckendorf, who Anderson worked with at North Carolina under Larry Fedora from 2012-13, has complete control of the offense now.
Anderson said Monday that the decision was done "for a lot of different reasons" -- partly due to some of last season's struggles, primarily in the bowl game; partly due to Anderson feeling he wasn't involved on defense and special teams enough; and partly due to his wife Wendy's continuing battle with cancer.
As he's done for much of the process, Anderson spoke candidly Monday about his wife's situation and offered an update.
"It's been a long, hard summer, but she's one of the toughest fighters I've ever met," he said. "We are still knee-deep in the battle, and I would just tell you the prayers are needed more now than ever before."
As he takes a more desired "CEO" approach, Anderson's Red Wolves are still picked to finish second in the Sun Belt West division.
The most glaring question offensively is the quarterback position. After losing three-year starter Justice Hansen, junior Logan Bonner -- who's played sparingly in his career -- is expected to start.
"He's a great leader. He's waited his turn," senior wide receiver Kirk Merritt said of Bonner. "He's ready for whatever, and I feel like he works as hard as Justice [did] last year."
Said Anderson: "I expect Logan Bonner is going to play lights out. If he doesn't, that means one of those other young guys in Layne Hatcher or Coltin Clack beat him out, and if they beat him out, they're obviously playing at a high level."
Anderson on Monday emphasized his confidence in the offense's promise, which has much to do with his familiarity with Heckendorf and the fact the system didn't need a major overhaul.
"I know that Keith and I are on the same page," Anderson said. "We can have very short conversations at the water cooler, and we're on the same page offensively. I think we're in good hands, and I expect us to be as good offensively as we've ever been, to be honest with you."
Defensively, Arkansas State will rely on the likes of juniors William Bradley-King and Forrest Merrill, and senior Kevin Thurmon up front. Junior linebacker Tajhea Chambers, senior safety B.J. Edmonds and junior cornerback Jerry Jacobs also are expected to have pivotal roles.
David Duggan, who worked with Anderson at Southern Mississippi and North Carolina, is in his first season as ASU's defensive coordinator.
"His philosophy is really just to play with your hair on fire -- be on the edge of out of control," Edmonds said. "This defense, I'm excited to run it, see how it works out during the season. We're all excited to get some turnovers, make some plays on defense and just do our thing."
All of the adjustments will begin to reach a head when Arkansas State opens preseason practice Aug. 1. The Red Wolves last won the Sun Belt with back-to-back titles from 2015-16.
For Anderson, his expectations never have been higher.
"It's a talented enough team to win our league, and we just have a lot of work between now and then to get that done," he said. "Conversations about whether you're going to have a winning season or whether you're going to go to a bowl, those don't even happen. It's how good can we be, what can we build, what do we need to do to fill in the gaps, who's going to step up next, and [we] really expect that this year, this one will be the best year we've had."
Sports on 07/23/2019