The Blazer offense will face its first test Saturday on the road against Saginaw Valley State as All-American Grant Caserta leads a scrappy Cardinal defense.
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Blazers Head Coach David Dean is confident in his early decision to name quarterback Cayden Cochran as the starter expecting him to flourish starting Saturday night.
“Cochran has looked very solid through camp,” Dean said.
Coach Dean is more concerrned over the Cardinals’ offensive attack against the famous “Black Swarm.”
“They do a great job with play action, getting the tight ends out there,” Dean said. “One thing our defense has got to be aware of is a tight end set.We have got to be productive and not let that guy get loose.”
If the Blazers front defensive line can stop the run attack of the Cardinals, it will allow them to focus more on the passing game that should evident at the helm of preseason All-American quarterback Johnathon Jennings.
On the other side of the ball the Blazers are looking to be more consistent this year.
Cochran is confident that his young receiver squad is ready to turn some heads.
“You know, our receivers are pretty young too, but we have been together for a year and hopefully they can get out of their brakes faster than the other guys.”
Cochran had a pretty successful final scrimmage on Aug. 24 completing 6 of 7 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown.
The Blazers look good on paper with a preseason prediction to win the Gulf South Conference.
“The team can transfer those stats into real game performance,” Cochran said. “We can be really good if we do that.”