Conkin seeks to lift Wofford even higher

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(STATS) - Having grown up in Wyoming, coach Josh Conklin wasn't exposed regularly to swimming pools, but he's spent much of his career in the south, so he's around water all the time.

His wife, Molly, knows what to expect.

"I don't swim very well," Conklin said, "and she always makes fun of me all the time because I'm like a 3- or 4-year-old experimenting in the water. Every time I get in there, I just splash around and have a blast doing it."

The 39-year-old Conklin basically is doing the same thing as Wofford's first-year coach, and he's making waves in the deep end. It's his first time as a head coach, having succeeded the legendary Mike Ayers, who last year capped off his 30th season with a Southern Conference title and a second straight 10-win team that advanced to the FCS playoff quarterfinals.

Expectations remain high for Conklin's first season, both inside and outside the program. At SoCon media day Wednesday, Wofford had the most players on the preseason team (10) and the coaches picked the Terriers second behind Samford in the preseason poll. The media poll had Samford first, Furman second and Wofford third.

Conklin coached under Ayers for three seasons from 2007-09, working with the defensive backs and special teams, so he's well-versed in Wofford football, and that means running the triple option offense. In fact, offensive coordinator Wade Lang is back for a 31st season, and the return of leading rushers Andre Stoddard, Lennox McAfee and Blake Morgan plus an experienced Joe Newman stepping into the run-first quarterback's role keep the Terriers' backfield loaded.

At the same time, Conklin is not trying to be Coach Ayers 2.0. He held early spring practices, has attacked recruiting with youthful energy and estimates that about 98 percent of his team's roster has been working out on campus this summer.

He will interject a lot that he learned at Pittsburgh, FIU and The Citadel - the three places he served as a defensive coordinator - plus at Tennessee and South Dakota State. He's implemented a 3-4 base alignment to fit the personnel and create a more multiple defense. In future seasons, he seeks to add more shot gun sets and run-pass option on offense.

"Being able to work under Coach Ayers for three years was really beneficial," Conklin said. "Even when I left here and made some numerous stops, whether it was defensive football, philosophically or just how you handle players or how you manage players, I took a lot from him. I always thought he operated his football program in a way that was great.

"I thought coaches had an opportunity to coach and be themselves. I thought players kind of had the opportunity to kind of manifest themselves in who they wanted to become. Also in the same side of that, it was very disciplined, very organized."

The SoCon is especially deep in talented teams this year. Samford, which boasts the SoCon's offensive and defensive players of the year in quarterback Devlin Hodges and defensive end Ahmad Gooden, is the favorite. But Furman, which Wofford beat in the playoffs, also will be strong, and the likes of Western Carolina, Chattanooga, The Citadel and Mercer can knock off last year's three playoff teams.

"Every team," Conklin said, "brings you something different schematically on offense and defense that you've got to be able to adjust and prepare for. It's going to be a challenge for us."

Wofford's third game is at the University of Wyoming - a homecoming for Conklin, although the Sept. 15 matchup was planned prior to his hiring. Even more important is the Terriers open the season with back-to-back SoCon games against The Citadel and VMI.

"There's a big cultural change the last three years here in terms of guys really raising their level of expectation and really wanting to go deeper into the national playoffs and win those Southern Conference championships," Conklin said.

"It's so cliché, but you enjoy the process of it. You just enjoy coming into work every day and trying to make the guys as good as you can."

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KEY CONFERENCE GAMES=

Spotlight Game: Wofford at Samford (Nov. 3)

Samford was the only team to hand SoCon champ Wofford a conference loss last season. The last two meetings have been decided by a combined five points, and many key participants are back this season.

Four More: The Citadel at Wofford (Sept. 1), Wofford at Furman (Oct. 13), Chattanooga at Western Carolina (Oct. 13) and Samford at Furman (Oct. 20).

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SOUTHERN CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLLS=

Head Coaches Poll

1. Samford (7 first-place votes), 63 points

2. Wofford (1), 53

3. Furman (1), 52

4. Western Carolina, 39

5. Chattanooga, 34

6. Mercer, 32

7. The Citadel, 28

8. East Tennessee State, 15

9. VMI, 8

Media Poll

1. Samford (20 first-place votes), 204 points

2. Furman (2), 174

3. Wofford (1), 163

4. Mercer, 133

5. Western Carolina, 114

6. Chattanooga, 88

7. The Citadel, 83

8. East Tennessee State, 53

9. VMI, 23

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SOUTHERN CONFERENCE PRESEASON TEAM=

Offensive Player of the Year: Devlin Hodges, QB, Samford

Defensive Player of the Year: Ahmad Gooden, DE, Samford

First-Team Offense

QB - Devlin Hodges, R-Sr., Samford

RB - Kealand Dirks, R-Sr., Furman

RB - Andre Stoddard, Sr., Wofford

OL - Tyler Davis, Sr., The Citadel

OL - Austin Sanders, R-Jr., Mercer

OL - Nick Nixon, Jr., Samford

OL - Zach Weeks, R-Sr., Western Carolina

OL - Michael Ralph, Jr., Wofford

TE - Sam Walker, R-Sr., Mercer

WR - Marquise Irvin, Sr., Mercer

WR - Kelvin McKnight, Sr., Samford

First-Team Defense

DL - Nasir Player, R-Jr., ETSU

DL - Ahmad Gooden, R-Sr., Samford

DL - Isaiah Mack, R-Sr., Chattanooga

DL - Miles Brown, Sr., Wofford

LB - Elijah McKoy, So., Furman

LB - LeMarkus Bailey, R-Sr., Mercer

LB - Datavious Wilson, Jr., Wofford

DB - Aron Spann III, Sr., The Citadel

DB - Aaquil Annoor, Sr., Furman

DB - Marvin Tillman, Sr., Western Carolina

DB - Devin Watson, Sr., Wofford

First-Team Specialists

PK - Luke Carter, Jr., Wofford

P - Ian Berryman, R-Sr., Western Carolina

RS - Brandon Dowdell, So., Chattanooga

Second-Team Offense

QB - Tyrie Adams, R-Jr., Western Carolina

RB - Tee Mitchell, Sr., Mercer

RB - Tyrell Price, Jr., Chattanooga

OL - Drew McEntyre, Jr., The Citadel

OL - Matt Pyke, R-Sr., ETSU

OL - Reed Kroeber, R-So., Furman

OL - Malcolm White, R-Jr., Chattanooga

OL - Brad Davis, So., VMI

OL - Nathan Dalton, R-Sr., Western Carolina

OL - Andrew Miles, R-Sr., Western Carolina

OL - Justus Basinger, Jr., Wofford

TE - Jake Walker, So., Furman

WR - Thomas Gordon, Jr., Furman

WR - Chris Shelling, Jr., Samford

WR - Bingo Morton, R-Sr., Chattanooga

Second-Team Defense

DL - Ja'Lon Williams, Jr., The Citadel

DL - Jaylan Reid, R-Sr., Furman

DL - Isaiah Buehler, R-Sr., Mercer

DL - Mikel Horton, Jr., Wofford

LB - Noah Dawkins, Sr., The Citadel

LB - Dylan Weigel, R-Sr., ETSU

LB - Christian Stark, Sr., Samford

DB - Eric Jackson, R-Jr., Mercer

DB - Darius Harvey, R-Sr., Samford

DB - Kareem Orr, Sr., Chattanooga

DB - Mason Alstatt, Jr., Wofford

Second-Team Specialists

PK - J.J. Jerman, Sr., ETSU

P - Matt Shiel, Gr., Mercer

P - Luke Carter, Jr., Wofford

RS - Quan Harrison R-Jr., ETSU