Five to Watch: Coastal Carolina

5. Jalen John, Running Back

Coastal has a new stable of running backs, and perhaps the most intriguing of them is UMass transfer Jalen John. Last year, John was UMass’ lead back, rushing 111 times for 583 yards and five touchdowns. He played in 10 contests and received double-digit carries in six of them, with back-to-back 100+ yard performances late in the year against Liberty and Georgia. 

John’s best game of the year was that Liberty performance, when he rushed 15 times for 119 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a close loss. John began his career at Arizona, rushing for 250 yards in 2021. 

Based on the depth chart, Coastal should be a RB-by-committee team, but John seems like the most-proven option among the group. His 100+ yard game against Georgia is intriguing, and perhaps a new setting will help John take his game to the next level and replicate what he was able to do down the stretch last year with the Minutemen. 

4. Nick Del Grande, Tackle

Both UVa and Coastal have a lot of new pieces in the trenches, and how the respective lines match up against one another could determine what sort of contest unfolds on Saturday night. UVa’s defensive front will be tasked with getting back Coastal tackle Nick Del Grande, a proven top performer for the Chanticleers’ offensive line.

Del Grande is a 6-foot-4, 302-pound redshirt junior from Lancaster (PA), and has been a two-year starter for the Chanticleers. In 2023, Del Grande started all 12 games at left tackle and graded out quite well. Last year, he was an All-Sun Belt performer, starting all 13 games in several different spots on the line. He helped Coastal put together a solid offense led by a formidable ground attack. 

Del Grande is now a preseason All Sun Belt candidate and will be looking to help Coastal continue to put up points under a new offensive coordinator with a lot of new players all over the field. 

If UVa is going to put pressure on Coastal’s QB, whoever it may be, finding a way to get past Del Grande will be one of their biggest challenges. 

3. Jameson Tucker, Wide Receiver

While Coastal has a bunch of new quarterbacks to throw the ball, they do return one of their most dynamic playmakers from a year ago. Redshirt senior Jameson Tucker is back for his final season with the Chanticleers after leading the team in receiving yards in 2024. 

He caught 34 passes last season for 579 yards and six touchdowns, and often found a way to create chunk plays in Beck’s offense. Tucker had a 106-yard game in Coastal’s loss at Troy, and caught a touchdown pass in the loss to UVa; he finished with three catches for 63 yards and the score in that contest. 

Expect Coastal to try and get the ball to Tucker in creative ways. The Chanticleers gave him a few carries last year in addition to his receptions and his 16.6 yards per touch average last year speaks to his explosiveness. UVa’s defense will certainly be looking to eliminate big plays and force Coastal to dink and dunk their way down the field and then finish drives. 

Shutting down Tucker would be priority No. 1 in keeping the Chanticleers from putting up big plays that can lead to easier scores. 

2. Shane Bruce, Linebacker

Coastal Carolina has more than 60 new players on the roster, and most of its production from a year ago is gone. One player who is back though is linebacker Shane Bruce, who led the Chanticleers in tackles a season ago. Bruce, a senior captain from Carrollton (GA), has had an exceptional career in Conway, and is back for his fourth straight year as a key contributor on the Coastal defense. 

Bruce recorded 75 tackles a year ago, and had 11 in the loss to UVa. He was named Honorable-Mention all-conference for his efforts. He recorded 52 tackles and had two fumble recoveries in 2023, and had 57 tackles in his redshirt sophomore season back in 2022. 

In addition to his abilities, Bruce will also be leaned on as a veteran presence on a defense with a ton of turnover and a new defensive coordinator. He is the type of player that UVa’s offensive line will seek to identify and eliminate from plays and force Coastal’s newer, less-productive players to make the plays to get stops on Saturday night. 

1. MJ Morris, Quarterback

Coastal Carolina’s coaching staff has been a bit cagey about who will play under center this season, starting with Saturday’s season opener. The Chanticleer depth chart has four different signal callers listed as co-starters, and head coach Tim Beck said as many as three could play on Saturday. 

Beck did admit, though, that Maryland transfer M.J. Morris is in line to start the game at UVa, and how the snaps go from there is very much TBD. 

Oddly enough, Saturday’s game will be Morris’ third trip to Scott Stadium in three seasons, now with his third school. Morris started his career at NC State, recruited there by Beck when he served as the offensive coordinator. Morris began his sophomore season as the backup to former UVa QB Brennan Armstrong, before eventually supplanting him. 

He threw for 719 yards and seven touchdowns in four games with th Wolfpack and showed promise, but ultimately opted to redshirt and save his eligibility with an intention to enter the portal at the end of the season. 

Morris landed at Maryland, where he lost a preseason competition with Billy Edwards Jr. He played in seven games with the Terps, seeing more snaps in the final two games as Edwards battled an injury. Morris threw for 350 yards on 61 attempts, with five touchdowns and five picks. Now, he’s back with Beck and at Coastal Carolina.

Morris has P4-level talent, but has yet to have the opportunity to put it all together. He hasn’t clearly won the job yet at Coastal, and if UVa can rattle Morris early, perhaps that opens the door for Beck to go to a backup QB.