Being thin is in, some say, but not when you’re a football team looking for its third straight win of the season.
The Bucs have a lean roster this year. The players are not small, but the number dressing out for each game is.
With the future of the football team anything but up in the air, it’s easy to see why ETSU isn’t exactly the best place for budding young players to come and develop long term.
“I’ve never coached a team that is this thin,” said head coach Paul Hamilton.
What the Bucs lack in number, however, they make up in effort.
The Bucs improved their record to 2-1 with a down-to-the-wire 14-7 overtime win at UT-Martin last Thursday.
Saturday, the Bucs will lock horns with Elon in the Phoenixes’ first-ever Southern Conference game.
“Defensively, Elon is a good team, and offensive running back Rashaud Palmer is a versatile player,” said Hamilton.
Palmer, ranked 44th in the nation in rushing, covered 120 yards of turf last week in Elon’s win over Hofstra.
The question is, do the Bucs have the mechanics to stop a running machine like Palmer?
“Our front seven players are good, and we will move the guys around to stop him,” Hamilton said.
Quarterback Carl Meadows threw for 137 yards against UT-Martin, but Hamilton felt that he was trying to make too much happen.
Meadows’ eyes got a little big, but he still came through to win the game, he said.
Meadows was named SoCon freshman of the week for the second consecutive week.
Meadows won’t be the only offensive weapon in ETSU’s arsenal this weekend against Elon.
Gaven Varner, the 6-foot-1, 230-pound running back who rushed for a 162 yards with 33 carries last week is certainly a threat to the Phoenix defense.
SoCon recognized Varner’s efforts during last week’s game by naming him offensive player of the week.
Junior cornerback Allen Davis was named co-defensive player of the week.
Hamilton said that he wants to spread the offense around and keep Varner healthy.
He also believes Varner can run for 150 yards per game if he stays out of harm’s way.
Elon will be coming out hard Saturday, as this will be the team’s 800th game. On their minds is last year’s loss to ETSU, 31-15, in Memorial Center.
“When we played last, Elon helped us out a lot by making some big mistakes,” said Hamilton.
Senior wide receiver Andrew Nuckolls continues to shine. He caught both passes from Meadows to score the only two ETSU touchdowns last week.
So far, Nuckolls is making up for time lost in his junior year, when he did not catch any touchdown passes.
The Bucs enter this week’s game with the best record in the Southern Conference at 2-1, with Furman and Georgia Southern at 1-1.
In pre-season picks, the Bucs were picked to finished second from last, with Elon taking the last spot.
Hamilton said this game will be a good indicator of how far the team has come, and if they can keep it together for the rest of the season.
Kickoff is 2 p.m. Saturday at Elon.
The Bucs will play their second conference game of the season next Saturday.
They host Western Carolina at 1 p.m. in Memorial Center.

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