Mercer prepares for home opener against The Citadel in unique spring football season

Mercer University kicked off its spring football season — scheduled after the pandemic canceled all but three games in the fall — last Saturday with a 31-14 loss to Wofford. The Bears’ home opener is a 3:30 p.m. start Saturday against The Citadel. Here are three takeaways from last week’s game, and a look forward at the rest of the spring slate of games.

Growing pains

Mercer hired Drew Cronic in December of 2019 as the new head coach and his first season was anything but ordinary. The Bears wen 0-4 this fall, but transitioning to a new coaching staff and system during the COVID-19 pandemic made for a uniquely challenging first year. It will be interesting to see what progress the team has made over the past few months.

The key for Mercer this season is to build a good foundation — there will be plenty of growing pains, but that should payoff in a few years. The goal over the next few months is to improve and get Cronic his first win at Mercer.

Finding playmakers in new offense

Cronic-led teams generally run a modified version of the Wing-T offense, a traditionally run-heavy offense that Cronic changes to include a bit more passing. Identifying offensive playmakers will be key during this spring season.

Running back Deondre Johnson could be the key to a strong offense. Johnson has a history of being a home run hitter for the Bears and in the game against Wofford on Saturday broke off a 38-yard gain, the longest play from scrimmage for Mercer.

In his three seasons at Mercer, Johnson has averaged more six yards per carry. The key is getting the ball into his hands more often. Johnson only got four carries against Wofford, tied for the fourth-most on the team. Mercer’s offense should lean on Johnson as more playmakers begin to emerge on this side of the ball.

It will be interesting to see if Cronic sticks with true freshman Carter Peevy at quarterback for the remainder of the season. Robert Riddle, Harrison Frost and Dylan Fromm are all on this roster at the quarterback position.

Riddle was a standout in his freshman season with the Bears before back-to-back season ending injuries over the last two seasons have left him on the sidelines.

Fromm is the younger brother of former UGA quarterback Jake Fromm and one of the top passers to play for Warner Robins high school, where he led the team to back-to-back state title appearances.

Frost got the start in the game against Wofford before being relieved by Peavy after the first drive.

Turnover problems

Mercer fumbled the ball three times last week and, in a run-heavy, ball-control offense, the Bears cannot afford to put the ball on the ground that often. They’ll need to make adjustments to keep turnovers in check and give themselves chances to win.

Limiting mistakes is an area Mercer could improve in quickly, with significant results.

Schedule

• Feb. 20 @ Wofford, 31-14
• Feb. 27 The Citadel, 3:30 p.m.
• March 13 @ VMI, 1:30 p.m.
• March 20 Western Carolina, 3:30 p.m.
• March 27 @ Chattanooga, noon
• April 3 Furman, 3:30 p.m.
• April 10 ETSU, 6 p.m.
• April 17 @ Samford, 1 p.m.

This story was originally published February 26, 2021 at 1:46 PM.