The Kalen DeBoer era is off to a 1-0 start with Portland State coming to town on Saturday. Over the weekend the Vikings dropped a close game to San Jose State. Here’s RealDawg.com’s Evan Feather’s breakdown of the Portland State Vikings.
2021 Season Recap: W-L: 5-6
Head Coach: Bruce Barnum (Career Record: 26-43)
2021 Offense:
27.5 Points per game, 286.7 Passing Yards per game, 126.7 Rushing Yards per game, 21 Passing TDs, 19 Rushing TDs
2021 Defense:
29.5 Points per game, 244.6 Passing Yards allowed, 148.8 Rushing Yards allowed, 22 Passing TDs allowed, 19 Rushing TDs allowed
2021 Impact Players:
-Davis Alexander – QB – 266-433 3075 yards 21 TDs, 75-160 yards 6 TD
-Beau Kelly – WR – 69-981 yards 10 TD
-Darien Chase – WR – 54-579 4 TD
-Nate Bennett – WR – 50-616 4 TDs
-Parker McKenna – MLB – 88 Tackles, 4 TFL, 1 sack, 1 Forced Fumble
-Anthony Adams – CB – 52 Tackles, 5 TFL, 3 INT, 1 Forced Fumble
-Xavier Bell – S – 50 Tackles, 3 TFL, 1 Sack
-VJ Malo – DE – 45 Tackles, 20 TFL, 10.5 Sacks, 3 Forced Fumble
2021 Schedule:
-Week 1 @ Hawaii – Loss – 35-49 – 400 Passing Yards – 77 Rushing Yards, 1 Rushing TD, 3 Passing TDs
-Week 2 @ Washington State University – Loss – 24-44 – 318 Passing Yards, 2 Passing TD – 102 Rushing Yards, 1 Rushing TDs
-Week 3 Western Oregon– Win – 21-7 – 211 Passing Yards, 1 Passing TD – 62 Rushing Yards
-Week 4 Montana State – Loss- 17-30 – 225 Passing Yards, 2 Passing TD – 254 Rushing Yards, 1 Rushing TD
-Week 5 @ Southern Utah – Win – 20-13 – 151 Passing Yards – 156 Rushing Yards, 2 Rushing TDs
-Week 6 @ Idaho – Loss – 35-42 – 424 Passing Yards, 4 Passing TDs – 164 Rushing Yards, 1 Rushing TDs
-Week 7 Idaho State – Win – 31-10 – 158 Passing Yards, 1 Passing TDs – 101 Rushing Yards
-Week 8 Cal Poly – Win – 42-21 – 287 Passing Yards, 2 Passing TD – 50 Rushing Yards, 1 Rushing TDs
-Week 9 @ Weber State – Win – 30-18 – 299 Passing Yards, 1 Passing TDs – 129 Rushing Yards, 3 Rushing TDs
-Week 10 @ Sacramento State – Loss – 20-49 – 242 Passing Yards, 2 Passing TDs – 163 Rushing Yards, 1 Rushing TDs
-Week 11 Eastern Washington – Loss – 28-42 – 320 Passing Yards, 5 Passing TDs – 114 Rushing Yards, 1 Rushing TDs
Key Losses from 2021 team:
-Davis Alexander – QB – 266-433 3,075 yards 21 TDs, 75-160 yards 6 TD
-Malik Walker – RB – 176 for 879 yards and 11 TD
2022 Portland State Vikings:
Head Coach: Bruce Barnum (Career Record: 25-43)
Assistant Coaches:
-Skyler Fulton- Offensive Coordinator
-Payam Saadat- Defensive Coordinator
-Kieran McDonagh – Quarterbacks Coach
-Matt Leunen – Offensive Line Coach
-AC Patterson – Running Backs Coach
-Mark Rhea – Defensive Line Coach
-Colin Fry – Secondary Coach
-John Brock – Flex Linebackers Coach
-John Ely – Linebackers Coach
Key Returning Starters:
#13 – Beau Kelly – WR – 69-981 yards 10 TD
#3 – Darien Chase – WR – 54-579 4 TD
#7 – Nate Bennett – WR – 50-616 4 TDs
#48 – Parker McKenna – MLB – 88 Tackles, 4 TFL, 1 sack, 1 Forced Fumble
#14 – Anthony Adams – CB – 52 Tackles, 5 TFL, 3 INT, 1 Forced Fumble
#2 – Xavier Bell – S – 50 Tackles, 3 TFL, 1 Sack
#43 – VJ Malo – DE – 45 Tackles, 20 TFL, 10.5 Sacks, 3 Forced Fumble
Depth Chart:
Offense:
QB:
-Dante Chachere QB 6-3 185 SO 1V – #15
-Jaden Casey QB 6-1 190 FR RS – #5
RB:
-Jalynnee McGee RB 5-10 195 SO 1V – #19
-Jobi Malary RB 5-11 225 SO 1V – #28
-JoJo Siofele RB 5-10 205 SO RS – #25
WR:
-Darien Chase WR 6-1 210 SO 1V – #3
-Mataio Talalemotu WR 6-1 180 SR 3V – #6
-Chance Miller WR 6-0 180 FR RS – #32
WR:
-Beau Kelly WR 5-9 165 SR 3V – #13
-Marquis Spiker WR 6-3 200 SR 1V – #2
-Deion Malone WR/KR 5-7 155 JR RS – #4
WR:
-Nate Bennett WR 6-3 195 SO 1V – #7
-Emmanuel Daigbe WR 6-1 210 SR 2V – #1
-Malcolm Tatum WR 6-3 200 FR RS – #82
TE:
-Malik Thirdgill TE 6-4 240 SR 3V – #88
-Anthony Rodriguez TE 6-3 235 SR 1V – #85
LT:
-Richard Estrella OL 6-4 305 SO 1V – #78
-Anthony Tena OL 6-4 285 FR HS – #60
LG:
-D’Angalo Titialii OL 6-2 320 SO 1V – #75
-Manaia Fuertes OL 6-4 360 FR RS – #65
C:
-Tyson Pauling OL 6-5 295 SR 3V – #74
-Hayden Engel OL 6-5 250 FR RS – #66
RG:
-Shiloh Ta’ase OL 6-3 310 JR 2V – #51
-Logan Bruce OL 6-4 320 FR RS -#69
RT:
-Jaylen Larry OL 6-3 275 JR TR -#77
-Chander Ross OL 6-5 270 SO JC -#63
Defense:
QUICK:
-VJ Malo DE 6-1 270 SR 1V -#43
-Kennedy Freeman DE 6-2 240 SO 1V -#46
TACKLE:
-EJ Ane DT 6-2 275 SR TR -#91
-Dino Kahualelio DT 6-0 285 JR JC -#99
NOSE:
-Moses Finau DT 6-1 260 SR 2V -#45
-Martin Salazar DT 5-10 285 SO 1V -#93
END:
-Jake Porter DE 6-4 250 SR 3V -#54
-Boogie Davis DT 6-3 275 SR 3V -#55
MLB:
-Parker McKenna LB 6-0 220 SO 1V -#0
-Isaiah Henry LB 5-11 205 JR 2V -#32
-Zack Mandera LB 6-1 220 JR 2V -#44
FLEX:
-Robert Holt LB 6-2 225 SR 3V -#15
-Ian Crocker LB 6-1 220 JR 1V -#56
ROVER:
-Tyreese Shakir CB 5-10 175 SO 1V -#5
-David Joseph LB 6-1 200 JR 2V -#33
SAM:
-Xavier Bell S 6-2 200 SR 1V -#2
-Jalen Boston CB 5-11 170 FR RS -#39
FS:
-Broderick Harrell S 5-11 200 SR 1V -#1
-Jake Urena S 5-9 180 SO RS -#37
BCB:
-Anthony Adams CB 6-0 180 SR 3V -#14
-Michael Jackson CB 6-2 185 SO 1V -#29
FCB:
-Davion Gaines CB 6-0 170 SO 1V -#24
-Semaj Bolin CB 5-10 170 SO 1V -#12
2022 Portland State Team Preview:
Portland State has an interesting breakdown of talent on offense and defense including multiple transfers from power 5 schools. On offense, the Vikings are returning one of the best WR corps in all of FCS but will need to replace a 3-year starter at QB and a 1000-yard rusher at RB who both graduated in 2021. Portland State also brings back an experienced starting offensive line for 2022 including 4 starters from 2021 and multiple 3-year starters. Defensively the Vikings are returning nine starters including some of the best players at the FCS level, as well as many experienced backups.
On offense Sophomore Quarterback Dante Chachere will need to prove he has the ability to accurately throw the ball down the field. He is a QB who definitely has the ability to break contain and run for big gains but week 1 vs San Jose State was his first real chance to throw the ball in a game. Coming into 2022 he had appeared in 10 games but had only thrown 2 passes compared to 23 rush attempts. In week 1 vs SJSU, he was given the keys to the offense throwing the ball 37 times and rushing another 14 times. He threw for 270 yards and 2 TDs but also threw 2 interceptions. In order to be competitive vs the Huskies Portland St cannot afford any turnovers.
In order to replace their leading rusher from 2021, the Vikings added transfer Andrew Van Buren senior RB from Boise State who rushed for 1,028 yards and 21 touchdowns in his career as a Bronco. He was given 13 of the Viking’s 20 carries in week 1 vs San Jose St. but was held to just 29 yards rushing. The Huskies should have no problem holding the Portland St running backs back this week the defensive focus should be on containing the QB. The WR group Portland State will field on Saturday is by far the deepest position on the team. The Vikings are returning 5 WRs who have been starters in the past. Including multiple
all-conference caliber receivers. They are led by senior WR Beau Kelly in the slot who led the entire conference, in receptions (69), receiving yards (981), and touchdowns (10) during the 2021 season. Starting at the 2 outside receivers are Darien Chase and Nate Bennett who each had over 50 catches as freshmen. Chase was a 4-star recruit who went to Nebraska out of high school. The Vikings also return senior WR Mataio Talalemotu who despite missing three games with injury, was extremely effective with 42 receptions for 573 yards and three touchdowns. Emmanuel Daigbe will also join the WR group after missing the last two seasons with injury after being an All-Conference WR in 2019.
The Vikings return a large group of players from their 2-deeps on the defensive side, including nine returning starters. When talking about the Viking’s defense you must start with Senior CB Anthony Adams has started all 35 career games at PSU. he was a consensus first-team All-American in 2019 after leading the nation in passes defended (24; 19 PBUs, 5 INTs). After PSU opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID, his performance was just as strong in 2021 as in 2019 (52 Tackles, 5 TFL, 5 PBU, 3 INT, 3 FR, 1FF). He was All-Big Sky 1 st Team and was selected as All-American by some publications. He enters the 2022 season as the FCS leader in career passes defended (31 PBUs, 9 INTs). Senior CB Evan Camarena will start at corner opposite Adams, he returns after 11 starts and 29 tackles last season Portland State returns starters both safety spots as well. Xavier Bell started at SAM after transferring in from Arizona last year. He proved to be one of the Vikings’ key players on defense, ranking third on the team in tackles with 50 and leading the team with seven pass breakups. Another FBS transfer Broderick Harrell took over as starting FS mid-way thru last season and became a playmaker for the Vikings finishing with 48 tackles and five pass breakups.
The rover back position is a hybrid linebacker/defensive back role that returns two players who have been starters there in the past two full seasons. Tyreese Shakir took over as a starter early in the 2021 season and had a big year as a freshman. The Viking DBs will be the driving force of one of the best defenses in FCS.
The Vikings have experienced starters at the defensive end with the return of senior starters VJ Malo and Jake Porter. Malo took the conference by storm last season, making 45 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, and forcing three fumbles. His 20 TFLs were the second most for a season in school history. He earned second-team All-Big Sky Conference and should be primed for a big senior season. Porter has played in 35 career games, He has 21 career starts at defensive end and a good knowledge of the Vikings’ defensive system. Portland St should also be loaded at linebacker. It begins with Parker McKenna who started every game at middle linebacker last season. He led the Vikings with 88 tackles, four tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. McKenna has the sideline-to-sideline speed needed in PSU’s flex defensive system. Robert Holt, Tevita Tuitavake, and Justice Pagan all have size, quality experience, and starts on their resumes. Overall the Vikings are one of the most talented FCS teams this season and should
challenge for the playoffs as long as they get consistent QB play this season.
Last Weeks Game:
Week One Portland State played San Jose State and held the lead late but lost after San Jose State Qb ran for a 2-yard TD with 1:11 left in the 4th quarter. This was a game that Portland State really should have won. They led in total yards 395-288, time of possession 37 min – 22 min, 3rd down versions, and 4th down conversions. What really hurt the Vikings was the 2 interceptions thrown by QB Dante Chachere. With the amount of Power 5 talent in Portland State’s roster, it is no surprise that they are able to provide a challenge a Mountain West School early in the season. However no matter the talent this team has its success will rely on Chachere making the right reads and protecting the football.
