Four things to watch as Villanova opens up the 2024 season vs. Youngstown State

While college football officially kicked off last weekend with the slow launch that was Week 0, the games begin in earnest this week, including on the Main Line. Expectations are sky-high for Villanova entering the season, with Mark Ferrante’s squad ranked No. 6 in the preseason FCS coaches poll and tipped to repeat as Coastal Athletic Association champions. But Villanova’s credentials will get an immediate test Thursday (6 p.m., FloSports), as No. 23 Youngstown State comes to town for a rematch of last December’s second-round playoff contest, which the Wildcats won, 45-28.

“My message to the team hasn’t changed,” Ferrante said at CAA media day regarding the team’s preseason hype. “You know, let’s take them one game at a time, one day at a time, and let’s get better through summer training, offseason training, spring practice, and now, as we head into preseason, let’s continue that mindset where we take it one rep at a time, one day at a time, and, ultimately, one game at a time.”

Can Villanova follow through on Ferrante’s charge and potentially surpass last season’s 10-3 record and national quarterfinal appearance? Here are four things to watch out for this season:

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As is the case at almost every level of football, a team is only as good as its quarterback. The fortunate news for Villanova is its quarterback, Connor Watkins, is pretty darn good. Watkins, entering his third year as a starter, is coming off a season where he accounted for 3,060 total yards and 30 touchdowns (20 passing, 10 rushing). But even more is expected of the graduate student this season, as Watkins was selected the CAA’s preseason player of the year and named to the watch list for the Walter Payton Award, the FCS equivalent to the Heisman.

With a less certain rushing attack, the Wildcats will need Watkins to take another step forward and establish himself as one of the best signal-callers in the FCS. If he does, another CAA title and a deep run in the playoffs are firmly within Villanova’s grasp.

While Villanova returns Watkins and several key players on the offensive line, the same cannot be said about the skill positions. The Wildcats graduated two of the conference’s best receivers in Rayjuon Pringle (984 receiving yards, eight touchdowns in 2023) and Jaaron Hayek (29 career receiving touchdowns), meaning there will be opportunities for other guys. Look for the explosive Jaylan Sanchez to build on a breakout sophomore season in which he racked up 716 receiving yards on only 28 receptions (25.6 yards per reception), while North Carolina Central transfer Devin Smith also is expected to emerge as a key weapon. Smith led the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in receiving last season with 707 yards.

Even bigger questions lie at running back, as the Wildcats lose their top three rushers in Jalen Jackson, DeeWil Barlee, and TD Ayo-Durojaiye, a trio that combined for 2,105 yards and 23 touchdowns on the ground last season. While Villanova still plans to hang its hat on running the football, expect the Wildcats to be more balanced than last year’s team which leaned heavily on its top-10 rushing attack.

Redshirt freshman Isaiah Ragland probably is the favorite to headline the committee, as he is the team’s top returning rusher with 161 yards. He also notched a 100-yard game against Elon last season. Fellow returnees Ja’Briel Mace (103 yards), Eli Smith (missed 2023 with injury), and Isaiah Wright (16 yards) also figure to earn plenty of work in an offense that tends to rotate backs.

“I look at our running back room and it could be a four-headed monster. You know what I mean?” Watkins said. “We have guys that have different talent sets and can do a lot of really good things, so I’m excited to see kind of how we mesh and how we make it come together and stuff throughout preseason camp.”

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On defense, the Wildcats once again should be one of the premier teams in the nation at defending the pass. Led by All-American Isas Waxter, arguably the best corner in the FCS, the Wildcats return three starters from a secondary that held opponents to 179.8 passing yards per game (15th-fewest nationally).

Waxter, a grad student who did not surrender a touchdown last season, tallied four tackles for loss, three interceptions, and eight pass breakups in 2023. He’s joined in the secondary by experienced safeties Ty Trinh (46 tackles, five PBUs) and Jalen Goodman (39 tackles, two fumble recoveries), while Harvard transfer Kaleb Moody is an intriguing chess piece for defensive coordinator Ross Pennypacker to deploy in the secondary.

Villanova was tough to throw on last season, and don’t expect that to change in Year 3 under Pennypacker as DC. Youngstown State, which ranked in the top 25 in scoring offense (32 points per game) and passing (245.8 yards per game) nationally last season, should provide a good early barometer for the Wildcats defensively.

After winning 10 games last season despite being picked to finish seventh in the conference preseason, Villanova won’t sneak up on anybody this season. Players like Watkins and Waxter know how difficult it can be to manage expectations once you go from the hunters to the hunted. Two seasons ago, Villanova was tipped to win the CAA but ultimately limped to a 6-5 record.

“Like Coach said, we’ve been here before. We’ve already even spoken about it as a team, just touched base upon the rankings and us being rated No. 1, and just the last time that happened,” Waxter said at CAA media day. “And for us as a program, and our team, and our players on the team, we don’t really like to shy away from anything. So we always say pressure makes diamonds. So that’s the pressure of being considered No. 1. … It just means we got to work a little bit harder, put a little bit more extra effort in, so we make that become a reality for us.”

While Villanova looks to have been handed a scheduling break by avoiding Richmond, Albany, and William & Mary, the three teams picked directly below them in the preseason rankings, Youngstown State surely represents Villanova’s biggest season-opening test since 2018 against Temple. In recent years, the Wildcats have opened up with smaller-conference opponents like Lehigh and Colgate, which has played a role in the school’s seven-game winning streak in season openers. There’s no such game to ease into the Wildcats’ lofty expectations this season.