Quarterback Alex Ross admits now that he had some initial uneasiness last year as Coastal Carolina replaced two starters on the offensive line. He didn’t let on at the time, of course, but after being protected so well by a veteran-laden unit the season before, the thought of losing key cogs up front naturally worried him a bit.

Well, this year the Chanticleers have three starting spots to fill on the line, but after seeing how seamlessly the transition came together last season, Ross says he doesn’t have those same doubts this time around.

“I’m extremely comfortable,” he said. “Going through this same exact transition last year when we got Voghens [Larrieux] and Sam [Ekwonike], I wasn’t so comfortable last year; I was kind of skeptical about what was going to happen. But those guys stepped in and we didn’t skip a beat. And now that I’m a little older and have a little bit more wisdom, I understand the process. I understand that we have a bunch of good guys competing for those spots, and I’m going to feel comfortable with whoever is in there, regardless of who it is.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys, we’ve got a lot of good guys who have really been getting after it. They’ve been working hard and they have the capability of taking this team to where it needs to be.”