One of the areas where the University of Charleston struggled a season ago was in its pass defense.
The Golden Eagles statistically did a decent job, finishing fifth in the Mountain East Conference in pass defense. Yet some inexperience and injury led to difficulty containing big plays, especially at the end of close games.
As the Golden Eagles head into the 2017 with a group of players with another year and offseason under their belts, they believe they're ready to take a step forward.
"We've grown up a lot from last year," UC cornerback Cedric Amadi said. "We're better, we've learned more and we know what to expect. That's given us a lot of confidence as we head into this year."
They'll get a great first test at noon Saturday in their season opener, when they head west on I-64 to take on West Virginia State.
The Yellow Jackets have been one of the MEC's most explosive passing offenses over the last few years and are expected to continue that this season as former offensive coordinator John Pennington has moved to head coach. State returns third-year starting quarterback Matt Kinnick, as well as 1,000-yard receiver Quinton Gray and two other receivers who finished the year with more than 600 yards -- sophomore A.J. Barrette and junior Tyrell Henderson.
Going up against a talented group like that will give the Golden Eagles secondary a great feel for where it stands early in the season.
"When they go into their four-receiver looks they have four guys that are very good football players. Everyone talks about Quinton Gray because he's been so productive, but they've got two or three other guys that can hurt you a lot too," UC coach Pat Kirkland said. "Matt Kinnick has a lot of options to go to and they can jump out and score some points on you if you don't approach things the right way. It's going to be a great test for our guys."
Charleston players say a difficulty with State's passing game is that whenever you try to key in on one player, they have other people to go to that can do different things to hurt you. They have receivers who can turn short passes into big plays and have deep threats who can do damage with their speed on the edge.
UC will be looking to pick up where it left off last year against the Yellow Jackets. The Golden Eagles prevailed 26-7, held WVSU to just 185 yards through the air and forced Kinnick into throwing a couple of interceptions that helped Charleston pull away.
This year Charleston knows that in order to do that, it must adjust and adapt to the different things West Virginia State throws at them.
"It's going to be big best test for us to help us find out where we're really at," Charleston safety Zaire Lewis said. "This is a game that can define us as a whole, and especially in the secondary, because it's a rivalry and we know that they're going to come out and try to make some big plays and do the things they do best.
"We're ready for it. We're stronger and we have experience in this back end. I think we have what it takes to handle anything we get and be good."