Senior defensive back Kailik Williams said that expectations are “the same” for football at The Citadel this season.
They’ve been set pretty high the past two seasons.
The Bulldogs spent most of last season in the Football Championship Subdivision top 10, running undefeated through the Southern Conference regular season before falling to Wofford in the second round of the playoffs.
Since the end of the season, cornerback Dee Delaney chose to play a graduate-transfer season at Miami, where he is expected to start. Also, offensive lineman Isaiah Pinson, who won the Jacobs Blocking Award as the SoCon’s best lineman, decided to forgo his final season to prepare for a shot at a professional career, meaning the Bulldogs are replacing four offensive linemen from the nation’s top rushing offense (348.2 yards per game).
The team returns three starters on offense and six on defense, along with losing both specialists, but coach Brent Thompson said the focus is on this season and the players he has in the program, not those who are gone.