Marshall football 2023 opponents: Chanticleers' offense comes in waves

Editor’s note: This is the eighth installment of a 12-part series previewing Marshall’s football opponents for the 2023 season. Next up is Coastal Carolina, which enters the year expecting to contend for the SBC East Division title.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
That cliché might be the mantra for Coastal Carolina in 2023. As it overhauls its coaching staff, three-time reigning Sun Belt Player of the Year quarterback Grayson McCall is one of several key returnees.
For the Chanticleers, it starts with McCall, who has re-written the record books at Coastal and returns for one final season after entering his name into the transfer portal, then withdrawing it earlier this offseason.
McCall missed two games last year and left the Birmingham Bowl early but still managed to throw for 2,700 yards, 24 touchdowns and just two interceptions, helping Coastal to a 9-4 finish, good for second place in the Sun Belt East Division. The Chanticleers fell to Troy in the SBC championship game.
After former Coastal coach Jamey Chadwell took the same job at Liberty, the Chanticleers must adapt to a new system under Tim Beck. The former NC State offensive coordinator said there will be minor tweaks to the system but, in general, the scheme will look similar to what Coastal has had success with in years past.
Beck brought a brand-new staff with him to Conway, South Carolina, which includes Travis Trickett as the offensive coordinator, Craig Navier as the defensive coordinator, Dan Carrel as the co-DC and Josh Miller as the special teams coordinator.
Coastal returns its two primary running backs as well as the top four pass-catchers from 2022. In total, eight starters are back on an offense that was one of the league's best already.
Running back duo CJ Beasley and Reese White combined for more than 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground, and McCall was the team's third-leading rusher, with 195 yards and six scores.
Sam Pickney, entering his second season with the Chanticleers after transferring from Georgia State, was four receiving yards shy of 1,000 for the year and caught three touchdowns. Jared Brown emerged as a serious threat last year and led Coastal in touchdown receptions with six to go with 789 yards.
On Coastal's defense, half the starters return, as do six of the top seven tacklers. Among them are linebacker JT Killen, who led the Chanticleers in total stops. Dre Pinckey was co-leader in interceptions with two. Ja'Quon Griffin had a team-high 3.5 sacks and is also back.
Killen leads a linebacking corps that was largely inexperienced coming into last season but is now the strength of the defensive unit. Beside Killen, who started all 13 games a year ago, is Shane Bruce, who started nine contests.
The expectations are high in Conway for a team that hopes to contend for an East Division title and has qualified for the SBC championship game in two of the last three years but has yet to win it. The game against Louisiana wasn't played in 2020 due to COVID-19, and the Chanticleers fell to Troy in 2022.
This will be the second meeting between Marshall and Coastal Carolina in football. The first was the Chanticleers' 24-13 win last year in Huntington after racing to an early three-touchdown lead. It will be Marshall's second visit to Brooks Stadium in Conway, where it won the 2022 Myrtle Beach Bowl.