The Carolina Cobras of the National Arena League (NAL) are almost set to play their first ever game of being a team. Kickoff is less than a month away, which means that training camps have begun. That also means teams are learning to use their teammates to the best of their abilities. What can the Cobras do in their 2018 inaugural season?
Carolina Cobras 2018 Season Preview
The Cobras, from Greensboro, North Carolina, may be new, but their team and coaches are very familiar to the game. Head Coach Billy Back is one of the most dangerous coaches in all of arena and indoor football, combining for a 71-27 regular season and an 8-2 postseason record. It’s tough to beat those records, but will the NAL be able to put blemishes on them?
Carolina Cobras Roster
| 2018 Carolina Cobras Roster | |
| Position | Name |
| QB | Charles McCullum* |
| QB | Paul Jones |
| WR | Fabian Guerra |
| WR | Jermaine Jones* |
| WR | Jordan Jolly* |
| WR | Josh McNeil |
| WR | Trent Hicks* |
| WR | Tyrell Goodman* |
| WR | Philip Barnett* |
| WR | Tyron Laughinghouse* |
| WR | Darius Powell |
| FB | N/A |
| OL | Anthony Jackson* |
| OL | Brian Wells |
| OL | Chad Kolumber* |
| OL | Jarve Dean* |
| OL | LaQuan McGowan |
| OL | Damien Parris* |
| OL | Joe Harris |
| OL | Jordan Mosely* |
| OL | Russell Faleoga* |
| OL | Walter Thomas* |
| OL | Chris Cooley |
| DL | Dewayne Beckford |
| DL | Evan Hailes |
| DL | Jamal Palmer |
| DL | Omari Manhertz |
| DL | Rickey Dowdy |
| DL | Francis Mays* |
| DL | Joe Harris |
| DL | Jordan Mosely* |
| DL | Russell Faleoga* |
| DL | Walter Thomas* |
| DL | Chris Cooley |
| LB | Dewayne Beckford |
| LB | Rickey Dowdy |
| LB | Brock Lutes* |
| DB | Darius Powell |
| DB | Cedric Poole |
| DB | Corey Morrow |
| DB | Darius Thomas |
| DB | Derrick Farrow |
| DB | Michael Green* |
| DB | Peter Udoumoh |
| DB | Darius White |
| DB | Tyrell Pearson* |
| DB | Kieth Lewis |
| DB | Marquez Gollman |
| K | Craig Peterson* |
* – Player has arena experience
The Cobras have 40 players on their roster so far. Obviously, some will have to go due to an overcrowded roster. Of those 40, 19 players have had arena or indoor experience. Nobody has ever played on the Cobras in the past because this is their first season. That is about 47% of the roster with arena/indoor experience. With the team making cuts here soon, that number should rise and the team should be all set.
What to expect during the 2018 season
Multiple players have played together on the same team and with the same coach. While this may be a new team, the players are surely not new to it. Quarterback Charles McCullum has played for Coach Back for multiple years and helped the Wichita Falls Nighthawks go 12-4 last season in the Indoor Football League (IFL).
With him playing under the same coach as previous years and almost the same receivers, you should expect him to get close to 3,500 yards this season.
Wide Receivers Jordan Jolly, Tyron Laughinghouse, and Philip Barnett are pretty familiar with how McCullum works, so those three receivers will be the main targets and will pick apart every single defense in the league. Jolly lead the IFL in receiving yards last year. He should be McCullum’s main target and will have close to a 1,000 yard season. Laughinghouse and Barnett combined should be able to get 1,500 yards.
The Cobras don’t have a Fullback, which could be concerning to many, but they could stick an Offensive Lineman or Defensive Lineman to fill that spot.
Moving to the defensive side, there isn’t a whole lot of talent. The IFL and NAL are two totally different sports when it comes to defenses. It is probably a smart move to not bring a whole lot of IFL guys to the NAL because they wouldn’t be able to play their best football. Since most of them are rookies, you can expect them to be an average defense and give up around 40 points a game.
2018 Prediction
The Cobras probably have the best offense in the league. Veteran coach, veteran quarterback, and multiple veteran wide receivers. Nothing will be able to stop that offense. Expect them to score a lot of touchdowns this season. Who will the league MVP go to? The early prediction would have to go to Quarterback Charles McCullum.
Stay tuned and find out what other teams across all of arena football and indoor football are doing by following our Indoor Football Twitter page. Over there, you won’t miss a single thing that is happening.
