Continuing our season preview series, we have the National Arena League (NAL) runner-up, the Columbus Lions. Last week, we broke down what to expect from the Jacksonville Sharks this season. Now, we will down the 2018 Columbus Lions season.

Columbus Lions try to avenge Runner-up Year

After having last season end on the last play, quite literally, left Lions fans and players in a state of shock for a while. The Lions just barely lost to the Jacksonville Sharks in the NAL Championship game 21-27 inside Sharks territory. Since then, the Lions have put that loss behind them and have moved on.

Columbus Lions Roster

2018 Columbus Lions Roster Position Name QB Karsten Miller QB Kyle Cool* QB Mason Espinosa* QB Jeremy Johnson WR Darryl Bogan WR Greg Hollinger** WR Jamel Johnson WR Jordan Williams WR Scott Shewmon WR Stacey Howard WR Tristan Purifoy** FB Quayvon Hicks FB Jason Almond OL Avery Wright OL David Griffin Jr. OL Dion Small** OL Jeremy Schonbrunner OL Jordan Brown OL Nate Isles OL Ryan Schmidt DL Corey Crawford DL Deylan Buntyn DL Gary Wilkins DL Roderick Byers DL Kendrick Washington** LB David Gilbert LB Francis Akim LB Greg Halls Jr. LB Jamari Ford LB Robert Caldwell LB Ryheem Yates DB Chris Pickett DB Gerod Holliman DB Kyle Griswould** DB Marte Sears* DB Robert Sands DB Shattle Fenteg DB Tyler Stephenson** K Lindsey Wolfe**

* – Player has arena experience; ** – Player has played for Columbus in previous years

The Lions are somewhat starting over when it comes to their roster. Only seven of the 38 players on their roster are returning from last year. Of those 38 players, nine players have had previous arena experience, including the returning players. 30 players may be rookies, but they aren’t just the average rookie. We will break each position down.

What to expect during the 2018 Season

Offense

Bringing Quarterback Mason Espinosa back and bringing Quarterback Kyle Cool are two great moves by the Columbus Lions. There will definitely be a huge competition there at QB. There may be a situation like last year, where the Lions switched it up between Espinosa and Darren Daniel. Daniel is no longer with the Lions.

Let’s not forget about the new quarterback from Auburn, Jeremy Johnson. With this young talent and his ability to read the field in a split-second, the Lions offense could be very dangerous if he is the starter.

Espinosa and Cool can get a combined 3,500 yards, depending on who the best receiver will be.

That leads us to the next point. Who will be the next best receiver on the Lions? Will it be Greg Hollinger or will it be Tristan Purifoy? Both are great receivers that should each hit 800 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns, but could a rookie steal the show? Someone will step it up and show the Lions and the rest of the NAL who will be the real deal in Columbus. That receiver could be up there with Hollinger and Purifoy with yards and touchdowns. The major question with that is who will it be?

Fullback Quayvon Hicks and Jason Almond will be duking it out in training camp to see who will get the starting job. Hicks played college football at the University of Georgia, so he should be a heavy favorite to take the starting position. The starter should easily rack up 475 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Defense

The defensive line looks horrifying, as they have Corey Crawford (attended Clemson University) and Kendrick Washington (played for Columbus previously). It’s up to the coaches to decide who the third starting defensive back will be. Two of the three defensive backs are almost guaranteed to destroy offenses left and right. No matter how good their opponents offensive line is, they will get to the quarterback and force many turnovers throughout the season. Since the Lions are facing their rivals, the Jacksonville Sharks, four times this season, they should be able to get the most turnovers from Quarterback Tommy Grady.

When it comes to linebackers, they are beyond stacked. The Lions have a total of six linebackers. Linebackers are the heart of the defense, but will they learn the Mac and Jack Linebacker rules? That’s the main question here. It doesn’t matter how good the defense is around you, if the linebackers have no clue what they are doing, those interceptions, fumbles, and sacks won’t count one bit.

The Lions have lost some talent at Defensive Back, but the good news is that they have brought back Kyle Griswould, Tyler Stephenson, and Marte Sears. There are three receivers on the field on a normal play. These three defensive backs will have the whole field shut down.

2018 Prediction

Like we mentioned in the Jacksonville Sharks preview, it is still way too early to predict who is going to win what games and who will win the championship since teams are making roster moves almost every day.

The Lions shouldn’t have any issues when it comes to the playoffs. The Lions have a legit shot at number one or number two in the whole league.

The only “weak spot” in the Lions team as a whole is the wide receivers. They have two players from last year, but two receivers can’t get the job done all season. Nobody knows how good their other receivers will be.

Could they make a historic comeback this year and win the National Arena Bowl? We will find out in August!