The game started slow  for the Johnnies, who scored only one TD and held a 7-0 lead after the first quarter. Things heated up in the second quarter as the Johnnies went back to passing plays that narrowly missed connecting in the first quarter that were successful in the second quarter. The Johnnies went into halftime leading 41-0.

Special teams performed well, forcing a couple of fumbles on back to back kick-offs giving the Johnnies short field situations in the second quarter.

Defensively the Johnnies played a nearly mistake free game, highlighted by 3 interceptions by Bobby Fischer.

Bobby Fischer Jr. CB

Maze Thompson had 6 tackles,including 2 QB sacks. Andrew Rose added 5 tackles. Jake King had 5 tackles, including a QB sack. Lukas Inveiss and Andrew Rotschafer forced fumbles for the Johnnies. Paul Plombon, Jack Daggett and James Obler also had QB sacks.Nolan Lortz also recorded a pass interception for the Johnnies. As a team the Johnnie defense held Hamline to 8 1st downs, 22 net rushing yards and a total of 111 yards of offense for the day.

The offensive explosion was something the Johnnies had been looking for all season. To end the season on a high note,albeit to a winless team,has to give the Johnnies confidence going into the off season. Acknowledging the shortcomings of this team in early season games and working around them to end the season on a 4 game winning streak is a credit to the players and the coaching staff.

Connor Bruns was again the starting QB for the Johnnies and he made some adjustments in the second quarter of pass plays that were just off the mark in the first quarter leading to two TD passes as well as running for two scores in the second quarter. Harry Awe also threw an option pass for a  TD  in the second quarter. Awe was 3 for 3 on pass attempts for the season,all for TDs.

The scoring recap for the day is as follows; Bruns was 11 for 20 for 183 yards passing and 3 TDs with 0 interceptions. John Ries 6 for 9 for 58 yards and a TD with 0 interceptions. Bruns had TD runs of 2 and 12 yards. Other Johnnie rushing TDs were scored by Jake Essler of 1 yard and Colin Moynihan of 4 yards;both were scored in the 4th quarter. Receiving TDs for the Johnnies were caught by Taylor Freetlly of 20 and 25 yards,both thrown by Bruns. Brent Graboski caught the 4 yard TD pass thrown by Awe. Wade Powers also caught a 25 yard TD pass thrown by Bruns. In the third quarter Harry Awe caught an 11 yard TD pass from Ries. Jimmie Mattson was 7 of 8 on PAT attempts. One snap was mishandled and a running try for a point after was attempted,but was unsuccessful.

Once again the Johnnies will not be participating in the NCAA Division III Play-offs,the first back to back seasons that the team has not made the field since the 1983-1984 seasons. The 6-4 record is the worst finish since the 1997 season. The Johnnies have tremendous opportunities next season and beyond as many young players were given opportunities to play this year and responded well. Followers of Johnnie football will remember that MIAC Championships and NCAA Division III Play-off appearances came after these previous blips on the radar screen. With the hard work and dedication by the players and coaching staff in the offseason I like the Johnnies chances in 2012 and beyond.

***Photo courtesy of GoJohnnies.com

The Johnnies got onto the board midway through the 2nd Qtr. on a 31 yard FG by Jimmie Mattson. Mattson has displayed his leg strength this season by tying a school record with a 52 yard FG earlier this season, and kicking this 31 yard score into a strong south wind showed his leg strength and accuracy once again.

Jimmie Mattson, Jr. Kicker

The Johnnies scored again shortly before halftime as QB Ben Krebsbach,in the game  after starter Connor Bruns had a rough beginning,threw a 31 yard scoring pass to Wade Powers in the end zone. The ball hung in the air,throwing into the strong wind,and Powers out muscled the defender for the reception.The Johnnies go into halftime trailing 17-10.

After the early scores by St. Olaf,two of which were on short field caused by SJU turnovers, the Johnnie defense really came together as a unit and played a very tenacious swarming style of defense, wrapping up star Ole RB Leon Clark with as many as five SJU defenders. Taylor Dammermann was the leading tackler for the Johnnies. Jake King,Joe Donner and Nick Zweber were credited with QB sacks and Bobby Fischer had an interception.

Taylor Dammermann Jr. LB

The Johnnies came out of halftime and the Stephen Johnson show really took center stage. Johnson had scoring runs of 27 yards and 6 yards in the 3rd Qtr. highlighting his 38 carries for 196 net rushing yards on the afternoon. The Johnnies have,at this point, taken the lead 24-17 and have scored 24 unanswered points.

The Oles tie the score at 24-24 with 1:54 to play in the game and it appears that the game may be heading to overtime unless somehow the Johnnies can find something that has been missing for most of the season; that would be Johnnie Magic.

On what would be the second Ole punt handling miscue of the 4th Qtr,the Ole punt return man let the ball bounce off the turf and hit him in the leg, and into the waiting arms of Johnnie Special Teams player Blake Bellefeuille. The Johnnies were then on their way to the game winning FG.

Blake Bellefeuille Freshman LB

The Johnnies started the final drive from their own 43 yard-line. After a Krebsbach incompletion the coaching staff inserted Bruns back into the game at QB. Bruns has the stronger arm and has been called on in situations throughout the season the run the “hurry up offense”. The Johnnies drove the ball to the Ole 8 yard line, and Mattson was brought in to attempt the game winning FG with 5 seconds remaining. Mattson came through and converted the kick.

The Oles had one more play after the ensuing kick off and 2.3 seconds on the clock. The horror  of the Augsburg finish at Homecoming was running through the minds of the Johnnie Faithful in the stands. As in the Homecoming game, a Johnnie defender narrowly missed sacking the QB and there was a desperation throw into the end zone. This time,however, the Johnnies prevail as the throw fell to the turf incomplete.

The Johnnies can end their season on a 4 game winning streak next week in St. Paul, if they remain focused and play like they are capable if playing finishing at 6-4. A record of 6-4 is disappointing to this team as well as missing the NCAA Division III play-off for a second consecutive year,but it sure will feel a lot better than a potential 5-5 record. The playing experience that younger players received this season should be valuable building blocks for years to come in Johnnie Football.

** Photos Courtesy of GoJohnnies.com

The Johnnie offense struggled in their opening possession, going 3 and out, but made adjustments after that point to put up their highest point and yardage production for the season. Likewise, the Johnnie defense gave up a 10 play 65 yard scoring drive in their opening stand and then did not allow another TD until late in the game while a host of reserve players were seeing playing time.

Connor Bruns started the game at QB for SJU and looked very confident while going 10 for 16 for 242 yards with 2 TD passes. Bruns also ran for a score. The first half saw 4 catchable balls dropped by SJU receivers,otherwise Bruns’ numbers would have been more impressive. The biggest change in the play at QB, that I could see from my vantage point in the stands, was the trust that Bruns had in his receivers to make plays. Brent Graboski  had a big day with 5 catches for 216 yards and 2 TDs. Graboski’s first TD was a 70 yard catch and run on a TE option pass from Wade Powers. The play, dubbed the Power Tower, used Powers ability to throw  a perfect pass, calling on his experience as a Jr. High QB in the  New London- Spicer school system, to a wide open Graboski whose defender had left him to go up into run support.

Wade Powers Jr. TE

Connor Bruns Soph. QB

Brent Graboski Sr. WR

Stephen Johnson had a TD on a 31 yard run in the 1st half. Sam Pederson caught an 18 yard TD pass from John Ries late in the 3rd Qtr. as Ries came into the game in relief of Bruns. Jimmie Mattson connected on FGs of 29 and 33 yards in the 1st half.

The Johnnie defense held Carleton RB Jon Lein to 85 yards on 19 carries after his record breaking 259 yard performance and MIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors last week.

The Johnnie defense was led by  Ian Goldsmith and Andrew Rose with 7 tackles each. Connor Grill,Evan Cobb and Maze Thompson each had a QB sack.Taylor Dammermann forced a fumble and Paul Plombon had a fumble recover. As a unit, the Johnnie defense held Carleton to 207 net rushing yards and 79 net passing yards.

The Johnnies have a big test next week as the Oles of St. Olaf College come to Collegeville. The Oles are ranked in the NCAA  Division III Top 20 and have aspirations of a spot in the play-offs if they can finish their season with a lone blemish on their record as a loss to St. Thomas early in the season. The Johnnies are playing the style of football they are capable of playing,with two consecutive wins, and can keep the momentum rolling to close out the season and play spoiler to the Oles. Closing the season with a 4 game winning streak will launch the Johnnies with confidence going into the offseason,with their toughest test in that stretch of games being St. Olaf. It’s time to “Johnnie Up” everybody!

* Photos are courtesy of GoJohnnies.com

GAC took the opening kickoff and marched 51 yards in 9 plays and took a 3-0 lead on a 27 yard FG. On the  ensuing kickoff, GAC used the element of surprise and pooch-kicked,which was miss handled by the Johnnies and the Gusties recovered on the SJU 44 yard line. The Gusties scored on a 1 yard run 7 plays later. The PAT was no good and the Gusties lead was 9-0.

The Johnnies got on the board as Kicker Jimmie Mattson, paying tribute to his grandmother by wearing bright pink shoelaces, hit a 52-yard FG with 3 seconds remaining in the 1st. Qtr. The FG tied a school record and set at stadium record for Hollingsworth Field, which was opened in 2007.

Jimmie Mattson Jr. Kicker

The Johnnies took the lead at the 11:51 mark of the 2nd Qtr. on a 3 yard run by QB Ben Kresbach. The TD was set up by an interception by Bobby Fischer. The Johnnies increased their lead to 17-9 with 46 seconds remaining in the half on a 45-yard TD pass from Connor Bruns to Sam Pederson. All three QBs played for SJU in the 2nd half as John Ries led the Johnnies on their final TD drive of the day in the 4th Qtr. as GAC had narrowed the margin,at that point to 17-16. For the day, each QB brought something different to the game, Krebsbach has the  ability to run effectively, Bruns has a strong arm and Ries has game management skills. If the Johnnies coaching staff could somehow morph these attributes together they would have former Johnnie QB  Kurt Ramler, but that is not possible so they are doing the next best thing by inserting players into situations to allow the team to win. This is not an ideal situation but it did work against GAC. With 3 games remaining in the season,who knows what the game plan will call for from this point forward.

Then Johnnie defense obviously took the bye week to work on an overall change of focus and it showed on the field against GAC. The team recorded 5 sacks, 2 by Connor Grill. There were Johnnie defenders in the GAC backfield all day,recording 12 tackles for loss. Bobby Fischer recorded 2 interceptions and Joe Donner had a fumble recovery.

Bobby Fischer Jr. DB

This was a win the Johnnies desperately needed and one that took a team effort to achieve. With three games remaining in the 2011 season, the Johnnies have pride and tradition to play for. Two of the remaining games are at home but one is against a team, St. Olaf, currently ranked in the NCAA Division III Top 25. With a legendary coach rotating QB, RBs and offensive linemen coupled with a defense that is finally playing as a unit along with some Johnnie Magic, I like the Johnnie’s chances the rest of the way.

The 2011 season is stacking up to be a season of firsts for SJU. This is the first time since the 1983 season that the Johnnies have dropped 3 consecutive games. This is the first time since 1978 that the Johnnies have dropped 3 consecutive home games. Losing 3 straight MIAC games has not occurred since the 1973 season. If the attendance figures of the game are any indication of a trend, this is stacking up to be the first season since 2001 that the Johnnies will not lead the NCAA Division III in attendance.

Yesterday was another in a line of firsts as Ben Krebsbach had his first collegiate start at QB. Krebsbach threw his first TD pass,  a 22 yard toss, to Brent Graboski to open the 2nd quarter. Krebsbach finished the game 7 of 16 with 1 interception for 84 yards and the TD pass through the air. Krebsbach ran the ball 9 times for 47 yards and was the second leading rushers for SJU. Krebsbach was the third different QB to start a game this season for the Johnnies. The Johnnies are still looking for answers.

Ben Krebsbach Soph QB

Another first for the Johnnies was inserting Nick Zweber into the line up at inside linebacker. This move proved to be productive as Zweber, a senior from Elko,MN led the way for the Johnnies with 13 tackles, one for a loss and he also broke up a pass. The Johnnies are still looking for answers,but may have found one in Zweber,who was all over the field in his first collegiate start.

Nick Zweber Sr. ILB

To be sure, the Johnnies are still looking for answers to questions that have plagued them all season. First, the lack of consistency on both sides of the ball and plugging in new starters in the line up six games into the season is evidence to this. Being able to run the ball,at times, against the stingy Bethel defense shows that in limited quantities,this was successful as SJU did produce 185 net rushing yards.But producing a “must have” first down on two separate occasions in the 3rd quarter, when SJU had to settle for FGs may have been instrumental in  forcing SJU to throw in the 4th quarter resulting in two interceptions and Bethel’s final two scores of the day.

The Johnnie defense giving up 432 yards of total offense to Bethel is the most consistent and troubling statistic of the 2011 season. SJU allowing points and yards at a rate not seen by Johnnie fans for decades. Typically when the Johnnies are struggling to find an offensive identity, due to graduation of a QB, the Johnnie defense carries the team, this has not been the case in 2011. The Johnnies are still looking for answers.

The randomness of the schedule gave the Johnnies tough MIAC competition during the first 4 weeks of the conference season and the Johnnies went 1-3 during this stretch,with 3 consecutive losses. Next week is also a bye week in the schedule,so the Johnnies will have time to concentrate on what to do to salvage the 2011 season. The Johnnie resume action October , 22 in St. Peter against Gustavus Adolphus College.

**Photos courtesy of GoJohnnies.com

Make no mistake, this was a statement game for the Tommies, who are currently ranked #3 in Division III, and deservedly so. I have been observing D3 football for many years and there are teams at the top and then there are teams that make you say “WOW”, this Tommie team is one of those teams. The 2011 Tommies have the tools to win the Division III title, and if they stay healthy and play the way they are capable of playing they just may be in the mix in December. This was also for the former Tommie players who had been dominated by the Johnnies over the years but this was especially for all the high school recruits that were in attendance at the game and making a campus visit. After touring the new facilities and watching a dominating performance on the field,the Tommies should have a significant number of commitments from these student athletes.

This is the part of the article where you must be thinking, I’m not reading this to hear about the Tommies, and I agree. This is where I would usually write about the highlights of the game, but at 63-7 I don’t find much to write about. The Johnnies gave up 446 yards of offense, 225 rushing yards and 221 passing yards. The Tommies blocked a punt and returned it for a TD. The Johnnies had 246 yards of total offense. Not much joy and happiness from a Johnnie perspective.

As a Johnnie fan, you may be asking yourself how or why this happens, what is wrong with the 2011 version of the Johnnies? I have had numerous discussions with Johnnie fans who have been following this team for decades and there are two frames of thought on this subject. First there is the thought that all things are cyclical and SJU is in a down swing,but things will rebound and the Johnnies will be on top again in the near future. The other thought is that the glory days of St. John’s are just a memory,so if you want to see them win again,just dust off your DVD copy of the 2003 National Championship Game. I, personally am of the first thought, that all things are cyclical and there are better days ahead.

Some of the pessimists say that SJU has fallen behind in the recruiting of “top tier” high school talent. I don’t know what other schools say to high school student athletes,heck I don’t pretend to know what SJU says to prospective student athletes so this theory may or may not be correct. Doing a comparison  of the starting line-ups from the game the Tommies offensive line does have size advantage over the Johnnies on the defensive front  by 68 pounds per man. As far as the starting 22 players from each school, UST has more players from “top tier” high schools, you know which schools I mean, the ones consistently in the Prep-Bowl each November, by a margin of 10 to 6. I have no idea if these kids were the best players on their high school teams, or they just happened to live in the respective school districts and decided not to open enroll elsewhere and it is all simply coincidence that these 10 kids played for these “top tier” high schools and these kids chose to attend UST and while they are at UST they would continue to participate in their football program. This,however doesn’t account for the leaping one-handed TD grabs by a certain UST wide receiver who was rumored to have had his choices narrowed down to SJU and UST, and he in now in his Sr. season at UST. The Tommies also have a number of out of state players in their starting line up, and your guess is as good as mine if the high schools these players came from are “top-tier” in their home states.

There are others who point to the huge sums of cash that UST is receiving from donors for improvements at their school,including, but not limited to their athletic facilities. A quick check of the members of the UST Board of Trustees and significant donations since 2000 reveals that in 2000 current Board member Richard M. Schulze,Chairman of Best Buy,gifted UST $50 million. 2007 current Board member Gerald A. Rauenhorst, founding Chairman of Opus, gifted UST $2 million. In 2007 current Board member, Lee R. Anderson, Chairman of APi Group, gifted UST $60 million. Does having a sparkling new locker room, training facility and student center have influence over an 18 year old high school kid who is considering UST and a couple other schools in the MIAC to get his education and perhaps participate in football at the same time? Perhaps for some student athletes,perhaps not for others.

All this idle speculation of what is wrong in Collegeville and what is right in St. Paul is just that, idle speculation. Currently the Johnnies are 1-2 in MIAC competition and have a big game upcoming against Bethel,who will not be in a good mood since they just lost on their home field against St. Olaf. The Johnnies need to find a way to salvage their season and turn this ship around and not finish below .500 for the first time in a long time.

Sam Pederson SR. Wide Receiver

The Johnnies were on the board first, scoring with an option pass from RB Harry Awe to a wide open Max Forster. The Auggies answered with a long pass on their first play from scrimmage capped by a 1-yard run on the next play to tie the score. Jimmie Mattson connected on a 49-yard FG midway through the 1st Qtr. for the Johnnies. In the mean time the Auggies scored twice more. Nick Schneider scored on a 2-yard run with just over 2 minutes remaining in the first half. Making the score 26-17 at halftime.

Nick Schneider Soph. RB

Schneider scored again on a 5 yard run midway through the 3rd Qtr. to bring the Johnnies to just a two point deficit at 26-24. After some defensive stops for the Johnnies and the Auggies for the remaining time of the 3rd Qtr. and the 4th setting up the dramatic ending to a second consecutive Homecoming game and loss for SJU. This is the first time since the 1955-1956 seasons that SJU has lost back to back Homecoming games.

The mystique of playing at Clemens Stadium is slowly eroding for teams from the MIAC. Within the past 10 years teams from St. Olaf,Concordia,Bethel, St. Thomas and now Augsburg have come to Collegeville and defeated the once invincible Johnnies on their home turf. Is this a changing of the guard in the MIAC? Is it parity in the MIAC? Is it the opportunity for greater playing time at other schools that leads student athletes to choose another school over SJU when the choice is narrowed to SJU and another school? Whatever the answer to these questions are the results are the same, heart-wrenching losses to MIAC opponents who just a few seasons ago would never in their wildest dreams believed they could come to Collegeville and leave with a victory.

Make no mistake, Marcus Brumm is an excellent MIAC QB, he had a solid career at Lakeville South during his high school days. The question is, should any team in the MIAC put together an offensive explosion that Brumm and the Auggies did against the Johnnies? The statistics speak for themselves, Brumm had 401 yards passing with 4 TDs and the Auggies had 529 yards of total offense. Auggie RB Tyler Maxwell was the MIAC Offensive Player of the week last week and I just have a hunch that Marcus Brumm has the inside track for being named Offensive Player of the Week this week.

The challenge doesn’t get any easier as the next two opponents played for the West Region Title in NCAA Division III 2010. The Johnnies travel to St. Paul to take on the UST Tommies on October 1 and host the Bethel Royals on October 8. These two games will determine if the Johnnies have any influence on the outcome of the MIAC title in 2011.

***Photos courtesy of GoJohnnies.com

The Johnnies were able to find some things on offense that worked and in the second half found the end zone three times, with two missed PAT. The Johnnie defense was also able to make some adjustments at halftime and slow the steady parade of Blugold players who were punching their ticket to the End Zone Express at a rate unfamiliar to the Johnnie fans in the stands.

47 points allowed by a SJU opponent in Clemens Stadium is the third most on record and the worst defeat since 1986 when St. Thomas came away with a 56-21 victory. To put this type of drubbing into context the oldest players on the current SJU roster were born in 1989. During the entire lifespan of the oldest players  on the team SJU has not been defeated so soundly in their own stadium. What was possibly more embarrassing to the players than being on the short end of a lopsided score was the number of empty seats they saw when they returned from halftime. The usually rowdy student section in the north end zone was virtually empty and nearly half of the seats on the home side of the stadium were vacant as well. If there is such a thing as home field advantage with the cheer of friendly fans it was all but gone in the second half.

No phase of play, offense, defense or special teams, escaped the misery. Missed blocks, sacks, dropped passes and an interception on offense. Blown assignments, missed tackles and Eau Claire fumbles not recovered by SJU on defense. Missed PATs, fumbled punts, sloppy coverage on punts and kicks. The list of things to work on before the MIAC season opens Saturday at Concordia is a long one. Near the top of the list is resolving the starting QB situation, which is far from settled after the UWEC game.

One thing I’m confident of is the SJU coaching staff and their combined 168 years of college football coaching experience. The staff will find the players on the roster who will make the plays necessary to win going forward. We may see players who have not been at the top of the depth chart going into the season getting an opportunity or players who have been on the field and not playing up to their ability finally feeling comfortable enough to relax and make plays and stop playing tentatively.

Answers to a lot of questions will be sorted out in practice this week and only time will tell how this team responds.

The positive news is that the Johnnies played crisper as the game went along,but as many players and coaches noted after the game,the team has a lot of work to do in preparation to next week’s game hosting Eau Claire.

The first quarter was a back and forth affair with both teams trying to find a rhythm , both on offense and on defense. Northwestern took the opening kick off and moved the ball to the SJU 23 yard line before finally turning the ball over on downs. The Johnnies then proceeded to go 3 and out to punt the ball back the Northwestern. SJU finally made it into the end zone with 1:32 remaining in the 1st Qtr. on a 4-yard running back option pass from Harry Awe to Tyler Freetly to take the lead 7-0.

The 2nd Qtr. saw the Johnnie offense change QB’s from starter Jr. John Ries to Spoh. Connor Bruns. Bruns led the Johnnies in 3 scoring drives in the 2nd Qtr. His first was a 3 play 47 yard drive, capped off by a 19 yard TD pass to Sam Pederson. Midway through the quarter Stephen Johnson had a 27 yard TD run. Nick Schneider capped off the scoring in the 1st half with a 3 yard run with 19 seconds remaining in the half.

The 3rd Qtr. had no scoring. The 4th Qtr. saw Bruns and Ries rotate at the QB position,giving the coaches more game tape to review as they settle on a replacement for Joe Boyle.

Soph. QB Connor Bruns

Bruns had another TD pass to Pederson,this time a 40 yard pass at 12:41 of the 4th Qtr. to cap the scoring for the game.

Defensively the Johnnies were led by Ian Goldsmith and Luke Sweeter with 5 tackles each and Jake King with 4 tackles and a forced fumble.

The Johnnie running attack had Stephen Johnson with 111 yards on 19 carries and 1 TD. Sam Pederson caught 2 passes for 59 yards and 2 TD.

Connor Bruns was 10 for 15 passing with 1 interception and 2 TD. John Ries was 6 for 10 with no interceptions and no TD.

**Photos courtesy of www.GoJohnnies.com

As is the case every year irreplaceable players need to be replaced, and 2011 is no different for head coach John Gagliardi and his staff.

Here is a sneak peek of what holes the Johnnies will have to fill for the 2011 season.

Offense listens to instructions

The QB spot is up for grabs as 3 year starter Joe Boyle is gone and  John Ries,last season’s number two on the depth chart, has a challenger in Connor Bruns and the competition is heating up. To make matters even more interesting  Ben Krebsbach and Tyler Greguson, among others are in the mix for a spot on the travel roster.

The TE spot is vacant as 3 year starter Josh Overman has also been lost to graduation. The three main competitors for fill this vacancy are  Scott Ramey,Wade Powers and  Tyler Freetly.

The WR position is more settled as returning starters Brent Graboski and Sam Pederson are back for their Sr. season. In the mix at WR are Max Forster and  Rob Voshell who will be eager to see playing time in the 2011 season.

The offensive line who will be providing protection for a new QB is the most settled. At this point it appears to be Jimmy Stodolka at center,Eric Dirkes and Andrew Ghostley playing the guard positions and Jack Hedlund and Pete Schwartz at the tackle spots. The offensive line had its share of injuries last year and valuable game experience was gained by others in 2010 as well. To be sure, there are several other players in the mix and they need to be ready in case the injury bug bites again in 2011.

The RB position has 4 players that either started or saw extensive playing time in 2010. Harry Awe,Stephen Johnson,Jakob Reding and Nick Schneider will be sharing duties again in 2011.

Over on the defensive side of the ball the secondary will have three starters returning from last year. Kevin Wenner,Alex Powell and Ian Goldsmith. Several candidates are looking to fill out the secondary ,among them Andrew Rothschafer,Bobby Fischer and Adam Weber. Depending on personnel match up situations, Goldsmith could also play at the weak side linebacker position.

The starting linebackers will be all new this season and jockeying for starting spots continue. Players in the mix Taylor Dammermann,Jake King,Ricky Davis,John Gans,Luke Sweeter,Andrew Rose,Blake Bellefeuille and Darryl Williams.

The defensive line lost all the 2010 starters to graduation and early on there will be a lot of rotation until a core unit steps up to claim their spots. In the mix will be Evan Cobb, Connor Grill, Jeremy Hill, Jack Daggett, John Gervais, Phil Nowak, Joe Donner and several others.

To be sure, there are no starting spots “locked up” thus far in the pre-season and the non-conference games will be auditions for many players as they look to establish their spot in the line up for the MIAC season and beyond.

Connor Grill locking up