Last week, the PSAC West held its media day at Slippery Rock University. This gave media members an opportunity to talk to players and coaches, along with getting a first look at the PSAC pre-season coaches poll that ranked the eight western division teams.
For the third consecutive year, perennial contender IUP was selected as the favorite to win the division with five first-place votes. California received the other three first-place votes and were selected second, while defending division champion Slippery Rock were third. Mercyhurst, who will play the Rock in a much anticipated October match up at the “Big House” at the University of Michigan, captured the fourth spot, while local rival Gannon were picked fifth.
Rounding out the final three positions were No. 6 Edinboro, No. 7 Clarion and No. 8 Seton Hill.
Here’s a summary of each team, along with insight from various players and coaches.
#1 IUP Crimson Hawks:
Though the Crimson Hawks only return two starters on offense, a rash of injuries last season, especially along the offensive line, will give IUP some linemen with game experience. Led by senior offensive linemen Jorge Vicioso and Matthew Sasson, the Crimson Hawks offense should be able to build on the sixth best scoring in the PSAC (36.4 ppg). One of the top battles in camp will be at quarterback. Local product Logan Weaver and Eddie Stockett both return and will battle Illinois transfer Chase Haslett to lead the offense.
Fifth-year senior linebacker Alex Berdahl, who missed all but one game with a broken wrist last season, will be one of six returning starters to one of the top defenses in the country. The Crimson Hawks were tops in the PSAC in scoring defense, and ranked fifth nationally, giving up a paltry 15.4 points per game. Depth and experience at linebacker and defensive line will provide the PSAC West favorites with a great opportunity win their 18th PSAC championship.
IUP Quotable Quotes:
On expectations for the season: “It’s three years in a row we’ve been picked at the top of the conference, and that’s nice, but it really does not mean anything until you get out there in play…We’ve got a target on our back, and we need to embrace that.” — IUP Head Coach, Curt Cignetti
#2 California Vulcans:
Though the Vulcans have seven returning starters on offense, they must replace two All-PSAC WR’s and rely heavily on quarterback James Harris to carry the workload. The Vulcans have four returning starters on the offensive line that only missed one game total last season.
The defense was among the finest in the nation, and only IUP was better statistically in the conference last year. However, though the Vulcans bring back four starters from that group, they did lose their top four tacklers last season, who also happened to be all conference picks in 2013. Senior Jeff Knox, Jr. will move from running back to linebacker to help the defense adjust.
Cal Quotable Quotes:
In reference to the many tough teams in the PSAC West: “If you love football, you love a challenge. There’s a lot of good teams, IUP, Slippery Rock, Gannon, Mercyhurst, you have to take each game one at a time, but we can’t wait for the challenge.” — Senior linebacker, Jeff Knox Jr.
#3 Slippery Rock:
Dr. George Mihalik leads SRU into competition for his 27th season. After winning the PSAC West last year, the Rock will return eight starters on offense, but lose quarterback Nigel Barksdale and leading receiver John Schademan. All five starters on the offensive line, along with tight end Julian Harrell return, as does running back Shamar Greene. The Rock led the conference last season in scoring offense, along with passing and overall offense, averaging an eye popping 536.5 yards a game.
On defense, the Rock lost all seven from their defensive line and linebacker group. Senior Austin Miele will be asked to move from strong safety to inside linebacker, and will provide experience and leadership for the group. The secondary, even with the loss of Miele, should be a strength, as three starters return.
SRU Quotable Quotes:
On how team speed has impacted SRU football in recent years: “We’ve recruited differently over the last few years for sure, speed has been the major factor…The approach has changed and with teams spreading the field, it’s much more important to have speed both offensively and defensively.” — Head Coach, Dr. George Mihahlik
#4 Mercyhurst:
The Lakers are coming off their first back to back winning seasons since 1992, and will strive to continue their recent success by winning only their second PSAC title in team history. Junior running back Brandon Brown-Dukes will look to have his third consecutive 1,000 yard season, and will key the offensive attack.
Senior defensive back Colin Kimball is one of seven defensive starters returning for the Lakers. Kimball led the team with six interceptions, and is one of senior starters in the secondary. Ranked third in the PSAC last season in scoring defense, the Lakers will lean heavily on this experience to challenge for a PSAC West title.
Mercyhurst Quotable Quotes:
On the worry of looking ahead to “Big House” game vs. SRU in October: “We have a very difficult schedule leading up to that game actually, so it will not be hard to focus on the task at hand…To be honest, I’m much more worried about the game after it, we host a tough Edinboro squad five days later on a Thursday night, so we will need to find a way to ramp up our energy for that one.” — Head Coach, Marty Schaetzle
#5 Gannon:
No team returns more starters than the Gannon Golden Knights, nine on offense and nine on defense. Offensively, the Golden Knights bring back four starters on the offensive line, along with three starting receivers and quarterback Liam Nadler, who passed for nearly 3,000 yards and 16 TD’s last season.
If the Golden Knights are going to have a chance to win their first PSAC title in school history, they will have to improve defensively. Ranking at or near the bottom in every major statistical category, Gannon will need it’s nine returning starters to use their valuable experience to help win games. The caveat is only one starter, linebacker Luke Rankie, is a Senior.
Gannon Quotable Quotes:
On how off season commitment is going to make a difference in 2014: “As a team, we really stepped it up as unit, we worked hard this off season to get in the best shape of our lives. A lot of us stayed all Summer, we honed in on injury prevention, strength, overall performance. We are right where we need to be heading into camp.” — Senior OL, Kelson Patterson
#6 Edinboro:
The Fighting Scots received terrific news when quarterback Cody Harris was granted a sixth year of eligibility via a medical waiver. Getting Harris, a two-time all PSAC-West selection, is not only huge for the Scots, it’s huge All-Conference wide receiver Ben Eisel. Harris and Eisel are among seven returning starters on offense, as they will attempt to improve on their offensive numbers that ranked near the bottom in several major categories in 2013.
Defensively, All-PSAC linebacker Mike Shansky will provide the Scots with one of the top tacklers in the conference. The junior led the team with 3.5 sacks last season. The Scots will need Shansky to be at his best, as the defense will only return four other starters from a unit that finished 11th out of 16 teams in total defense.
Edinboro Quotable Quotes:
On the potential of the team’s offense: “We have about seven players on the offensive line who are very capable. I think we have more depth at wide receiver than we’ve had in a long time. Cody (Wallace) is back…With the new guys coming in I think we have a chance to be very dangerous on offense” — Head Coach, Scott Browning
#7 Clarion:
Clarion brings as much experience to the field as just about any team in the PSAC. After back-to-back four win seasons, head coach Jay Foster is looking for that abundance of experience to translate into victories on the field. Dual threat quarterback Darelle Carson returns to an offense that will have five senior starters. One of those seniors is running back Bobby Thomas, who rushed for nearly 800 yards and scored seven touchdowns last season.
The Golden Eagles have one of the top defensive players in the conference in senior defensive end Julian Howsare. Howsare, the 2013 PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year, recorded 83 tackles, including 18 for loss, and led the team with 10 sacks. Howsare will lead a defense that returns eight starters, and will look to improve on a team defense that ranked 12th in the conference last season.
Clarion Quotable Quotes:
On separating individual success from team goals: “Individual honors are great and all, but they really don’t mean all that much if the team is not winning. Our goal is to surprise some people and get to the PSAC title game” — Senior DE, Julian Howsare
#8 Seton Hill:
After a rough 1-10 season in Issac Collins’ first season leading the Griffins football program, Collins will lean on eight returning senior starters, including Capital One First Team Academic All-American linebacker Tyler Zimmer. The Griffins had a number of key injuries last season, including quarterback Andrew Jackson, who missed the entire 2013 campaign. With the senior signal caller back, the Griffins will look to improve on an offensive attack that ranked 15th out of 16 teams last season.
Seton Hill Quotable Quotes:
On what it will take to improve on last seasons 1-10 season: “The biggest thing for us is consistency. There were number of factors, injuries were a problem, but looking back at the film, there were a number of games that could have went in a different direction with more consistency. We have an interesting roster, and a lot of younger guys to grow with, with a regime change, it takes time to grow and get on the same page, but it’s starting to happen.” — Head Coach, Issac Collins.
