Season Outlook

2005

Raising the Bar

The Graceland coaching staff is optimistic about the upcoming season, preparing a stifling defense to counteract their high powered offense.

Coach Cris Welch begins his third season at the top of the Yellowjacket team, following a strong 8-2 finish in 2004, which led to an 18th final NAIA poll rank, just three spots out of postseason playoff contention. The Jackets open the 2005 season with an appearance in the Eleventh Annual Wheat Bowl held in Great Bend, Kan. The Jackets will face the Crimson Storm of Southern Nazarene University from Bethany, Okla. at 7 p.m. in the Great Bend Memorial Stadium.

Kenneth Ray will be Graceland’s offensive coordinator this year, following his 2004 season as the offensive line coach. Ray will also be the junior varsity head coach. Trever Whiting, previously at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, has been added to the Yellowjacket staff as the passing game coordinator. Bill Mosel, from Chicago, Ill., joins the staff as the video coordinator and will coach the running backs. Former players Josh Brummit and Joe Huggett will serve as student assistants for the offensive unit. Dewey Clark once again will be the enrollment specialist and assist with the offense.

Alan Dykens will coordinate the defense for his third season at Graceland. Adam Clark will once again work with the defensive backs and is active in the weight room as the strength and conditioning coach. Troy Rider steps into a new role this season, moving from his assistant linebackers position from last year to the defensive line coach in 2005. Ray Dykens begins his second year with the kickers and outside linebackers and while former Yellowjacket and GU graduate Miguel Paredes assists with the defensive backs, Opie Butler will serve as the director of football operations and will assist with the defensive line. Graceland football’s all-time winningest coach, Bill Dudek, will assist with administrative and operations duties for the 2005 football season.

Coaches Cris Welch and Alan Dykens begin their third season coordinating the Yellowjackets. Both coaches have been an integral part of the process that saw Graceland turn a winless 0-10 season in 2002, into 2003’s respectable 5-5 team, then push to 8-2 and a national ranked squad last year.

Graceland boasts an 8-2 home record in the past two seasons and looks to improve again this season with a great core of returning players, complimented by a group of recruits that will be full of impact players and role players.

OFFENSE
Coming off a breakthrough season that saw the 2004 Graceland offense emerge as one of the nation’s top performing units, expectations run high for greater success in 2005. The 2004 Yellowjackets led the conference in scoring offense at 33.1 points per game, total offense at 462.7 yards per game, pass offense at 308.3 yards per game, and total touchdowns with 45. Nationally the offense ranked in the top 10 in 17 individual and team categories. With eight of 11 offensive starters returning and a stellar recruiting class, the offense has spent the off-season reloading for a great 2005 year.

The offense is led by returning all-American and all-conference junior quarterback Clayton Braddock. In his first year as a starter Braddock passed for 2920 yards and 25 TDs. Also seeing playing time this fall will be junior Geary Davenport. Davenport led the nation in total offense while at College of Marin and his elusive running ability will add another dimension to the Graceland offense.

Sophomore Charles Hawkins gained valuable experience leading the JV team last year and is a capable back-up for the varsity squad this season. Newcomers Tyson Smith (Leon, Iowa) and Brandon Charles (Inglewood, Calif.) will push the upperclassmen for playing time while leading the JV program.

In 2004 Graceland led the nation in average yards per pass attempt, and second in overall passing yardage. Graduating seniors Dante Johnson and Anthony Rozier accounted for over half of the 2004 yardage. The good news is that a very deep and veteran receiving core is ready to excel. The returning upperclassmen are led by Anthony Ferguson who averaged 12.0 yards per catch in 2004. Senior Joe Magana and juniors Aaron Luebbe and Layton Squire have proven big-play ability.

The addition of six transfer receivers- Brandon Covington (Fort Worth, Texas), Cedric Carmel (Oxnard, Calif.), Marcus Nolan (El Cajon, Calif.), Carlos Cavanaugh (Fort Worth, Texas) Daniel Ciccolini (Chatsworth, Calif.), and Adam Perry (Tulsa, Okla.) bring a great mix of speed, size and strength to the Graceland attack. Former quarterback Ivory Scott, and defensive safety Drew Melton moved to wide receiver in the spring and showed great promise. With incoming freshman Anthony Perez (Camarillo, Calif.), Ben Brummit (Unionville, Mo.) and Damien Conrad-Davis (Lamoni, Iowa) the youth movement in the passing game will be full of talent.

Although he only played in six games in 2004 senior All-American candidate Eric Boatwright earned all-conference honors and earned a reputation as both the most physical and athletic tight end in the conference. His aggressive blocking is expected to lead the Graceland running game this fall. Sophomore Robert Summers started four games last fall and showed great potential in the passing game. Senior Brian Tinker is a proven performer who will also see playing time. The talent of incoming tight ends Mike Giltner (Ankeny, Iowa), Lawan Ahmed (San Jose, Calif.), Mike Pena (San Diego, Calif.) and Tyler Palmer (Pierce City, Mo.) will certainly lead to the use of more two tight end sets in the Graceland offense.

Junior Julius Strong has lead the Graceland ground game for the past two seasons, rushing for more than 1500 yards, and is primed for a big year in 2005. He will be backed up by the powerful running styles of juniors Demetrius Cox and Mike Stephens. Junior Ryan Hefta returns as the staring fullback and the addition of transfers Joe Elliott (Benecia, Calif.) and Demetrius Rudd (Riverdale, Ill.) will enhance the two back run game. Returners Arthur Southward, Pedro Cunningham, Donald Clark and Justin Villanueva provide added experience. A trio of high school all-stars in Kalen Thomas (Pierce City, Mo.), Armon Harvey (San Diego, Calif.) and Eric Black (Carson, Calif.) have the talent to gain playing time.

All of the offensive yards will be made possible if the beef on the offensive line can create some holes. All-conference returner Rufus Williams will anchor the offensive line this year and will look for help from three senior returning starters in Nate Mabry, Bernard Green and Louis O’Brien. The middle of the line will be solid with Mabry moving to center and O’Brien and Williams next to him at guard. Experienced back-ups Mike Williams, James Blake and Justin Nave will also look for valuable playing time. Freshmen Jason Gunter (Pierce City, Mo.), Dustin Hill (Leon, Iowa) and Kevin Wright (Craig, Mo.) could contend for playing time as well.

DEFENSE
The Jackets look to nine returning starters for leadership on the defensive side of the ball. The defensive line will be anchored by seniors Ron Strozyk and Justin Rogers. Third team all-conference player Strozyk led the team and was fifth in the conference with seven sacks for 35 lost yards and he had 13 tackles for 46 lost yards last season. Junior Randy Conner is expected to push for playing time and newcomers Mike Stuart, Rahim Martin and Danny Burns will compete for a spot on the line as well.

Three starters return to the inside linebacker position including seniors Cedric Taylor and Manny Espinoza on the outside and junior Craig Hidy in the middle. In 2004 Hidy was a third team all-conference selection and Espinoza was an honorable mention player. Junior Nate Bennett and sophomores Raphael Murphy, Sean Sharky and Milton Thomas will also look to enter the lineup this season. Newcomers Dantrell Allen and Robert Moore also hope to make an impact at the inside linebacker position.

Senior captain Tony Ingram will hold down the outside linebacker position with help from junior Robert Pentek and sophomore Jay Hightower. Ingram was an honorable mention all-conference player in 2004 with 55 tackles and one interception. Former running back Kengen Jones along with Vernon Williams and Jason Gates look to make a push for playing time at the outside linebacker spot.

With the loss of all-conference seniors Reggie Cox and Michael Richardson, the defensive back starting position is up for grabs. Sophomore Roshe Hepburn, freshman James Thomas and junior Teon Black will all take strides toward starting every game. Others competing for the job will be Chad Everett, Marc Bickhem and Shane Raymond.

Senior Brent DeLong returns as Graceland’s free safety in 2005. Senior Wayne Waldon will push to be a starter, but must watch out for Cain Casarez and Justin Blocker to be contenders.

SPECIAL TEAMS
With the loss of Anthony Posteraro to the Canadian Football League draft, Graceland will turn to wide receivers Layton Squire and Joe Magana to punt this season. Senior Danny Laguna, who was an honorable mention all-conference selection two years ago, will again be the Yellowjacket kicker.

All in all the Graceland University football team has a solid core of returning players that will be complimented by a strong recruiting class.

FROM THE HEAD COACH
“We have come to expect to win,” says Welch. “Our program has come such a long way in the previous two seasons that our kids expect to win. The remaining seven players, three of which redshirted, from the 0-10 season have become our best leaders. Guys like Ron Strozyk, Craig Hidy, Kengen Jones and Louis O’Brien have led this team to where we are today. They know that we have to take the next step and that is to win the HAAC Championship on our way to the National Championship Series. This team has been focused on winning the championship from the get-go. From day one, we have felt that the commitment and performance in the classroom and weight room will be the foundation in which we are successful. These young men have learned to invest in one another and have come to expect to win. And win they will.

“To receive the invitation to play in the Wheat Bowl illustrates where this program is going. Our coaches and players have worked their tails off and it is a great reward. The basis in which our program exists is that ‘you get out of life exactly what you put in.’ The bowl game is just one of the goals of this team. It is great to see these young guys taking so much team pride in where we have been and where we are going.”

This new attitude will help Graceland raise the bar in 2005 in what could be a championship season.