| 2011 Southern Utah Football Preview | ||||
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2011 Southern Utah Football Preview Southern Utah’s coaches and players are cautiously optimistic heading into the 2011 season, their final campaign in the Great West Conference before next year’s jump to the Big Sky. There are a handful of reasons for that optimism: 1. The Thunderbirds return 16 starters, including nine on the offensive and six on the defensive side of the ball as well as their placekicker, from the 2010 squad which claimed the school’s first GWC championship.
2. They have nine returning players who earned first-team all-GWC honors last year, including three who were first-team selections by both the coaches and the media. They’re also an intelligent bunch, as eight were named academic all-GWC, including five starters and three who were primary reserves at their positions in 2010.
3. They have two pre-season all-Americans: returning all-conference selections Brad Sorensen, a junior quarterback, and Tyler Osborne, a senior defensive end.
4. Once again the coaching staff returns intact. Over the last four seasons the team has lost just one full-time coach, so there has been great stability in the staff as the team has continued to improve.
5. The Thunderbirds head into the season ranked among the nation’s top-25 FCS squads by several publications, including 16th by The Sporting News.
The only things that might temper the team’s enthusiasm about the upcoming season are a schedule which includes just four home games, as well as the task of replacing the players lost to graduation – something every school goes through every year.
As far as the schedule goes, while Lamb would undoubtedly rather have at least one additional home game, he likes the way it shapes up. With the opener at South Dakota State – a rising power from the Missouri Valley Conference – he says the team will have a challenge from day one.
“I like the way the schedule lines up,” Lamb notes. “It’s a good challenge for our guys. The first game is on the road against an established program with a strong winning tradition in a major [FCS] conference, so right from game one I think we have a microcosm of our season.
“If we can’t beat good football teams on the road, throughout the season, consistently, then we’re going to have a poor win-loss record at the end of the year,” he adds. “We can’t just win our home games and steal a few road games here and there and have any sort of a season that can be deemed successful by our own standards.”
Lamb also notes this is the first time the squad has had the pressure of dealing with being ranked heading into the season.
“We’ll find out early in the season if we can live up to the hype. We haven’t had to deal with being ranked in the top-25 by most pre-season polls, we haven’t had to deal with that in the past. We haven’t had to deal with having an abundance of upper-classmen with returning all-conference honors, that’s a new challenge.”
After inheriting a team that went 0-11 in 2007, the new staff’s challenge was getting the players to believe they could compete with the other teams on the schedule. Last year’s team proved to itself that it could play with anyone it played, suffering just one lop-sided loss all year. Now, Lamb points out, the challenge is to avoid overconfidence.
“I don’t know if our team’s aware of it yet, but our coaching staff is very aware, and we’re going to be preaching the message hard, that gone are the days where we have to convince our players that we can compete with anybody. Now the challenge for us to teach our players that any team on our schedule can beat us.”
The Thunderbirds open the season Sept. 3, at South Dakota State, then host Sacramento State in the home-opener on Sept. 10. First-time opponent Texas-San Antonio visits SUU on Sept. 17, before the ‘Birds head down I-15 for a match-up with UNLV on Sept. 24.
The quest for a second consecutive GWC crown begins at home on Oct. 1, when the Thunderbirds host North Dakota. The team then travels to South Dakota (Oct. 8) and Cal Poly (Oct. 15) for two more conference games before taking a break from GWC play at Weber State on Oct. 22. Southern Utah’s final GWC game will be Oct. 29, when UC Davis visits Cedar City.
The team then wraps up the regular season with two road games, traveling to Northern Iowa for a Nov. 12 contest, and to Northern Arizona for a match-up on Nov. 19.
OUTLOOK: OFFENSE
It would be easy to single out Sorensen – the team’s second Payton Award Watch List member in as many years (since graduated WR Tysson Poots was so honored last year) – as the offensive key to the team this year, but Lamb also points to the offensive line.
“Maybe the most exciting position for us, as coaches as we enter the season, is the offensive line,” Lamb says. “We have all five starters from a season ago returning, but maybe more significantly, there are several players that we feel are good enough to start or have become good enough to start through last spring and the summer.”
Sophomore Gavin Farr (6-foot-3, 300 pounds) anchors the unit. As a redshirt freshman, he was named the GWC offensive lineman of the year by the media in 2010. Also returning are guards Zach Brackus (6-5, 325, Jr), and Trevor Schauerhamer (6-5, 324, Sr), and tackles Brandon Beddes (6-5, 312, Sr) and Brock Christensen (6-6, 306). Each of the five earned some kind of all-conference recognition last year, with Farr, Beddes and Schauerhamer earning a spot on both the media and the coaches’ squads.
“If there is such thing in football, [Farr] is a self-made man,” Lamb says, noting that when he was recruited he was 6-2 and 260 pounds, which is considered undersized for the SUU system. “But he grew to 6-3 and 300 pounds, and although he’s still significantly shorter than the other guys, he’s more in our mode.”
Regardless of his size, he’s made an impact. “Almost from day-one on campus he’s insisted on being the starting center, and he makes it all go on the offensive line … he was definitely deserving of the offensive lineman of the year [award] by the media. In my opinion that’s an honor that describes him well,” Lamb says.
Brackus “has been a solid, quiet leader for us from the time he stepped on campus,” Lamb notes. “He’s very consistent in what he does, he shows up in a workmanlike fashion for practices and games, and he does just a great job.”
Schauerhamer “is a big-bodied guy who has really developed himself as an athlete ... He had a lot of natural size and strength and bulk and then he really worked on what would have been his weakness, and I think on game-day he really shows up as an effective player because of all the hard work he’s put in.”
Christensen “brings a tremendous passion to the game, and I think that’s evidenced by how he’s changed his body, from the time he was a high school senior at 190-something pounds to being 310 pounds now and one of the strongest players on our team,” Lamb points out. “He’s really done a nice job in every way in attacking the work that we’ve asked him to do and it shows up in his play.”
Beddes is “one of our fastest offensive linemen and his commitment through the offseason has been significantly increased over when we first recruited him [from Snow College], so I really think he’s going to come close to maximizing his potential this season, based on his work ethic,” Lamb says.
In addition to the returning starters, the O-line is bolstered by a handful of players Lamb says the staff feels are good enough to start. That group includes Cody Burgess (6-6, 315, So), Devin Tavana (6-3, 300, Sr), Daron Griffin (6-4, 365, So) and Russell Peterson (6-4, 319, Jr). Peterson has been a spot starter and a reserve at every position except center the past two seasons, while Tavana come to SUU as a junior college all-American out of Snow College last year.
“I would say we have nine veterans with game experience and any of those nine guys could be starters,” Lamb says.
Depth will be provided by a handful of young players, including Greg Reid, Eric Chandler, Robert Krotz, Alex Topete and Zac Russell.
If the line is the spot on the offense with the most returning experience, the position with the least would be receiver, Lamb points out. Poots and Fesi Sitake claimed the lion’s share of the receptions last season, with Robert Ah Sue getting most of the rest, but all three of those players have graduated, leaving the race for receptions fairly wide open.
Seniors Jared Ursua (5-11, 192) and Myles Crawford-Harris (6-0, 190), sophomore Fatu Moala (6-2, 185) and redshirt freshman Easton Pedersen (6-3, 200) had the edge coming out of spring ball, but a handful of newcomers and JC transfers, including juniors Matt Putnam (6-2, 195) and Mike Clore (6-0, 185), and freshmen Myles Carelock (5-11, 170), Logan Parker (6-4, 205), Josh Smith (5-11, 170) and Brady Measom (5-9, 165), hope to be in the mix as well.
Ursua has “been a guy we think could have been in there … catching a share of the passes but with the guys ahead of him he just didn’t have a lot of opportunities,” Lamb says. “Jared’s been a guy who has delivered consistently over the last three years when we’ve asked him to, so we’re anxious to see what kind of a leader and producer he’s going to grow into.”
Moala’s game is “a lot like Fesi’s. He’s very skilled, he can change directions, he’s one of these guys where you watch him play pickup basketball, or I’m sure any other sport, whether he’s played it or not … he can be the best guy in the room. He’s very skillful.”
Pedersen “had a good spring for us. He’s really effective in using his big body in man-to-man and short-yardage situations, goal line situations. He was probably our most respected receiver in the spring at creating space for himself.”
Crawford-Harris is perhaps the most intriguing of the bunch. Originally a cornerback, who earned a few starts in the defensive backfield as a true freshman, he asked to move to the offensive side of the ball in spring after the cornerback position became a bit crowded. The experiment worked out and now he’s battling for the top spot at the X receiver position.
“Myles finished the spring very strong, working with the wide receivers for the first time; he had been a DB and had been a starter in the defensive backfield at times, so it was a risky move for us to move him to receiver, but he asked to do it and we had some other corners who were slightly in front of him – Myles was slated as the starting nickel – and I think he’s made a good decision for himself, I think he has a good future at receiver,” Lamb notes.
Another position where the team is strong and deep is at running back, where Austin Minefee (5-10, 195, Sr) and Deckar Alexander (5-7, 178, Sr) return after leading the team on the ground the past three seasons. Veterans Brian Wilson (6-0, 210, Jr), Mike Tagliaferri (5-11, 206, So) and Henna Brown (6-0, 225, Jr) are all pushing for playing time as well.
Minefee earned all-GWC honors last season after piling up 1,021 yards and five touchdowns rushing and receiving. He led the team’s backs in 2009 as well (544 rushing, 229 receiving yards, 5 TDs), while Alexander was the team’s second-most productive back last year with 520 yards and the top back in 2008.
Lamb expects both to be better in their senior seasons.
“Both those guys have had tremendous summers,” the coach says. “They already were some of the strongest guys at their position, maybe at our level of football, and now they’re even stronger, they’re even more fit and ready to go.
“We have an excellent group of running backs behind those guys, and any one of them, in my opinion, have all-conference ability: Brian Wilson, Mike Taliaferri and Henna Brown. So it will be interesting to see how the running back position plays out. There’s not going to be any room for a guy protecting his body, not playing full-out 100 percent. If guys can’t secure the football consistently … one or two fumbles could put you out for the season.”
At fullback the team has three players, each with his own skill set. Senior Daryl Brown – a team captain – plays a hybrid fullback/tight end/H back role; Dylan Fox, who has played linebacker, offensive line and tight end in addition to excelling on special teams, is the top blocking back; and Lavell Ika has a combination of skills. Jacob Allie, a redshirt sophomore, will provide depth as well.
“Daryl could potentially be in the mix at tailback but certainly will be at fullback, and at tight end, and at the slot receiver position. We use him quite a bit as a wing, kind of a hybrid tight end and fullback spot,” Lamb says. “He wasn’t recognized as all-conference last year and he wouldn’t be, he usually finishes with a handful of catches and a handful of carries and a bunch of blocks, but as far as what we do there’s nobody that’s more important to our offense than Daryl Brown.”
At tight end Abbel Aiono (6-3, 265, Sr) earned honorable mention all-conference honors last year, and Lamb says he is another player who could be poised for a break-out season.
“He’s got a little preseason publicity, I think because he’s one of the only returning starters in the conference at his position … and I don’t think it’s undeserved, I just think potentially this year he could have an exponentially more productive season than he has in the past,” Lamb notes. “His speed, his agility, his confidence, everything for him has really improved over a year ago.”
Providing depth at the tight end spot will be three players, freshman Anthony Norris (6-4, 195), sophomore Jamison Gann (6-5, 245), a transfer from Colorado State, and junior Chris Haning (6-4, 225).
At quarterback, Sorensen (6-5, 225, Jr) completed 261-of-390 passes for a school-record 3,163 yards and 21 touchdowns last year, earning a unanimous selection as the first-team all-GWC signal caller, and a spot on this year’s Payton Award Watch List. He was tabbed by at least one writer at ESPN.com as the top player at the FCS level heading into this season and has been named a pre-season all-American by several publications.
He is the team’s first returning starter at the position since Lamb and his staff took over in 2008. After three years of teaching the system to a new starter each season, the staff is elated to have him back.
“This is the first year [this staff] will have a returning starter at quarterback, with Brad, so we’re excited about that potential,” Lamb points out. “That’s going to be important to us, to have that player with some understanding already of how he can operate the offense, because that’s what our offense is made to do, to have the quarterback actually have the freedom to make calls at the line of scrimmage and change the play. In the past it’s been half a season before we get to that [point]. In the past three years … I bet there would be a pretty steady progression each season from about mid-year to the end of the year as our quarterback has progressed in his knowledge of the system.”
A look at the statistics bears Lamb out, both in total and passing yards as the seasons progressed. Last year, when the team piled up over 400 yards of offense seven times, five of those games came in the second half of the season. Five of Sorensen’s top seven passing yards games also came in the second half of the season, and he didn’t have a completion percentage under 64 percent in the final six games.
Sorensen’s strengths, according to his coach, are many.
“He’s got a really strong, accurate arm,” Lamb notes. “He’s got the height .... he’s really mature, he’s got some life experiences, he’s a little older, he’s got a calm, poised demeanor out on the field, but he’s also very competitive.”
The team also has several reserve quarterbacks, including redshirt sophomore J.J. Mayer (6-2, 205), sophomore transfer Roman Neville (6-2, 190, Jr) and freshman Brady Arnone (6-3, 190).
“J.J. Mayer comes into the season as the backup,” Lamb says. “J.J. did a really nice job in the spring, and because of the person and the work ethic J.J. has, the student he is, a student of the game and an academic student, we have a lot of trust in him.”
A native of Utah, Neville prepped at Box Elder High, before spending a season at San Bernardino Valley College, the same school at which Sorensen spent his freshman year. He completed 161-of-267 passes for 2,070 yards and 23 touchdowns last year, earning first-team all-conference honors.
OUTLOOK: DEFENSE
As with the offense, one of the strengths on the defensive side of the ball is up front. Four starters return on the D-line, although they may not necessarily return in the same positions they played last year.
One who will remain in the same position is Osborne (6-2, 245, Sr), a consensus 2010 first-team all-conference performer who has been named a pre-season all-American by several publications. He led the squad with seven sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss last year, when he also finished with 54 tackles from his rush end position.
Jeff Tukuafu (6-4, 262, Jr) returns at the strong-side, or bull end position after notching 19 tackles, with 3.0 TFLs, including 2.5 sacks.
Returning starters who may make a move this year include Cody Larsen (6-4, 272, Jr), and Nick Witzmann (5-11, 270, Jr). Larsen was the starter at nose tackle last year and he wound up tied for third on the team with four sacks while piling up 29 total tackles, but he will move to tackle this season.
Witzmann played in a rotation with Cody Heinreich (6-4, 260, Sr) and Brad Meyer (6-3, 280, So) at the tackle position last season, and those three could again team to man the nose. Witzmann had 15 tackles with two TFLs and a sack, while Heinreich had 14 tackles, including four sacks and six TFLs, and Meyer finished the season with six tackles, including a sack.
“We’ve got four starters returning at the defensive line spot, that’s really exciting for us,” Lamb points out. “Even with four starters returning there’s going to be tremendous competition. Right now all four of those guys aren’t slated to start, the way that we have it.
“We anticipate being able to move Cody Larsen to our defensive tackle position instead of playing the nose, especially in some pass rushing situations. He’s the same big strong guy that he was when he was playing nose, but he is also leaned up, he’s got improved quickness, he’s worked hard on his pass rushing ability and we’d like to emphasize that in our system with a position change.”
“Jeff Tukuafu was a starter at the strong side defensive tackle for us, he’s had a great off-season, he’s bigger and stronger, and then Tyler Osborne – who really sets the standard for our whole team, in the weight room and the way he trains in the off-season, in terms of toughness and the tenacity he plays with – he will be the rush end for us again,” Lamb goes on to say. “He was our leading tackle-for-loss and sack producer a year ago.
“Last year the nose position was occupied by Larsen and we rotated some other guys in the tackle position Heinreich, Witzmann and Brad Meyer. This fall we anticipate some of those guys who were playing tackle fighting for the starting nose position. Witzmann has the most experience and has been the most consistently productive, but Brad Meyer showed some real flashes last year in his first year off of a mission, he’s much better now that he has a whole off-season under his belt. Cody Heinreich is a really gifted athlete who is still learning the game of football and we’re excited as he keeps progressing through his career because I think at any time he has the ability to really step up and be a really good player.”
In addition to the players battling for stating spots, senior Eddie Mailoto (5-11, 240, Sr) returns to back up Osborne, and a handful of young players, including redshirt freshmen Nick Nissen (6-2, 275) and Kouri Jones (6-4, 235) and true freshmen Toi Taufa (6-1, 260) and Brody Swanson (6-3, 255), will provide depth.
The linebacker position is a bit of a question, with just SAM ‘backer Blake Fenn (6-1, 224, Sr) returning after starting last season, leaving a battle at both the middle and weak side positions.
A three-year contributor, Fenn led the team with 97 tackles last year, earning second-team all-conference honors. He will be backed up by sophomore Randall Nygren (6-2, 225, So), a converted quarterback who has taken to the defensive side of the ball.
“Blake was our leading tackler last year, we’re really counting on him to set the standard for the linebackers,” Lamb says.
Senior Drew Willard (6-3, 236), who has seen spot start duties and has been a regular in specialty situations, is the only other linebacker with starting experience. He is in the mix in the middle, along with redshirt sophomore Chad Hansen (6-3, 235) and redshirt freshman Austin Anderson (6-5, 205). Willard had 20 tackles last season.
“Drew Willard has played some starting roles for us, in nickel and short yardage situations, he has been considered a starter by us,” Lamb notes. “But the other two haven’t had any game experience with us yet, that position will be a battle.”
At weak side linebacker, two players who have considerable experience as reserves, Herman Sword (5-11, 215, Sr) and Rickey Clark (6-2, 225, Jr) will battle for the starting position. Sword had 10 tackles last year while Clark tallied seven stops.
“Herman Sword and Rickey Clark have both played significantly on special teams and sparingly on defense but they’re both working really hard for that position so it should be a fun position battle to watch in fall camp,” Lamb says.
The secondary also took a hit with the loss of four-time all-GWC cornerback Colin Pretlow, but consensus first-team all-GWC safety Erron Vonner (5-11, 188, Sr) and cornerback Dion Turner (6-0, 195, Sr), who was a first-team selection by the coaches and a second-teamer on the media list, both return. Both will be keys again, Lamb says.
“What we do in the secondary is all predicated on having a great man-to-man corner, and [Turner] has done that for us,” he points out. “He’s incredibly competitive and really talented. We’re really counting on him to continue to produce the way that he has.
“At the strong safety position we have a returning all-conference player and one of our leading tacklers last year, Erron Vonner; he had a great off-season and we’re excited about his senior year,” Lamb adds.
Vonner finished the 2010 season with 60 tackles, including 4.5 TFLs, and he broke up a team-high seven passes as well. Turner moved to corner from safety prior to the 2010 season and it was a good move, as he tallied 54 stops, broke up four passes and had an interception.
Pretlow’s replacement looks to be junior Marlon Hogains (5-11, 175), a converted wide receiver who had a solid season last year as the nickel back, while there is a three-way battle at free safety between senior Tyson Turley, who had 17 tackles as a reserve last year, and JC transfers Brennan Fjord (6-0, 195, Jr) and Ryan Comer (6-1, 200, Jr).
“Marlon played really well in the time he was able to come in as our nickel back last year,” Lamb points out. “It will be exciting to see him play more often, because he is really a good player.
“The free safety position was vacated when Matt Holley went on a mission, so we really attacked that,” the coach went on to say. “Number one we have a returner in Tyson Turley, who’s been a good player on special teams for us and a depth player at the safety position so I know he’ll be working hard for the starting free safety spot. Then we got the two starting safeties from Snow College, Brennan Fjord and Ryan Comer, so I think we’ll have a nice three-way battle for free safety.”
There are also some talented returning players and newcomers in the secondary, including junior Cameron Morgan (6-3, 195), sophomore Tyree Mills (6-2, 175) and freshmen LeShaun Sims (6-0, 175) and Gordon Garrett (6-2, 185), who figure to be reserves at the corners. Garrett redshirted with the team in 2008 before serving an LDS church mission.
Senior Zack Olsen (6-0, 175), sophomore Tommy Collett (6-0, 175) and freshman Miles Killebrew (6-3, 197) will provide depth at safety.
As far as special teams go, the Thunderbirds return placekicker Brock Miller and kick returners Henna Brown and Brian Wilson, but will be looking at new faces on both ends of the punting game.
Miller earned honorable mention all-conference honors last season after continually improving through the year and winding up as the team’s second-leading scorer with 63 points. He hit 27-of-28 PATs and 12-17 field goal attempts, with a long field goal of 50 yards.
Miller will handle the placekicking, while newcomer Colton Cook, a former Utah Mr. Soccer at Viewmont High, will handle kickoff duties.
“We had a nice battle between Brock Miller and Colton Cook for our placekicking jobs in spring, but coming out of it, it looks like Colton will be the kickoff guy,” the coach explains. “He’s got a big leg and we’re excited about that, and Brock was more consistent and more accurate than Colton, so going into camp it’s going to be Brock as the field goal and PAT kicker and Colton as the kickoff guy.”
Sitake, Brown and Wilson were the team’s top three kick returners last year, when Brown finished second to Sitake with nine returns but had the best average, at 24.6 yards per return. Wilson averaged 22.7 yards per return, second-best on the team.
Sitake was also the punt return specialist the past two seasons and the coaches will look at a variety of players to replace him, with Ursua the front-runner coming out of spring ball.
As far as the punting goes, the team brought in Tate Lewis (6-6, 220) to take over and expectations are high for the freshman from Fremont High School.
“We’ve brought in a freshman punter to start, Tate Lewis,” Lamb notes. “We’ve put a lot of pressure on him and he’s going to have to learn quickly. We certainly have some depth, both Brock and Colton are capable punters, and Fatu Moala is a capable punter, but we recruited Tate for the position. He’s 6-6, 220 pounds, and he’s got all the leg he needs. He’s from the same high school as [former SUU all-America punter] Trevor Ward and they’ve been working together all summer. So, I hope we have the next great punter here. I think he has the makings, if he works hard and makes the transition from high school to college, he can be a great one.”
Lamb is also excited about his kick coverage unit.
“When we put together a travel squad, the first thing we do is find the kickoff coverage guys,” he says. “Those are the most highly valued players on our team. Last year we had some really solid kickoff coverage guys, one of those was Mike Tagliaferri, and we had some other guys like Mike who also played considerably on offense or defense, but one player who didn’t play at all on defense who was one of our best kickoff coverage guys was KC Rawlinson, so any conversation about special teams has to start with those kick coverage guys, and KC is probably at the front of that group with the way he plays. Around him we put the very best football players on our team. Dion Turner, Erron Vonner, Mike Tagliaferri, those type of guys – very good players for us – have been the kickoff coverage guys. I’m sure there will be many of our starters on offense and defense that are running down with KC.” 
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