We are as optimistic and fired up as we can be at Grinnell College! We start camp tomorrow- Aug 13 and to say we're excited is an understatement. There's plenty of reason for optimism because of the talent we have returning and the talent we have coming in.
I'll start with our defense. We have an experienced secondary back with a great mix of "hard-hitting" safeties (Marquis Bradley '11 and Marc Heronemus '11 come to mind) and superb cover guys at corner. Seniors Ryan Boehm and Ben Johnson are expected to be all conference performers. All four positions are returning starters. Add in some solid backups and some talented newcomers and you can argue that our secondary will be the strength of the defense. At linebacker, we're looking forward to seeing the return of John Hereford '10 who pretty much missed all of last year with an injury. The leading tackler from '07 is chomping at the bit to get back on the field. Our two leading tacklers from last year have graduated- both played LB, so this is our biggest void to fill on defense. We have some "salty" guys who are ready to step in and fill the void- I'm thinking of Ryan Fletcher '11, Ryan Creps '12. Our defensive line is anchored by seniors Curtis McCoy, Kyle Lobaugh and Jake Thompson who are poised to have breakout seasons. Some of the hardest working and most unselfish guys on the team are at our defensive line position. Senior Chad Christoff who will also see time as a blocking back is moving over to help with the defensive line.
On offense, we have a great mix of experienced upperclassmen and talented underclassmen. Our offensive line will be lead by senior Mike Tricoli who will make the move to center. Mike will lead a talented but "thin" group of olinemen- Jake McVeigh '11, Stephen Hudak '12, Joe Sinnwell '12, and Scott Mata '11 who is moving over from the d-line. Throw in Chris Jarmon '12 who transferred in from Colorado College and our offensive line will be a strength again this year. At the skill positions, we are loaded with talent all around. This is the group I'm most excited about. Our coaching staff has to figure out a way to get the ball in the hands of all the talent we have at RB, and WR. Joey Snyder, Mike Martinez, and Jordan Courtain- all seniors- will lead a deep and talented receiving corps. Returning QB Mike Bogard '12 will look to get the ball in the hands of slot back Kelsey Davis '12, RB Carlos Sims '12, newcomer TJ Schaid '13, transfer WR Logan Granera '12 and Robert LaPorte '12. Robert Seer '12 Mike McLeran'12 and Brian Westerlind '12 are expected to be playmakers for us as well.
Our special teams is an area where we showed improvement last year, but still have plenty of things we can get better at. Mike Bogard will still do the kicking and punting duties. Scott Koenning '10 and Logan Granera are also proven kickers. Some of the Pioneers I'm excited about seeing contribute on special teams are senior Fernando Jenkins and a host of freshmen like Cody Weber, Drew Blumberg, and Kevin Hwang. We are going to continue to work very hard at our special teams and use it to gain an advantage over our opponents and help us win. We have an aggressive and somewhat unorthodox approach to special teams and I think this will cause problems for our opponents.
Our first game is Sept. 5 at home against Cornell.
CAN'T WAIT!!
