The 2015 campaign will see plenty of transition for the Austin College football team, as head coach Loren Dawson and his staff replace 23 seniors, including 18 former starters from last year's squad. Last season the 'Roos finished 5-5 with a 1-2 record in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play, but find themselves in unfamiliar territory, having to find new starters at several major positions.
Fortunately for Dawson, he's got several key performers coming back this year including first team All-SCAC running back Madison Ross to lead the offense, and a defense that will feature senior All-SCAC performers Brooks Ward and Brett Vaughn leading the charge. Ross rushed for 965 yards and averaged 6.2 yards-per-carry, scoring nine touchdowns to finish among the conference leaders in all three categories.
Ward, a middle linebacker, was among the SCAC leaders with 88 tackles, including 8.5 tackles for loss, and Vaughn, a defensive tackle, had 40 stops including 6.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks. Joining them on the defense will be Delmas Hoye, the lone returning starter in the secondary. The cornerback finished fourth on the team with 58 tackles and picked off two passes last year.
Back on the offensive side of the ball, Ross will get help from leading pass catcher Kyle Crawford. The tight end returns this season after hauling in 42 passes for 699 yards and four touchdowns on his way to earning D3Football.com All-Region honors for the second straight year. However, the big question mark on offense will be at the quarterback spot, as Dawson finds himself forced to start a new signal caller for the first time since the 2011 campaign.
Gone is Noah Jesko, who set an Austin College record with 906 career pass attempts and fell just short of breaking the career yardage mark, and Dawson expects it to be an ongoing competition to find a replacement throughout fall camp. Jesko isn't the only valuable member of the offense the 'Roos will be forced to replace, as Austin College also must find another runner to complement Ross after losing All-Conference back Bryce Murphy to graduation.
Still, there are several skill position playmakers returning this season including Cooper Woodyard, Kevin Ray, and Brandon Rawls, and Dawson expects receiver Shawn Slowinski to make an impact in the passing game this year. The 'Roos could also see the emergence of receiver Joe Traylor, a 6-foot-4, 205 pound junior who transferred in last year but sat out during the 2014 campaign. Traylor adds tremendous size and athleticism to go along with the quickness of Ray and the consistency and strength of Crawford.
"A big focus has been and will continue to be improving situational football, whether it's down and distance or in the red zone," said Dawson. "With the defense, we want to cut down on giving up big plays, and on offense the focus has been on third down conversions."
Leading the way up front is an offensive line that will need to replace several key members from last season's squad, but returns enough experience to make it a strength of the team. Cole Caldwell and Judd Mahan return to man the left side of the line, while Spencer Moore is poised to recover from a season ending injury a year ago and reclaim his spot as the team's starting right tackle. Replacing starting center Cody Kovach won't be easy, but Branden Hunt received significant playing time last year and should be able to do an admirable job filling the void.
On defense, Austin College must find a way to replace departed defensive backs Colter Headrick, Scott Loy, and Shane Hodge, but Dawson believes the pieces are in place to put together a strong group alongside Hoye. Max James could make an impact, along with Stevie Reyna, Shane Brooks, and Major Adams in the secondary. Linebacker is another position that will need a little bit of revamping, but Kendall St. Romain, Charles Eneh, and Darlon Chandler should all get chances to expand on the potential they've flashed in backup roles. Dawson also expects defensive lineman Wesley Thompson to take on a bigger role this season.
Austin College also faces the difficult challenge of an unbalanced home and away schedule this season, playing in the friendly confines of Apple Stadium just four times in 2015. The 'Roos will be home the first two Saturdays of the season, but play at home just once in October before returning to Apple for Homecoming on November 14 against Trinity. Along with the challenges of playing so few games at home and replacing 23 graduated seniors, the coaching staff has undergone some changes with a new defensive coordinator in Mike Silva. The 'Roos will also have a new special teams coordinator and offensive line coach this season.
"We're going to work hard to travel with a championship approach," said Dawson when asked about the unusual number of road trips. "We can't let being on the road impact our ability to play at our best."
The 'Roos will be reporting to fall camp on August 13, and kick off the 2015 season at home against Hendrix College at 1:00 p.m. on September 5.