5 key players
Frank Wolfe III, RB, Jr.: To paraphrase Rick Pitino, Daniel Carter is not going to walk through the Saint Francis door this season. The first option to replace Carter, the tailback who essentially rewrote the Cougars’ rushing record book, is Wolfe, who could be the fastest player ever to wear a Saint Francis uniform.
Bryan Hardister, DT, Sr.: Because there isn’t much returning experience up the middle on the defensive line, Hardster is going to have to be the mark of consistency until the young ones catch up to him. An injury there would devastate the Cougars early.
Shaine Tierney, QB, Sr.: Will he or won’t he? That seemed to be the buzz swirling around Tierney in spring drills, when he was getting pushed for the starting job from Justin Boser and Alex Bierwalter. A sound early start to the season and Tierney can solidify the QB spot even more.
Corey Cronk, OL, Jr.: For his first two seasons, Cronk was the one who was learning. Now he’ll have to do the teaching. At 6-foot-1, 325 pounds and two years of experience, this is Cronk’s time to jump from being a good offensive lineman to a dominating one.
Jordan Wise, S, Sr.: He came in as a quarterback and will be leaving as one of the defensive leaders. The same thing that applies to Hardester works for Wise, who will have to offer considerable run support early while the younger players learn the system.
4 key facts
8 is enough? Counting the special teams players, the Cougars have eight starters back from last season. Gone are the top runner (Daniel Carter), top receiver (Brian Schultz) and the top kicker (Rhys Barnhart).
3 to get ready: The three losses that Saint Francis had last season were the most in one season since the school’s first year of football in 1998, when it was 2-8.
349 and counting: Kevin Donley’s next game will be the 350th of his college coaching career. He’s won 236 of them, including 121 at Saint Francis.
51 newbies: Forgive Donley if he can’t remember everybody’s name early. There are 47 freshmen and four junior college transfers this season, and several of them might be asked to play.
3 games to watch
Oct. 9 vs. Walsh: It’s the midway point of the season for the Cougars and the first encounter with a team in the NAIA preseason top 25. Last year, Saint Francis won 20-14.
Nov. 6 at Saint Xaiver: Not only is it the toughest game against the preseason No. 4 Saint X, but playing in Chicago in November is a cold trip.
Nov. 13 vs. Taylor: The 23-16 loss to Taylor last year added insult to a lot of injuries. But this is the game a week after playing Saint Xavier. The Cougars could be beaten up.
2 points of concern
Defensive ends: Saint Francis has a rich history of putting out top-notch defensive ends who cause havoc on the other team’s quarterback. Anthony Moore and Jon Lehman don’t have the physical presence or the speed of those in the past. But somebody has to step up at this position.
Linebackers: On a team with few returning starters, this is where the Cougars are the least experienced. Four of the team’s top six tacklers came from the linebackers, and all are gone. The most productive of the returnees is sophomore Quinn Doan, who was 11th on the team in tackles with 28.
1 major issue
Reload or regress: For more than a decade, Saint Francis has been the bully of the block in the Mideast League within the Mid-States Football Association. But injuries hammered the Cougars last season, and the aura of invincibility went on hiatus after losing three of their last four. Saint Francis is very young. How quickly the youth movement can hit the ground running – somewhat literally – will determine the team’s success.
