Justin Maskus MSSU Athletic Media Relations 2014 PRE-SEASON OUTLOOK Coming off of what was one of the most memorable seasons in MSSU Football history, Missouri Southern head coach Daryl Daye says he’ll know what to expect right away from this year’s team as the Lion’s schedule has them opening up with the MIAA’s top two teams from a season ago in weeks one and two. “We should find out how good we are within the first three games and whether or not we’ll have an opportunity to go far down the line,” Daye said. “It could be one of the toughest schedules that’s ever been played here. For us to get to where we want to be, we have to be productive with the opportunity we have with this schedule. Every game we play could be a chance to win a conference championship.” The 2013 Missouri Southern football team went 7-3 and finished the season 5-3 in the MIAA, taking out ninth-ranked Pittsburg State in Pittsburg in the final game of the season. The Lions, in one fewer game than previous, destroyed the old MSSU rushing record set in 2012 (3,043) by rushing for 3,684 yards in 2013. The team also broke a record set in 2012 in largest gain per rush by averaging 6.2 yards per carry, while also breaking the record for rushing attempts with <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 18 2014 Missouri Southern Football mssulions.com missourisouthernlions @mososports 597. The Lions broke the single-game rushing record with 607 yards put up against Lincoln in 2013, besting the old record by more than 100 yards. The team also led Division II in time of possession. The team returns over 60 players, but could see more than 40 new faces show up when players report on August 9. “That’s going to be the challenge with having over 40 new sign-ees,” Daye said. “We were able to sign some good transfers and sev-eral good Division I transfers, but we’re going to have to have the players come together really fast. You can have all the talent you want, but if they can’t become a team, you’re not going to be really good. I thought last year, we really became a team toward the end of the year and we were a pretty good football team when that hap-pened. These seniors have to be leaders and that’s what we expect out of them.” Coaches The Lions will bring a few new faces to the sidelines this season in the coaching ranks. New to the team will be Aaron DeBerry (de-fensive line), Charlie Hopkins (offensive line), Charles Alexander (de-fensive backs), and Frank Wilson (cornerbacks) serving as position coaches, while two others (Ethan Feuerborn and Gary Combs), will also help out with various tasks in the staff. Also new is the promo-tion of Rashad Watson to defensive coordinator, while Rodney Free-man (running backs) and Chandler Tygard (receivers) will be taking on different positions this season. DeBerry comes to Southern after two seasons at Independence Community College and played for Daye at Liberty. Alexander and Wilson both come to Southern from East Stroudsburg State, while Hopkins comes to Southern from Brevard College in North Carolina. Offense The Lions were the top rushing team in the MIAA last season and finished second nationally in yards per game. The running game re-turns every one of its major players as quarterback Jay McDowell will return to lead the attack this year. McDowell rushed and threw for more than 800 yards last season. Chris Barnwell was an All- Conference and All-American selection in 2013 after rushing for 878 yards, while Giresse Forchu returns to the backfield to give the Lions one of the deepest rushing attacks in all of Division II. Michael Nelson (419 yards) and Terrence Allen (297 yards) also to the running game. Josh Jones, Donnell Chapman and Jocqui Davis all return to the fold as wide receiver options for the Lions. Southern also returns four players with experience on the offen-sive line as Austin Wolfe, Caleb Benner, Will Flores and Spencer Trum-bly all return to the trenches for the Lions and Daye has always said the offense starts at the line. Junior Running Back Giresse Forchu “I think the key for us is our offensive line,” Daye said. “There’s
2014 Missouri Southern Football
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