The Presentation College football team continues to grow in its third year of existence.
The Saints had around 100 players report for fall camp this year and the roster is filled with upperclassmen, which wasn't always the case during the first two seasons of the program.
"The one thing that you see is not only numbers, but the quality of student and quality of athlete is certainly continuing on the upward trend," Presentation College coach Andy Carr said. "We are bigger. We are faster. We are stronger. We are a more skilled team this year."
The Saints have more than 20 juniors on the roster that have been with team since they were freshmen. They also have almost 20 sophomores that played significant time for the team last season.
"You have got 40-45 guys returning that played snaps," Carr said. "Last year, we had 18. That is almost triple. That is a significant difference."
Presentation also brought in an eye-opening 60 freshmen this season. The Saints won't necessarily have to depend on the freshmen like in recent years, but Carr said that some could still see playing time this season.
"It is nice to see that you have that many returners," Carr said, "but then you have got new faces that are talented people."
PC returns its starting quarterback (Stephen Braswell) and top returning wide receiver (Matt James). Senior running back Eric Schueth is back after a solid junior campaign.
The defense returns its top six tacklers from last season, including senior linebacker Josh Boyda. Other top returners on defense include: Austin Lake, Wyatt Sumption, Garret Fraser, Orlando Torres and Kyle Woodward.
"The inside linebacker group is as deep and talented as we have seen," Carr said. "We have four or five guys at that inside linebacker that played snaps for us. We have got some talent back on the D-line and some good depth and we have added some guys. It is the deepest and most talented we have been D-line wise."
The PC athletic department joined the NAIA this year and will play in the newly formed North Star Athletic Association, which boasts such schools as University of Jamestown, Mayville State, Dakota State and Valley City State. Dickinson State will join the league next season.
"They are going to be a challenge and that is good," Carr said. "We want to be challenged and we think our program is working towards where we want to be."
|SCHEDULE|
SEPTEMBER-7, vs. Luther College; 14, vs. Waldorf College; 21, vs. Dakota State; 28, vs. Trinity Bible College.
OCTOBER-5, at Valley City State; 12, at Haskell Indian Nations University; 19, vs. Cole College; 26, vs. Mayville State.
NOVEMBER-2, at University of Jamestown; 9, at Menlo (Calif.) College.
@RyanDeal_AAN
