2008 St. Olaf College Football Preview

Mike Ludwig
September 3, 2008

NORTHFIELD, Minn. - Jerry Olszewski, in his first season at the helm of the St. Olaf College football squad, is inheriting a team that graduated its best class in the last three decades this spring but the new coach has nothing but the future in mind.

"I can't wait to see our guys," said Olszewski (pronounced Ohl - shess - key) in the days leading up to camp. "I'm so excited for the newness, the opportunity that this team has ahead of them."

Olszewski spent the last two seasons at Wis.-Stevens Point as the defensive coordinator. He is taking over for Chris Meidt, who resigned to take an offensive assistant position with the National Football League's Washington Redskins. Under Meidt and with the 2007 class, the Oles went a combined 31-9 over the last four seasons.

Olszewski is conscious of the Oles' recent success, but it's not the focus of his agenda in his first season.

"I'm excited to lead this program and to continue the excellence that has been established," he said. "But I'm most interested in our team playing passionate football, coming together on both sides of the ball and proving to themselves that they can be a good team."

Whether Meidt had departed or not, it was clear that the Oles would have a less pass-oriented attack this fall after graduating all-time leading touchdown passer Matt Penz and three of the top six receivers in school history - Horace Gant, Andrew Schmiesing and Preston St. John.

The good news is that Olszewski's Oles return two of the best running backs in the league and an experienced offensive line to build the offense around.

Running Back
Evan Endsley (Sr., Eagan, Minn.), a three-time All-MIAC selection, will anchor one of the running back positions. Endsley was the league's selection as the top utility player after he was third in the MIAC in all-purpose yards and scored eight touchdowns.

Coty Watkins (Sr., Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) is back after a standout first year at St. Olaf. Watkins, who spent his first two collegiate seasons at Wis.-Stout, rushed for 653 yards and 16 touchdowns, which ranks fourth in St. Olaf history.

The Oles have other backs that could get significant carries as well, including Mac Webb (Soph., River Hills, Wis./Nicolet). Webb had 16 rushes for 136 yards (8.5 yds/carry) in 2007. First years Leon Clark (Rochester, Minn./Century) and David Sturdevant (Sioux Falls, S.D/Roosevelt) bring impressive resumes to the backfield and could get the ball too.

Offensive Line
The Oles' offensive line lost a pair of All-MIAC honorees - Eric Yuen and Blake Hamel - but have a solid foundation returning in 2008. Paul Schwingler (Sr., Rochester, Minn./Century) and John Schantzen (Jr., Stillwater, Minn.) are each back after helping St. Olaf to the third best scoring offense and the fourth best total offense in the country last fall. Schantzen and Schwingler are each two-year starters on a line that has allowed only 16 sacks in 693 passing attempts since 2006.

The Oles will also have a number of other linemen with experience back, including Drew Penz (Soph., Rochester, Minn./Mayo), who drew starts in 2007.

Kyle Glanton (Jr., Orlando, Minn./Freedom) will also compete for a spot on the line with fellow lineman Jared Fisher (Jr., Kissimmee, Fla./Gateway).

First year additions include Florida products Carl Stone (Melborne/Central Catholic) and Rich Hargraves (Melbourne/Holy Trinity) and Daine Jensch (West Concord, Minn./Triton).

Tight End
Mike Shimshock (Jr., Coon Rapids, Minn.) is back to reclaim his starting post at tight end. Shimshock caught nine passes for 111 yards and two scores last year.

Quarterback
John Haberman (Jr., Brainerd, Minn.) served as the change-of-pace backup to Matt Penz last year and will start as the Oles go-to signal-caller in 2008. Haberman, a run-first threat, rushed for 372 yards and six scores on 60 carries last season.

Sophomore Brandon Agneberg (Hopkins, Minn.) and first year Clay Garrett (Yukon, Okla.) are among the other competitors to be the Oles passing quarterbacks to compliment Haberman.

Wide Receiver
Ryan St. John (Sr., Farmington, Minn.) is the most experienced returner in the team's receiving corps. St. John caught only 12 balls in 2007, but was in the shadow of three All-MIAC caliber teammates over the last two years.

St. John will be joined by possession wideout Matt Nelson (Sr., Eagan, Minn.) and sophomore speedster Antonio Jennings (Atlanta, Ga./North).

The Oles added a group of talented first years too, including Nate Verbracken (Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial) and Casey Williamson (Yukon, Okla.).

Defensive Line
The St. Olaf defense has experience in each part of the field, led on the line by defensive end Michael Williams, Jr. (Sr., Marshfield, Wis.). Williams had a team-best six sacks and 11 tackles for a loss in 2007.

The other defensive end spot is up for grabs, but sophomore Zac Henschel (Minnetonka, Minn.) could secure the position with a good camp. Henschel played limited snaps behind three-time All-MIAC pick James Bechdol, but collected 1.5 sacks in his sophomore campaign.

Inside, the team will lean on the junior duo of C.J. Tabasky (Ormond Beach, Fla./Mainland) and Nick Tolen (Goshen, N.Y.). Tabasky and Tolen combined for 28.5 tackles, with 8.5 for a loss, last fall.

Linebackers
Adam Concannon, an All-MIAC pick as an outside linebacker in 2007, will move to the middle to replace fellow all-conference teammate Nick Rydberg, who graduated. Concannon was solid in his first season with the Oles after transferring from Division I Sacred Heart to St. Olaf in 2006. Concannon had 49.5 tackles, good for third on the team, in his debut season.

The outside linebackers will likely be Eric Werdahl (Jr., Chaska, Minn.) and Jake Lodahl (Sr., Maplewood, Minn./Tartan). Each played significant snaps last year.

Defensive Backs
Tyler Jones (Jr., Farmington, Minn.) and Justin Lanman (Jr., Orlando, Fla./Timber Creek) will hold down the corner positions. Jones had a productive season in his first as a starter last fall. He picked off a pass, recovered two fumbles and had a team-best eight pass breakups and 46.0 tackles. Lanman had an interception as well last season and saw action in all ten games.

At safety, St. Olaf has each starter back: Ryan Skluzacek (Sr., Northfield, Minn.) and Chris DeLuca (Jr., Longwood, Fla./Lake Mary). Backup Carson Jones (Jr., Farmington, Minn.) also returns.

Special Teams
With the departure of four-year starting punter and place kicker Paul Fortman, the 2008 Oles will look to Matt Nelson to do the punting and Nick Ondler (Soph., Dodge Center, Minn./Triton) to do the kicking.

Endsley will likely return kicks with Carson Jones, who led the league in return average in 2007, while it is still up in the air who will return punts.

Contact media relations specialist Mike Ludwig at (507) 786-3834 or ludwigm@stolaf.edu.