As hard to believe as it may be, it has already been four years since the first group of 108 football players arrived on the Stetson University campus for the relaunch of the Hatters' football program.
Of those first players, 35 remain and will be recognized prior to Saturday's season-finale against Davidson at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN3 with Evan Westin and Tyler Murray on the call from the press box and Brianne Welch reporting from the sidelines.
The game, which is being sponsored by Florida Credit Union, will also be broadcast on the Stetson Radio Network with Luke Mauro and Pete Blais calling the action. That broadcast is available on WSBB AM 1230 and 1490 as well as CBS Radio AM 810 in Orlando.
Even though some of the 35 players who will be recognized on Saturday will return for a fifth year, it was important for the group to go through Senior Day together.
“While Senior Day is very nostalgic, hopefully that bond of this first class, and it is a very tight group, will help them play very hard for each other,” Hatters head coach Roger Hughes said. “We are not focused on the guys who are coming back, we are more focused on finishing the season the right way and sending the seniors who are leaving out on the right note.
“For the young guys, we want to establish a culture that will carry us through the off-season, spring ball and the summer conditioning program and then on into next year.”
Many in that first group of recruits for the Hatters are names Stetson fans have come to know very well over the last three seasons. Some of the others in that first group are not as well known, but have been just as instrumental in the development of the program.
The group of seniors includes: Glenn Adesoji, Chris Atkins, Davion Belk, Rob Coggin, Chris Crawford, Patrick Fogarty, Eric Fogle, Sean Gannon, Andrew Green, Jonathan Jerozal, James LaGamma, David Lazear, Ignacio Madrid, Tyler Magill, Darius McGriff, Matt Mines, Kegan Moore, Joseph Morris, Mark Morrow, Donald Payne, John Post, Ryan Powers, Ryan Selimos, Ethan Simpson, Jerami Singleton, Jonathan Strahl, Keegan Tanner, Ryan Tentler, Alex Valentin, Adam Vinson, A.J. Washington, Matt Wawrzyniak, Jason Willix, Dylan Wydronkowski and Mike Yonker.
Hughes said he hopes to see each of those players get a chance to contribute during the game.
“It is certainly our intention to get them as much playing time as we can, but our first intention has to be to win the game,” Hughes said. “We are going to try to do everything we can within our special teams packages to make sure those who didn't travel during the year get a chance to get in on special teams. Hopefully we can make their last game a memorable one.”
One of the lasting memories from the Hatters' 60-21 homecoming victory over Ave Maria last week was the post-game celebration in the Hatters' locker room. Video of that celebration, which included a little dance exhibition by the head Hatter, quickly went viral on the internet.
“That was pretty spontaneous and fun, and our kids had a lot of fun with it,” Hughes said of his dancing. “I have been really amazed at how many people have seen it. I knew the power of the internet was remarkable, but I had no idea that something like that could go viral so quickly. It really took off.
“I am pretty measured sometimes with how I respond to things, so for the kids to see me cut loose a little and show that I am human, hopefully that brings us closer.”
For there to be any chance of a repeat performance following the game with Davidson, the Hatters will have to put homecoming behind them, avoid any hangover from that game, and focus on doing the things that made them successful.
“Homecoming is a big deal with all of the atmosphere and everything around it,” Hughes said. “I am sure all of the kids had a great time following the game. The euphoria of the win and all that went on with the fireworks, you just have to put it behind you and go back to work. We are playing for a lot this week. If we win the game, we end up in the middle of the pack in the PFL. If we lose we are tied for last. Hopefully that is a motivator for our kids.”
To close the season with a victory, the Hatters will have to deal with a different kind of defensive front on offense, and will try to make sophomore quarterback Taylor Mitchell uncomfortable in the pocket on defense.
“They have a very good receiver in William Morris,” Hughes said. “He is very productive and very quick. Their quarterback is good to get rid of the ball on time. We have to try to disrupt his passing lanes and make him move from his spot. When we do move him, we have to stay in the right gaps so that we can create a sack or create a quarterback hurry.”
Morris, a senior, has 52 receptions on the year for 668 yards and seven touchdowns, accounting for almost 50 percent of the touchdowns the Wildcats have scored this year. As a team, Davidson is averaging just 11.8 points per game while allowing 37.2 per outing.
“They are similar to us from the standpoint that they try to get the ball outside and in that they are going to try to throw the ball down the field to Morris,” Hughes said. “They are going to try to move him around within the formation to try to create mismatches with him against a linebacker or a safety instead of being against our best cover guys. We are going to have to be aware of where he is and adjust our coverages to make sure he is double covered or we have our best player on him.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the Wildcats employ a four-man front, which is a change from the three-man front the Hatters, and most of the teams Stetson has played this year, uses. Hughes said Davidson is also a team that will use the corner blitz a lot. That is something that gave Stetson problems in the game at Marist.
“They bring a lot of corner pressure from the boundary, so we have to be ready for that and make sure that our pass protections account for that corner,” Hughes said. “They will blitz the corner more than any team we have faced this year. In the secondary, they play pretty conservative from the standpoint that they play a fair amount of man, but it is man with someone behind it.”
Up front, the Wildcats will likely employ a lot of stunts and twists devised to confuse the Hatters' protection calls. With three, or even four, freshmen expected to be in the lineup on the offensive line at any given time, making sure they understand the protections will be crucial for the Stetson offense to succeed.
“They have some athletic outside linebackers and defensive ends that will twist inside and are hard to account for when you are trying to run inside,” Hughes said. “That is especially true for the option game because those are things that can be confusing for the quarterback and force him to give on his read and then they are there to take care of it. We are working hard to make sure we are ready for that and can make adjustments.”
For the Hatters on offense, the performance against Ave Maria last week was a strong indication of what the team can do when everyone completes their assignments. While the performance wasn't perfect, it was as good as Stetson has had in three seasons.
“It was fun to see what you have worked on for so long work the way it is supposed to work,” Hughes said. “Hopefully it gave us some confidence to know that if we execute properly, things work very well and that turns into a lot of production. It was also good to see some of the younger guys go in there and execute.”
For the Hatters to continue to have success offensively in the season finale, the execution must continue at an even higher level.
“I have told our team that Davidson is a much different team than Ave Maria,” Hughes said. “While their size may not be great, they are very sound in what they do and they are very well coached. We are going to have to execute at the same level if we are going to get the results we want this week.”
Hatters Notebook
Similar Paths: The Stetson and Davidson football programs have been on a similar path for the last three seasons. While the Hatters were starting from scratch, the Wildcats were starting over under head coach Paul Nichols, who is completing his third season.
“They went through a coaching change and sometimes it takes a year or so to figure out what profile you want to have,” Hughes said. “I think Davidson has been trying to figure out the direction of the program and they are playing younger kids. I think that is part of the reason for their record.”
The Wildcats enter the season finale with a 1-9 overall record this year, but Davidson has lost 23 consecutive Pioneer Football League games, going back to an overtime victory over Valparaiso late in the 2012 season.
Senior Sendoff: While it is important for the Hatters' seniors to have a good experience on Saturday, it is even more important for the team to play well and get a victory. Hughes said there is no way to avoid the emotion that goes along with Senior Day, but the team has to use that emotion to play well.
“I don't think you can take their attention away from it,” Hughes said. “They are talking about it and they know it. It is the first time our program has experienced this with the number of guys who won't be coming back. It seemed like all of these guys would be here forever.
“My hope is that we can capitalize on the emotion and embrace the fact that this is their last time in pads. We want them to make sure they leave everything they have on the field and leave a winner. While we didn't have the season we had hoped to, the key is to leave the program where it can achieve more very quickly. I think that is something these seniors are trying to build.”
Tentler's Performance: During the win over Ave Maria, Hatters QB Ryan Tentler surpassed 5,000 yards passing in his career, but it was his overall performance in the game that got the attention of his head coach.
“There is no doubt that it was one of his best games,” Hughes said.. He was really loose and, even though he didn't play a ton in the game, when he was in there he played really well. When he was out of the game, he did everything he could to help the quarterback that was in there. It was a tribute to his leadership that he was willing to help in any way that he could to get better and help the younger guys play better when they were in the game.”
The situation in the game last week was similar to the Valparaiso game in that the Hatters went in with a plan for freshman backup Colin McGovern to get some meaningful playing time. The time on the sideline for Tentler seemed to bring out his competitive fire.
“With Ryan, he is ultra competitive,” Hughes said. “He just seems to perform better the more competitive a situation is. I expect another good game from him this week.”
Fatigue Factor: Like all teams at the end of the season, fatigue is a factor in preparation for every game. That is especially true for the Hatters who, in addition to having a busy homecoming last week, had a junior varsity game on Monday night.
“Practices for the last two weeks have been very good, but I have been a little concerned this week because we are a little tired,” Hughes said. “We had a JV game on Monday night, and our JV team finished undefeated, which is great and helps us establish the culture that we want to establish, but we have been a little tired because of that. Hopefully we can give them a chance to get their legs back under them a little and be ready to go on Saturday.”
Hughes said that combination of fatigue, and perhaps some hangover from last week, led to some not-so-subtle reminders early in the week about how you have to prepare for every game.
“We have to play with confidence, but we can't play with over-confidence,” Hughes said. “We have to make sure that we do the little things right all the time. It is a situation where you want to establish a culture of what you stand for – a culture of work ethic, a culture of pride in what you are doing. Certainly, a win this week will help us get to the point where we want to be in the off-season to start building for next year.”
Keys to the Game: Davidson has been held to less than 100 yards rushing in a game seven times this year, including each of the last six games during which they have averaged just 43.5 yards per game on the ground. Preventing the Wildcats from finding success in the run game will be one of the first keys to winning for Stetson.
“They are averaging less than 100 yards per game rushing, and we have to make sure that continues,” Hughes said. “We have to make them one-dimensional and we can't allow their quarterback to move around or have a lot of time. We have to be technique sound in the secondary.”
As always, turnovers will play a big part in the game. After forcing three turnovers last week, the Hatters are at minus one on the season while Davidson comes in at minus five.
With the healthy return of Cole Mazza, the Stetson ground game has picked up steam of late. The Hatters ran for 353 yards in the game last week, setting the tone for the game.
“When you give the ball to Cole, a two-yard hole becomes a four-yard hole,” Hughes said. “That one run he had on the option where he carried guys into the end zone, that is what Cole Mazza does. The nice thing is, especially when you are so young up front and not everything gets blocked perfectly, he is really good at cutting back on defenders and he doesn't get arm tackled, which means there is a lot of yardage after first contact.”
Success on the ground will prevent the game from being like the one last year against Davidson, a game the Hatters won 40-34.
“We can't make this a throwing game,” Hughes said. “We have to establish the run. Hopefully, when we do that, our play-action passing will be more effective. Last year, the game turned into a track meet. We can't do that this year.”
On special teams, the Hatters have to continue to play well. The Marist game aside, that has been a strength for the Hatters this year and led to points in the game last week as the result of a blocked punt.
Youth Sports Day: In addition to being Senior Day, Saturday's season-finale will also be Youth Sports Day as well as Scout Day at Spec Martin Stadium. Anyone attending the game in uniform, either from a youth sports team or the Scouts, will receive a special discounted admission price of $10 for themselves and a guest.
