Pitt State Football
2011 Season Outlook
The Pittsburg State University football team enters the 2011 season hoping to carry over positive energy from the Gorillas post-season bowl appearance in 2010.
Head coach Tim Beck welcomes back 17 players (9 offense, 8 defense) who started five or more games in his debut season.
The veteran squad - which punctuated 2010 with a 13-9 victory over Concordia-St. Paul in the Mineral Water Bowl - hopes to contend for the program's 12th MIAA title and 17th NCAA Division II playoff appearance in the past 23 years in 2011.
"We have high expectations for our football team," said Beck, who directed the Gorillas to a 6-6 overall record in 2010, after spending the previous 16 seasons as Pitt State's offensive coordinator. "We think we are much further along than we were a year ago, but you need to have your team buy into playing one game at a time and playing one play at a time. I feel good that our football team understands what we have to do to win football games."
The Pitt State Offense
The Gorillas welcome back veteran players to virtually all positions on the offensive side of the ball.
Senior quarterback Zac Dickey returns for his second season leading the Pitt State offense.
Dickey (6-1, 205) completed 91 of 188 passes (.484) for 992 yards (82.7 ypg) and six touchdowns with four interceptions in 2010, while carrying the ball 144 times for 901 yards (75.1 ypg, 6.3 ypc) and seven scores.
"We are looking forward to having Zac back to lead our football team again this fall," Beck said. "He is a captain. He does a great job of motivating players. He had a tremendous spring. We expect big things from Zac this fall."
Redshirt freshman Anthony Abenoja (6-3, 206) also enjoyed a solid fall camp and will look to press Dickey for playing time.
At running back, junior Briceton Wilson leads a talented backfield cast.
Wilson (6-1, 225) carried the ball 120 times for 670 yards (5.6 ypc) and seven touchdowns in his initial season with the Gorillas in 2010.
Sophomore Solomon Watkins (5-10, 183), junior Jason Spradling (5-11, 192) and senior Eric Love (5-9, 196) also figure to see significant action for the Gorillas.
"We are anxious to see Briceton, Solomon and Jason and the other guys perform," Beck said. "Eric Love had a really good spring camp, too. We did not have a great offense last year but we still led the conference in rushing. People know that we are going to put good running backs on the field. That is no different this year... with the offensive line we have coming back the running back will definitely be a positive part of our offense."
While the Gorillas battled injuries throughout the 2010 season at the wide receiver positions, Pitt State enters the 2011 campaign with a promising and talented receiving stable.
Seniors Derek Fisher and Jon Thomas and sophomore Gavin Lutman all started five or more games last year, while senior captain Aaron Sawyer continued to show big play potential while battling back from injury.
Fisher (6-3, 185) and Thomas (5-6, 158) shared the team lead with 25 receptions apiece - Thomas compiled 351 receiving yards and one touchdown while Fisher added 249 receiving yards and one score.
Lutman had 11 catches for 136 yards and one touchdown in 10 games played, before suffering a knee injury. He will look to battle back from the injury, which cut short his redshirt freshman season.
Sawyer (6-3, 217) has 17 career receptions for 323 yards (19.0 ypc) and three touchdowns.
The Gorillas also have added a pair of impact performers in junior transfer Andrew Castaneda (6-2, 211) and sophomore transfer John Brown (5-11, 170).
Castaneda came to Pitt State from Glendale (Ariz.) CC and went through spring drills, while Brown will join the Gorillas in August from Coffeyville CC.
Sophomore Levi Kuntzsch (6-5, 215) and redshirt freshmen Bradley Argabright (6-2, 175) and Luke Rampy (5-9, 174) all figure to see action.
"We feel like we have greatly improved our wide receiving group," Beck said. "We have a larger pool of receivers to pick from - we have a lot more competition for those receiving spots. We helped ourselves with the addition of Andrew Castaneda and John Brown, but we've improved because of the competition for spots, too."
At tight end, senior Bristan Kelley returns with starting experience. Kelley (6-6, 267) caught seven passes for 82 yards and a touchdown in 2010.
Junior transfer Conner Combes (6-5, 236) joined the Gorillas from Butler CC in January and figures to see significant action, while redshirt freshman Brady Letchworth (6-3, 225) and senior Chance Riley (6-2, 247) will provide quality depth.
Up front, the Gorillas return four of five starters from last year’s squad – junior guard Josiah Cody (6-4, 295), senior guard Kell Smalley (6-2, 290), senior tackle Calin Archer (6-3, 289) and sophomore tackle Cody Holland (6-6, 329) – as well as junior captain Aaron Kolich (6-2, 266), who figures to start at center for the Gorillas. Cody suffered a season-ending injury prior to the start of pre-season camp.
Senior Ty Henry (6-3, 266) figures to start in Cody’s guard spot, while redshirt freshman Cale Karigan (6-5, 306) and junior Jeremiah Fleming (6-0, 267) will battle for playing time at guard.
Junior Nick Pugh (6-4, 297) will contend with Archer for a starting tackle role, while redshirt freshman Boston Higgins (6-4, 255) also will contend for playing time.
Redshirt freshman Tyler Smith (6-3, 288) will vie for playing time at center.
"Offensive line is one area where in Division II you are never as deep as you would like to be, but we have seven players that have playing experience from last year," Beck said. "You need some flexibility on the line - players who can play either guard or tackle or players who can play center or guard. Overall, we feel better about this group than we did a year ago thanks to the experience they now have."
The Pitt State Defense
The Gorillas also feature a veteran cast on the defensive side of the ball, particularly on the defensive line where Pitt State returns all four starters.
Seniors J.R. Jones (6-1, 3130) and John White (6-3, 283) return to the interior line, while junior Gus Toca (6-3, 257) and senior Spencer Worthington (6-2, 220) are back to reclaim starting end positions.
Toca and Worthington both earned honorable mention All-MIAA honors in 2010. Toca recorded 26 tackles, including 5.5 tackles-for-loss, while Worthington logged 46 stops with a team leading 5.0 quarterback sacks and four pass breakups.
Seniors Cody Moore (6-1, 264) and Derek Jackson (5-10, 216) and redshirt freshmen Matt Anderson (6-2, 305) and Tank Burns (6-2, 273) also will battle for time inside, while sophomores Will Grissom (6-5, 256) and Joe Uzzel (6-4, 233) and redshirt freshman Dallas Shalz (6-2, 234) will contend for playing time at end.
"I think our defensive line has a chance to be very solid," Beck said. "Across the board, this group may possess more talent than we have had for quite some time. Obviously they can have a great part in the type of success he have as a team on defense."
The Gorillas welcome back a pair of veteran players in the middle of the defense in sophomore linebacker Nate Dreiling and senior linebacker Luke Stringer, who both were selected team captains for 2011.
Dreiling (6-4, 228) led Division II with 160 tackles (13.3 pg), including 20.5 tackles-for-loss as a redshirt freshman in 2010. Stringer (6-4, 247) made 24 tackles with 4.0 TFLs.
"Nate Dreiling's numbers speak for themselves," Beck said. "What he did last year was just phenomenal and he's going to raise the level of how everyone else plays on defense this year. As a coaching staff, we are really excited about Luke Stringer ... we finally got him in a position that we think he feels more comfortable with. He's a big kid who can run and make plays."
Additionally, sophomores Joe Windscheffel (6-3, 229) and Taylor Counts (5-11, 207) and redshirt freshmen Eric Brantley (5-11, 191) and Kyler Thompson (6-2, 230) also will vie for playing time.
In the secondary, the Gorillas return three players with extensive starting experience in seniors Elijah Olabode and Paul Robinson and junior Chas Smith.
Smith (5-9, 182) earned honorable mention All-MIAA honors as a sophomore safety in 2010 when he finished fifth in the conference in tackles (99, 8.3 pg).
Olabode (5-10, 194) made 41 tackles with five pass breakups and one interception at cornerback for the Gorillas, while Robinson (5-11, 177) logged 40 tackles with seven PBUs and one interception.
Robinson figures to move to strong safety this fall after playing corner for the Gorillas last year.
Junior transfer Naeem Forrester (6-1, 203) also will look to battle for a starting safety role for the Gorillas. Forrester joined the Gorillas in January after two seasons at Diablo Valley (Calif.) College.
Juniors Jake Catloth (6-0, 195) will push Forrester for the starting safety role, while junior Bryant Sanchez (5-10, 180) and redshirt freshman Jason Peete (6-3, 185) will battle for playing time at safety.
Redshirt freshman Aries Herrion (5-10, 169) is expected to start opposite Olabode at corner, while freshman De'Vante Bausby (6-2, 161) and sophomore Israel Maselera (5-8, 153) are expected to contend for significant action.
"Chas is a very solid, very smart football player," Beck said. "Paul has handled the move well from corner to safety and I think Elijah will have a break-out year at corner. He's had a tremendous off season and we're expecting good things out of him. Overall, I think our secondary will be a much improved unit this year."
Pitt State Special Teams
Sophomore Jake Craig (6-0, 212) handled Pitt State's kickoff and place kicking duties as a true freshman in 2010, converting seven of 14 field goals (.500) and 27 of 32 (.844) PAT tries. Craig missed spring drills with an injury but figures to return and battle senior Chase McCoy (5-10, 167) for the kicking duties.
Craig and Abenoja are expected to battle for to handle the punting chores, after the departure of All-American Jared Witter to graduation following the 2010 season.
Senior Billy Ewy (6-3, 238) figures to handle Pitt State's long snapping chores for a fourth season.
Thomas averaged 23.8 yards per kickoff return and 15.7 yards per punt return, including an 84-yard score, as a junior in 2010. He figures to impact the kick return game again in 2011. Brown, Castaneda, Spradling and Watkins also figure to battle for action in the return game.