2024 Concordia Football Press Guide (PDF)
Media Coverage: 104.9 Max Country | 10/11 News
SEWARD, Neb. – For the second-straight offseason, Head Coach Patrick Daberkow and the Concordia University Football program began the ‘talking season’ while attending the 2024 Nebraska Small College Football Media Day hosted by Doane. As part of the session held on Monday (July 15), Daberkow and veteran standouts in linebacker Michael Grindey, receiver Austin Jablonski and quarterback DJ McGarvie greeted the media. Inside the locker room, the expectations are that year eight of Daberkow’s tenure will come with a major breakthrough.
The confidence is inspired by what might be the most experienced roster Daberkow has presided over since he was named head coach at his alma mater prior to the 2017 season. One theme that emerged from Monday’s get together was the strength of Concordia’s offensive line. The unit is expected to rank among the best in the GPAC and will team up with the prolific talents of McGarvie and Jablonski. With one full year to play, McGarvie already owns program career records for passing yards (6,679) and passing touchdowns (54). As for Jablonski, he was named an NAIA First Team All-American in 2023 while breaking a school record with 1,134 receiving yards in a single season.
McGarvie did not shy away from a major team goal. The Bulldogs hope to be playing late into November when the NAIA Championship Series gets underway. The playoff for the NAIA features 20 teams. Daberkow’s squad will reconvene as a team on Aug. 6, the official report date for Concordia’s fall sports teams.
Concordia was joined at the Nebraska Small College Football Media Day by Doane, Hastings, Midland, Nebraska Wesleyan and Peru State. All compete as members of the NAIA, with the exception of Nebraska Wesleyan (NCAA Division III).
Below are transcripts from media day interviews conducted by KTMX/KAWL Sports Director Parker Cyza, the voice of Concordia Athletics on 104.9 Max Country radio.
What the Bulldogs had to say …
Head Coach Patrick Daberkow
Spring football: It’s always good to see the guys compete. The competition in spring ball is just a little bit different because you’re not focusing on an opponent. The goal is to carry that spring ball mentality into fall camp and into the season. If we can focus on reaching our own highest potential, the opponent part will take care of itself. We really have to max out athletically and make sure we’re making the right decisions. Then it can just be about playing fast.
Offensive outlook: Any time you have success on offense, you have to think about your offensive line. All those guys are coming back. To have them back is the biggest advantage in our program. We have work to do still, but we’re very confident in our ability to accomplish our goals because of our offensive line.
Defensive outlook: I’m very excited about what we have coming back defensively. We return most of our front seven. Then our secondary was young last year and got a lot of great experience. I think Kyle Sterup, Devon Polley and Carson Fehlhafer are names people are going to hear a lot this fall. We have other guys like Stephen Hughes and Tal Solo who have played big roles for us in the past. We’re excited to have all those guys back. They’ll be some new names in there as well.
GPAC outlook: It takes consistency and depth. There’s not a week where you can play bad and come out with a win. You have to be on your ‘A’ game every week. Our focus is to take things one week at a time. Our conference has been represented in the national championship game something crazy like eight out of the last nine years. There’s not a week off. We approach every week with the same mentality. We’re trying to get better every day.
It's always a little nerve-racking when you’re playing someone new that you haven’t played before (such as Waldorf). To open the season you won’t know what to expect from them, but we’re just going to focus on us.
Linebacker Michael Grindey
Program growth during career: It’s night and day. People laid the foundation before us. I got here the semester before a lot of this senior class came in. I knew a lot of those older guys. They went 7-3 that year (2021) and established a foundation. To see us grow together as a team and bond – a lot of us have been playing and contributing the past three or four years. I think we’ve grown in that our standard’s higher. The standard of excellence is higher. Even though it’s been close losses over the years, our record hasn’t shown how good we are. Our standard is very high and we’re very, very competitive. We have a lot of guys in the locker room who love the game, love football and love competing.
Experienced defense – The team in general has a lot of leaders and a lot of guys who set the standard high. As a defense, we kind of get each other and understand what Coach (Corby Osten) wants and how to communicate that with each other. Having experience playing with each other, we know what makes each other tick and what we have to do to support each other on the field.
Goals/expectations: I just want to beat Waldorf (in the season opener). Obviously there are goals in terms of championships and playoffs, but I just want to take it one game at a time. I want to have a great camp and have great meetings. Our first game is Waldorf, and I’m looking forward to that.
Receiver Austin Jablonski
Successful 2023 season: It was all my teammates. We have such a great offensive line. I can’t remember the exact stat, but the last several games we didn’t even allow a sack. They gave DJ the time to operate and do what he does. It just worked out great. Obviously there’s a lot of hard work that goes into it. Our game plan just happened to be to get me the ball a little bit more. This year we have a lot of new faces in the receiving room, which gives us a ton more depth and allows us to do more things. Mark Arp is doing a great job at running back. I think we have a lot of great things coming together on offense. I wouldn’t say it boils down to any one guy. All that in combination, I think we can do some special stuff.
2024 outlook: Going back to the offensive line, they just have so much experience and communicate so well with each other. Any front a defense throws at them, they can work it out. Having DJ coming back as a senior is huge. My roommate is transferring over from Nebraska at tight end, John Goodwin. I’m really excited to get to play with him again. He’ll do some special things on the field. Thomas Meadough is coming at receiver too. I just think we have depth overall on both sides of the ball. Kyle Sterup is one of the best d-linemen in the country. Him and Polley. I think the depth and the experience speaks volumes of the culture. Guys don’t want to leave here. They want to see some more wins.
75-yard TD run versus Briar Cliff last season: I just have to keep giving credit to the linemen. When they make the whole that big, anyone can get through there. It’s a good feeling when all the hard work comes together and something works out how you drew it up. To do it in a big moment is a great feeling.
Quarterback DJ McGarvie
Growth individually and as a program: It’s exciting to see how all the people in my class grew together and have gotten better and better each year. The coaching staff has really helped me out and helped me become a better football player.
Spring ball impressions: I think we looked really good in spring ball. We competed every day. We went after the defense and they came back at us. It was very competitive day-in and day-out.
Goals/expectations for 2024: Make the playoffs and hopefully win the championship. That’s really all it is. We’re just looking forward to playing in the GPAC and hopefully be able to compete outside the conference.
Season opener versus Waldorf: We are excited to play Waldorf. It will be a new team since I’ve played here. It will kind of feel like an out-of-conference game since they’re new to the GPAC.