SEWARD, Neb. – Inclement weather pushed back the start of the spring practice season, but the Concordia University football program finally opened up spring ball on Monday (March 18). Head coach Patrick Daberkow’s squad also took to the Bulldog Stadium turf on Tuesday. The hope is to get roughly 15 practices in by the middle of April. The program invites the public to an open intrasquad scrimmage at 7 p.m. CT on Friday, April 12.
It’s been an important offseason of development for a program coming off a 3-7 mark in 2018. Many of the key players are back in place for 2019. Concordia will graduate a small senior class of nine. The class featured the likes of linebacker/safety Kordell Glause and receiver Vincent Beasley.
Below is a quick position-by-position breakdown of where things stand this spring. The Bulldogs boast a headlining returner on both sides of the ball with All-American Lane Napier at linebacker and game breaking Ryan Durdon, already one of the most prolific running backs in program history.
Now the key is to bring along what had been a young team in 2018. Offseason growth is already evident. Says Daberkow, “We have been all in on offseason training since the Tuesday after the season ended. Our coaching staff has invested in this roster and we made a point to be present in the weight room this offseason and our guys have responded really well to being pushed. Being pushed looks different for different people. I was very happy with how some guys responded to being pushed academically. It’s an all-encompassing deal in our football program. It’s been great to see how they have responded. Last season left a sour taste and it’s been fun to get pads back on and see how the offseason development can affect our on-field performance.”
Quarterback
The situation here is not all that much different than it was a year ago. Junior-to-be Jake Kemp and senior-to-be Andrew Perea are considered the frontrunners due to the experience factor. Kemp won the starting job out of fall camp last season and started the first four games before suffering a hand injury that kept him out until the season finale. In his place, Perea made five starts. The Pico River, Calif., native has the most experience of anyone at quarterback having played in 15 career collegiate games. Kemp appeared to be beginning to hit his stride when he tossed for 224 yards and three touchdowns at Dordt, just prior to the injury. Newcomers also could factor into the equation. Incoming freshman Wyatt Ehlers enjoyed a standout career at nearby Centennial High School.
Running Back
Ryan Durdon is a proven big play commodity who has piled up 2,068 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns while starring over the past two seasons. Durdon has been relied upon heavily. He has carried the football 227 and 223 times, respectively, in his two seasons as a starter. The per-carry numbers should improve this season behind a more experienced offensive line. There really wasn’t a backup running back last season after freshman Jonah Weyand tore his ACL on a kickoff in the season opener. Durdon has shown he can carry the load, but Concordia needs to build depth behind him in preparation for the future. At fullback, Robert Ferguson provides a solid lead blocker.
Receiver
The graduation of Vincent Beasley will sting, but the coaching staff is comfortable with the up-and-comers back in the fold. Junior-to-be Art Anderson (40 catches, 336 yards, two touchdowns) and sophomore-to-be Korrell Koehlmoos (29 catches, 376 yards, two touchdowns) emerged last season as dependable options. In addition, Lane Castaneda has caught 29 passes over his two college seasons. This position will be even better with a full year of health from Lincoln Lutheran product Logan Kreizel, who began to realize his big potential before going down with an injury.
Tight End
It just seems to be a matter of time before junior-to-be Brady Fitzke breaks out. Injuries have bit him unfortunately hard since he transferred to Concordia to follow in the footsteps of all-conference older brother Seth. Sophomore-to-be Garrett Schardt also saw extensive action at this spot last season. The highlight of his season was an 82-yard touchdown reception.
Offensive Line
The coaching staff knew it had some challenges to work through up front last season because of the extreme amount of youth. Many true freshmen such as Wendell Banks, Johnny Robinson, Trenton Sanders and Donnovyn Waller were thrown into the fire. Eight different returners now have starting experience along the offensive line. This unit is expected to be the biggest area of improvement on the team. That should make life easier for Durdon, who too often was bottled up in the backfield last fall. Some of the key upperclassmen are names such as Cole Baumgartner, Michael Brewer, Keegan Hornung and Evrett Shaw.
Defensive Line
The only senior who saw a large number of snaps this past fall was Parker Johnson. In other words, the staff expects a jump forward here. Senior-to-be Aaron Rudloff enjoyed a solid 2018 season that saw him record 45 tackles, four tackles for loss and four fumbles forced as part of the 3-4 scheme. Considering what Concordia has coming back at linebacker, this group simply has to enable teammates behind it to make plays. Chase Hammons and Gary Nieuwkoop are also veterans in this bunch.
Linebackers
This is the most loaded position group on the team. By season’s end this unit could rival some of the best linebacker cores Concordia has ever had, which is saying a lot. All-American Lane Napier is a tackling machine. He led the nation last season with 142 tackles while adding 12.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and three pass breakups. No doubt the talent around Napier has played a part in his success. Napier is joined at the inside backer spots by Derek Tachovsky. Riley Bilstein and Zac Walter man the outside spots. Bilstein, Tachovsky and Walter will all be seniors this fall, as will Tanner Schwanninger, another key contributor. Caydren Cox has also seen action here.
Secondary
This is another unit that would benefit from a clean bill of health this season. Daberkow has high hopes for Indiana State University transfer Johnny Johnson, who ended up redshirting last season after suffering a broken arm in the second game of the year. The departures here are Kordell Glause and Caden Jameson, safety starters last season. Exavier Jackson and Matt Petracek gained starting experience at the corner spots. The Bulldogs need to improve in this area after allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete more than 60 percent of their passes and throw for 2,345 yards in 2018.
Special Teams
Depending on how much of a load the coaches want to place upon him, they can put Ryan Durdon at kick returner and know they have a potential home run hitter. Durdon just missed returning kicks for touchdowns on separate runbacks of 83 and 72 yards last season. Matt Petracek handled punt return duties last season. On the flip side, Concordia limited opposing kick returners to an average of 16.1 yards per attempt. At punter, Brady Fitzke and Lane Castaneda are both capable of solid work. A question mark still lingers at kicker. The Bulldogs made only one field goal last season and it came in the finale at Doane. Jorre Luther was the team’s kickoff specialist.