The Austin College football team will return to the gridiron to open up the 2017 campaign on Saturday as the 'Roos travel to Muskogee, Oklahoma to take on Bacone College with kickoff set for 2:00 p.m.
Coming off a season that saw the 'Roos finish 3-7, head coach Loren Dawson and his team will be looking to turn things around in the program's first year as an affiliate member of the Southern Athletic Association. As a member of the SAA this year, an automatic qualifier berth into the NCAA Tournament is on the table and the 'Roos will be looking to make some noise in their first season in the conference. The 'Roos open with a pair of non-conference games before getting into the SAA slate, which will see them take on Sewanee, Hendrix, Berry, Centre, Millsaps, Birmingham-Southern, and Rhodes. Austin College will also square off once again with Trinity, which also made the jump from the SAA this season as an affiliate member for football.
The 'Roos will need to replace a number of players at key positions this year, including quarterback Cooper Woodyard and linebackers Charles Eneh and James Hemen. Woodyard earned All-Conference honors during his career both at quarterback and as a punter, while Eneh and Hemen were the team's top two tacklers a year ago. Fortunately for coach Dawson, he's got several experienced players ready to step in and fill those spots.
Both Kyle Bohannon and Colt Collins saw action at the tail end of last season after Woodyard went down with an injury, with Collins leading the 'Roos to a road victory over Texas Lutheran in the second to last game of the year. In that game, Collins threw for 200 yard and rushed for another 98 on his way to earning SCAC Player of the Week honors in his first ever start under center at the college level.
Whoever opens the season as the starting quarterback will have a number of weapons on offense, including graduate student wideout Kyle Mucerino. Mucerino caught 41 passes for 510 yards with four touchdowns last year, and is joined at wide receiver by sophomore Tom Clancy. Clancy made an immediately impact in his first year in the program, hauling in 31 passes and two scores. Brennan Ellis also returns at receiver, a year after catching 22 passes with a team-best 19.9 yards per catch.
In the backfield, it'll be Tre Jones and Brandon Evans returning to carry the bulk of the load. Jones opened the year as the team's starter before an injury knocked him out early in the year, and Evans carried 54 times for 221 yards (4.1 yard per carry) the rest of the way.
Defensively, the 'Roos will be counting on several strong returning players both in the front seven and in the secondary. Major Adams, TJ Melontree, and Jackson Townsend are all back after finishing as the team's third, fourth, and fifth leading tacklers a year ago, respectively. Hayden Schilling is also back at defensive end after finishing sixth on the team in tackles and recording 4.5 sacks, while Morris Shell bolsters the linebacker corps after finishing seventh on the team with 43 stops a year ago. In all, 12 of the team's top 15 tacklers a year ago return, as do the players responsible for all nine interceptions the team registered last year.
The 'Roos also return All-Conference placekicker Cesar Ruiz, who hit 11-of-13 field goals and 15-of-17 point after attempts a year ago.
Once again, the 'Roos open the season on Saturday at Bacone, with kickoff set for 2:00 p.m., before returning to Apple Stadium on September 9 to host Wayland Baptist University at 1:00 p.m.