Football | 8/2/2017 11:30:00 AM

WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Mike Sirianni has been in this spot before.

Everyone has to do it eventually; it's part of the nature of college athletics. At best, you have four years for student-athletes to contribute on the field. But what sets the Washington & Jefferson football program apart from a vast majority of others is how well and frequently Sirianni has done it at one of the most important positions on a football field in his tenure with the Presidents' program.

Brian Dawson. Chris Edwards. Bobby Swallow. Gino Rometo. Matt Bliss. Pete Coughlin.

Six primary quarterbacks since Sirianni arrived as the offensive coordinator in 1999. Six of the best to play the position in the history of the Presidents' Athletic Conference. Six in 18 years. That caliber of play vaults programs into the national spotlight; that consistency and longevity keeps them there.

It also explains how W&J was able to receive votes in the D3football.com Preseason Top 25 poll and be ranked 22nd by Lindy's and 11th in the Street & Smith's preseason publications. This is a program that just graduated a quarterback that finished seven passing yards shy of 10,000 for his career, plus nearly 100 touchdown passes in Coughlin. You don't just dial those type of numbers up regularly in Division III. Unless you're Sirianni and the quarterbacks you've mentored over the last 18 years litter the PAC Top 10 lists in virtually every passing category.

No matter who sees time at quarterback for W&J in 2017 (more on that later), they will be surrounded by a good bit of experience as the Presidents return 11 players who've started at least one game in their respective careers. In fact, quarterback is the only area on offense where W&J lacks starting experience as four offensive linemen and seven skill players have been worthy of starting games in the past.

That offensive experience, coupled with a defense that posted 112 tackles for loss in 2016, the most under Sirianni as head coach, and brings back seven starters from a season ago, has the 15th year head coach confident coming into 2017, "This team is good enough to be 10-0, there's no doubt about it. We can win every game we play."

He pauses, however, thinking about questions that have no answers yet and very well may not until the season kicks off at Cameron Stadium against St. John Fisher on September 2, "But then again, looking at our schedule, we could lose four or five games if we don't play like we're capable and don't get [the players] to play to the best of their ability."

"We expect to be 10-0, but it wouldn't shock me if we [finish the season] 6-4 because of how good the Presidents' Athletic Conference has gotten and because we are challenging ourselves with a really good, playoff-worthy team [St. John Fisher] in our opener."

All 249 Division III teams (with the exception of the 10 New England Small College Athletic Conference teams that only play eight regular season games and are ineligible for the postseason) enter the season with the hope of going 10-0. But for Sirianni, 10 wins would mean more than reaching double digits for the sixth time in his career. The man with a 128-30 career record needs 10 wins to pass John Luckhardt (137-37-2) for the most wins in program history. That, however, is not something that Sirianni will be thinking about as he paces the sidelines on Saturdays this fall, "It just means I've been here a long time. We want to win a conference championship. We haven't done that in a few years."

OFFENSE
The philosophy on offense at W&J is simple: spread the defense out and take advantage of space to move the ball. This year's squad is expected to be good on offense once again, as has become the norm under Sirianni. He thinks that W&J must be better in the red zone after converting just 72.9 percent of chances inside the 20 yard line last year, but also believes that they have figured out a few things that stifled the Presidents last year against some of the better defenses they faced.

QUARTERBACK
So just who is going to take over the reigns at quarterback for W&J? Entering camp, it appears that two candidates will battle for the job with a potential dark horse looming. Senior Alex Rowse (Beaver, Pa./Beaver) was Coughlin's primary back-up the last three seasons. He's expected to enter camp penciled in atop the depth chart after completing 67.7 percent of his passes in limited action (90 attempts in 23 games). Rowse has also thrown for 638 yards and five touchdowns. It says a lot about Rowse's character that his teammates voted him a team captain despite having never started a game. 

However, sophomore Jacob Adams (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) is expected to be right there pushing Rowse for playing time. In two appearances as a freshman, Adams completed all three attempts for 49 yards.

Sirianni thinks highly of both student-athletes, "We have two really good quarterbacks. [Rowse] will get the first chance at the job, but [Adams] was a very highly touted recruit that had a strong JV season last year and can challenge for the spot."

The dark horse in the mix, along with some younger players, is senior Matt Heslin (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry). "We may give Heslin a chance to do some goal line and short-yardage situations among other types. I was very impressed with how he competed during the baseball team's run to the World Series," said Sirianni. Heslin pitched a complete game in the opener of the 2017 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship series as the Presidents defeated Cal Lutheran, 12-2.
 
RUNNING BACK
Junior Austin Kemp (Pittsburgh, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) returns at running back after leading the team in carries (138), yards (654) and touchdowns (9) a season ago. Also back and expected to push for snaps are Justin Vickless (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brentwood) and Brennan Geiger (Gowanda, N.Y./Gowanda Central) who combined for 161 yards on 45 carries in 2016.

"We have to run the ball better," said Sirianni of his team that finished eighth in the PAC in rushing offense a season ago at 144.9 yards per game.

He expects two sophomores to challenge for carries this year, as local product Jordan West (Washington, Pa./Washington) and Ron Tuck (Middletown, Del./Appoquinmink) showed signs of readiness. "We thought we had a really good recruiting class last year and running back was one of the positions we are excited about and those two will have a chance to prove it in varsity games this year."

WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END
Jesse Zubik (Sewickley, Pa./Avonworth). Here's a guess that you didn't expect it to take this long to see his name in a preview of the W&J football team. The senior's credentials speak for themselves and he could have an entire spread dedicated to him after a season that saw him haul in 97 passes for 1,413 yards and 18 touchdowns and earn unanimous Second Team All-America honors (American Football Coaches Association, D3football.com, Association Press Little All-America team) and land on every preseason All-America First Team heading into this season. Sirianni believes that Zubik could go down as the most prolific receiver in both W&J and PAC history, but knows that other players will have to step up in order to allow Zubik to make plays.

Junior Braydon Toy (Kittanning, Pa./Kittanning) saw significant action as a sophomore and senior Cody Hearst (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) recovered from a preseason injury to record 22 catches in the final five games, including carries highs of 12 receptions and 125 yards in W&J's ECAC Presidents Bowl victory over Brockport (N.Y.). Junior Tim Swoope (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) started the 2016 opener, while senior Kyle Petersen (Falconer, N.Y./Falconer Central) and juniors Stephen Baker (Chantilly, Va./John Champe) and Brandon Barnes (Hagerstown, Md./St. John's) provide depth. Senior Benjamin Waugh (Olean, N.Y./Portville Central) makes the switch to offense after three years on defense and brings a physical presence to the wide receiver position.

Junior Jake Cullen (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) returns at the tight end position after hauling in at least one catch in every game last year, including 10 grabs in the Presidents Bowl. Sirianni will look to use Cullen more in the vertical passing game this season after finishing second on the team behind Zubik last year with 37 receptions for 440 yards and six touchdowns. Trevor Morrow (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair), a running back previously, will make the switch to tight end this year and allow some double-tight end formations while still maintaining the potential to carry the ball out of the backfield.

OFFENSIVE LINE
The offensive line returns three starters from 2016 who started every game in senior center Matt Babbit (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional) and juniors left tackle Phillip Bobich (Aliquippa, Pa./Aliquippa) and right guard Andrew Reo (Canton, Ohio/Canton McKinley).

"We feel good with what we have coming back on the offensive line," said Sirianni. "They all got better as the year went on and I felt that by the end of the season last year Reo was one of the best linemen in the PAC. Babbit provides good leadership and Bobich continues to improve."

With two spots open up front entering camp, Sirianni believes there are five in the conversation to take those spots: senior Lucas Monko (Homer City, Pa./Homer Center), who has starts under his belt at left guard, and classmate Josh Vasko (Freedom, Pa./Ambridge) and a trio of sophomores in Alexander Albright (Patton, Pa./Cambria Heights), Austin Curnes (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park) and Keaton Turney (Salem, Ohio/Salem).

"We will always play our best five linemen," said Sirianni. "So if someone is a guard that has to play tackle, we will do that to play our best five up front."

DEFENSE
Last season's defense did a lot of good things, leading the conference in tackles for loss by a significant margin with four players reaching double digits and also topping the league in sacks at 40. W&J also allowed just one offensive touchdown in the second half over the final six games and just three second-half points in the final five contests. 

"We were one of the best second-half defenses in the country last year and it shows that our defensive coordinator Vince Luvara and his coaches on defense made the right adjustments at halftime, but there are things we need to be better at to be successful," said Sirianni.

The Presidents were last in red zone defense, allowing scores on 82.8 percent of possessions and forcing only 14 turnovers. In order to have a better chance at 10-0 than 6-4 or worse, Sirianni knows both of those statistics must improve.

DEFENSIVE LINE
Gone up front is tackle Ryan Snedeker, who was second in the PAC in sacks last year (9.5) and third in TFL (16.5). A pair of senior starters return in Tom Marra (Moon Township, Pa./Our Lady of Sacred Heart) and Luke Ratkus (Blairsville, Pa./Blairsville). Marra was fifth in the league in both sacks (7.0) and TFL (15.0), while Ratkus started the final eight games.

Sirianni is convinced that the Presidents possess at least eight players that can play up front, including a quartet of seniors in Sal DeCario (New Derry, Pa./Derry), Matt Girting (Midland, Pa./Western Beaver), John Loper (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) and Freddie McKissick (Carnegie, Pa./Carlynton), plus junior Jarrod Webb (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and sophomore Jeffrey Oxner (Silver Spring, Md./The Bullis School).

Marra was one of the Presidents best defensive players a season ago, but is expected to switch to a different position to free up a spot for McKissick on the outside. The whole group has played in important spots throughout their careers, but Sirianni quipped that Oxner could have the highest ceiling of any player up front. 

Also in the mix to challenge for playing time along the defensive line are junior Brad Villa (South Park, Pa./South Park), a converted tight end, and sophomore Ethan Alford (Leander, Texas/Jarrell).

LINEBACKER
Junior Nick Getz (Tyrone, Pa./Tyrone) is expected to miss the 2017 campaign after suffering an injury in the offseason, but Sirianni believes he will come back stronger than before and complete his two years of eligibility in 2018 and 2019.

"That hurts us because we believe that Getz can be one of the best defensive players we've had," said Sirianni.

In his place, senior Brendan Reddy (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford), who was in contention for that position early last season, and junior Zac Quattrone (White Oak, Pa./Serra Catholic) should compete for playing time.

On the inside, two of W&J's top three returning tacklers are back in physical seniors Nick Murgo (Warren, R.I./Mount Hope) and Zach Walker (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette). Murgo led the Presidents last season with 93 stops and added 13.0 for loss, while Walker was third at 68 tackles, including 51 solo. Murgo returns as one of the top tacklers in all of Division III for his career, having collected 304 stops in three seasons between Allegheny and W&J.

Sirianni speaks highly of the depth at linebacker, specifically citing seniors Dalton Day (Sewickley, Pa./Avonworth), Billy Drear (Beaver, Pa./Western Beaver) and Ricky Zuk (Monaca, Pa./Central Valley), plus sophomore Conor Manning (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township).

DEFENSIVE BACK
Senior O'Shea Anderson (Rochester, Pa./Rochester) returns at corner after being a First Team All-PAC selection last season. Sirianni noted that Anderson has the potential to be a true "shutdown" type player on the outside that should free up the defense to do some other things.

Junior Zack Queen (Level Green, Pa./Penn-Trafford) could have been in the running for a starting spot last season if not for injuries that forced him to miss time, while senior Marlon Brown (Pittsburgh, Pa./Steel Valley), a starter in the past, and Will Bowser (Burgettstown, Pa./Madonna (W.Va.)), another key contributor to the baseball team's run in 2017, will also be called upon to play key snaps on the outside.

W&J's top two safeties from a season ago return in senior Luke Merhaut (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) and junior Zach Royba (Beaver, Pa./Beaver). Merhaut was second on the team with 74 tackles, including a team-best 59 solo stops in 2016, while Royba was one of seven Presidents to reach 50 tackles.

Junior Cody Milsom (Butler, Pa./Knoch) switched to safety from running back in the middle of last season and should battle for playing time as he gets more comfortable in the system. Senior Dalton Wildman (Waynesburg, Pa./West Greene) will bring three years of experience with him to allow a deep rotation in the defensive backfield.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Long snapper is one of those positions that you don't appreciate until you have someone inexperienced there. That will not be the case in 2017 for W&J as senior Kraig King (Butler, Pa./Knoch) will man that role once again. His consistency and team-first attitude are reasons that Sirianni trusts him in any situation.

Sophomore Ty Mitchell (Scenery Hill, Pa./Bentworth) returns at punter after grabbing that spot during his rookie season.

The kicking position is wide open after Ted Ford opted against returning to the team following his sophomore season and Sirianni expects camp to bring a competitive atmosphere for the job.

In the return game, Merhaut and Toy are both back. Merhaut returned kicks and punts and ranked second in Division III in combined kick returns (1,110 total yards; 814 kickoff, 296 punt), while Toy joined him back deep on punts. Additional depth will be determined as the season progresses.