291/4,756/54
181/2,821/35
 
Not sure what that means? Here's a clue: the first number is receptions, the second is receiving yards and the third is touchdowns.
 
The first series is the career line of former Washington & Jefferson wide receiver Jesse Zubik, who finished his career as one of the top wide outs in NCAA Division III history. His ranks in D-III lore: yards – third; receptions and touchdowns – ninth; yards per game – 19th. The second series of numbers represent Zubik's combined statistics from his junior and senior seasons. How good were they? His yards per game of 122.7 in his final two years would rank as the seventh-best career number in Division III history.
 
There's good reason that Zubik was a unanimous First Team All-American, the South Region Offensive Player of the Year and invited to rookie minicamp with the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this summer -- he was an electrifying talent. The task of replacing his production will be no small feat, but Presidents' head coach Mike Sirianni believes that his squad is uniquely qualified to handle the task in 2018. More on that later.
 
When you analyze the landscape of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) over the last decade or so, and look at what it can and will be in the future, there's been a changing of the guard of sorts within the league. Sirianni, who is entering his 16th season as W&J's head coach, believes the conference is set up to be better than it ever has been before, "[The PAC] won two first-round playoff games last year. We defeated a Johns Hopkins team that has had a great deal of playoff success recently and Case [Western Reserve] went on the road to beat Illinois Wesleyan. Those were great wins and showed that we are right there as a Top 10 conference in Division III. With that said, we have to do it again to continue to get that respect."
 
Sirianni is right about that: only two conferences sent two teams into the second round of the Division III playoffs last year: the PAC and the New Jersey Athletic Conference.
 
With that said, Sirianni isn't shy about his expectations for 2018, "We should be the favorites this year because we have some key players back and shared [the PAC Championship] with Case. On paper, we probably have more returning than they do. That doesn't guarantee anything; you can't achieve our goal of winning the PAC championship in August, it takes a full season."
 
It seems as though the preseason publications agree with Sirianni's perspective that the Presidents are the team to beat in the PAC this year, as each of the four preseason polls released have W&J ranked in the top 20, highlighted by a ninth-place vote in the Street & Smith's poll and followed by 12th, 15th and 18th rankings in College Football America Yearbook, D3football.com and Lindy's, respectively. Street & Smith's also named offensive lineman Andrew Reo (Canton, Ohio/Canton McKinley) a First Team Preseason All-American, while D3football anointed the senior with Second Team accolades.
 
The nonconference philosophy, as long as Sirianni has been the head coach, has remained consistent, he wants to challenge his team as much as possible out-of-conference so that they are prepared for PAC play. That continues this year when the Presidents will travel to perennial Empire 8 power St. John Fisher to open up the season in Rochester, N.Y. The Cardinals are receiving some chatter in the Top 25 preseason polls, and will be looking to make a statement to open the season following a 2017 campaign that was subpar by the standard which has been set by that program in recent history.
 
Offense
We touched on just how good Zubik was earlier, but he's not the only weapon that the Presidents will be looking to replace. Quarterback Alex Rowse threw for 2,635 yards and 27 TDs and had a 62.4 completion percentage in nine games, while fellow departure Cody Hearst was second on the team with 632 receiving yards and seven touchdowns and third with 45 receptions. Running back Justin Vickless also ran for 436 yards and averaged 6.3 yards per tote for the offense which ranked second in total offense and third in scoring offense in the PAC.
 
One overarching theme of the offense this season, especially the skill positions of wide receiver and running back, is just how much depth the Presidents expect to have, prompting Sirianni to state, "This is as deep as we've ever been at the skill positions with the number of players we think can play at a high level.
 
"By late September or early October, this unit has the ability to be one of the best offenses we've ever had."
 
Quarterback
Key Departures: Alex Rowse, Matt Heslin
 
One thing has been consistent about the W&J offense while Sirianni has been the head coach: a high-powered offense led by tremendous quarterback play. This coming season figures to be much of the same as junior Jacob Adams (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) proved to be capable while going 3-0 as the starter in the final three games of the regular season while Rowse was injured. In eight games last year, Adams completed 75 percent of his passes (87-of-116), throwing for 1,081 yards and seven touchdowns.
 
"We are really comfortable with [Adams] at quarterback. He was one of our top recruits two years ago and showed how good he could be late in the year. I finally took the handcuffs off [against Waynesburg] and he had a big game [23-of-30, 392 yards, four TDs]," said Sirianni. "He has the potential to have one of the best two-year runs we've ever had at quarterback here."

The head coach noted that often times when someone expects to be the starter coming into a year, they can let their preparations down in the offseason, but Sirianni believes the opposite to be true with Adams because of the junior's natural leadership instincts. Never one to lack in confidence, Sirianni isn't shy when he discusses what he thinks is the ceiling for his new signal caller, "I believe he can be one of the best quarterbacks in the nation."
 
Behind Adams, however, is a wide-open race where the Presidents are looking for someone to step up and fill that back-up role. It is one of the biggest points of emphasis and competitions to watch heading into this year's camp. There are some returners that will have the opportunity to compete for the spot after taking plenty of reps in spring practice, but two players in particular stand out to the head coach and they are a pair of incoming freshmen, which doesn't scare Sirianni at all. Justin Heacock (New Concord, Ohio/John Glenn) and James Cotton (Rochester, N.Y./Joseph Wilson Magnet) are both newcomers that could get a long look for the position. "We are simply looking for the best player to play behind [Adams]," said Sirianni. "We saw just how important it is to have a back-up we are confident in last year and want to have the same opportunity this season."
 
Running Back
Key Departure: Justin Vickless
Sirianni had to rack his brain a little bit to discuss the running back situation heading into camp, but in a very good way, "This is our best running back situation coming into a season since maybe R.J. Zitzelsberger and Ryan Mendel in 2005," he said.
 
Junior Jordan West (Washington, Pa./Washington) was on his way to a 1,000-yard campaign before injuries derailed part of the season, but he still finished with 715 yards and 10 touchdowns to lead the team in both categories. Sophomore EJ Thompson (La Plata, Md./Thomas Stone) emerged as a threat out of the backfield with 551 yards and a 5.8 average, plus four scores, while earning three PAC Rookie of the Week accolades. With each having a unique skill set, Sirianni will not hesitate to have them spell one another or play them both at the same time to give opposing teams a different look.
 
Sophomores Aaron Pray III (Gaithersburg, Md./Maret School (D.C.)) and Jack Ryan (Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell) are returners who deliver quality depth in the backfield. The Presidents also have one of the most talented running backs to come out of Washington County in a long time coming in this season as Joey Koroly (Washington, Pa./Trinity) enters the mix in the backfield as a freshman. "We don't like to count on freshman, that's not how our program is built, but I know we can count on [Koroly] if we need to."

Wide Receiver/Tight End
Key Departures: Jesse Zubik, Cody Hearst
 
When posed with the question, 'how do you replace Zubik?' Sirianni had a very simple two-word answer: "you don't."
 
One thing that the offensive guru believes can come from his star's graduation is a more balanced approach, "There were times over the last few years where we forced the ball to Jesse where maybe we would have been better off doing something else. You can be more diverse with your attack.
 
"There's no one as talented as [Zubik] on our roster. With that said, we might be a little better on offense just because we won't force him the ball."
 
Hearst also made a name for himself as a player that routinely made a play in big moments. Those two outside receivers will be replaced by a new collection of talent that is expected to shake out during camp. Sirianni's overall perspective of his receiving corps included: "We're very pleased with our skill and depth at receiver, it will all come down to how fast they develop."
 
Sophomores Andrew Wolf (Ashland, Ohio/Hillsdale) and Josh Burns (Coraopolis, Pa./Moon) and senior Tim Swoope (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) are three of the players expected to be given the first chance at the outside roles. Swoope started as a sophomore early in the season two years ago, and Wolf excites Sirianni because of his speed after he placed fourth in the 100-meter dash at the PAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the spring after never running track previously.
 
Inside receivers are much more established as seniors Brandon Barnes (Hagerstown, Md./St. Johns) and Braydon Toy (Kittanning, Pa./Kittanning) both saw significant playing time last year, with Barnes finishing second on the team with 50 receptions. "I thought by the end of the year, Barnes was one of the best receivers in the conference," said Sirianni. Depth behind those two include a trio of sophomores: Omar Whiting (Pikesville, Md./Loyola Blakefield), who saw significant time as a kick returner late in the season, Payton Skalos (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) and Patrick Moeller (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon).
 
Senior Jake Cullen (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) returns for his fifth year of eligibility at tight end after accounting for 64 catches, 666 yards and seven touchdowns in the previous two years. He had 37 receptions for 440 yards and 6 TDs in 2016 before injuries corralled his output in 2017. Sophomore Nick Hrivnak (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks) and Reed Relosky (Canonsburg, Pa./Bishop Canevin) are depth options that Sirianni has enough confidence in that he believes the Presidents could utilize some two-tight end sets in 2018.
 
Offensive Line
Key Departures: Matt Babbit, Austin Curnes
 
One of the reasons that Sirianni is so optimistic about how good his offense can be in 2018 starts up front with the offensive line. "If you did a preseason all-PAC team, there's a good chance we'd have three linemen on the first team. I'm really confident that we have three of the five best linemen in the league."
 
It all begins at right guard, where Reo returns as an all-region performer last season and a preseason All-American entering this year. Joining him are senior left tackle Phillip Bobich (Aliquippa, Pa./Aliquippa) and junior right tackle Keaton Turney (Salem, Ohio/Salem), who both started all 12 games a season ago. "We are going to look to the offensive line, especially those three, to carry us early on while we get some younger wide outs and [Adams] experience. It's the best three returning linemen we've had in a season since 2008 with [All-American] Matt Houy plus Dave Bucar and Kirk Fulton," believes Sirianni.
 
Among the other linemen that Sirianni expects to compete for playing time up front are seniors Jarrod Webb (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), Ian Luther (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) and Eric Higgs (Finleyville, Pa./Ringgold). Webb and Luther were brought over from the defensive side of the ball in the spring to provide depth. Junior Alex Albright (Patton, Pa./Cambria Heights) and sophomore Connor Walsh (Katy, Texas/Cinco Ranch) both saw action in 2017, while sophomores Matt Vonada (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) and Donovan Luersen (Haymarket, Va./Battlefield) should figure into the mix in camp as well.
 
Defense
W&J graduated a great deal of experience on the defensive end of the ball from 2017. A group of players that helped challenge the identity of the Presidents football team. As long as Sirianni has been the head coach, the offense has led the way, but last season's defense was just as big of a reason for the team's success as anything, ranking fourth in total defense in the league and second in scoring defense. Both of those numbers are impressive when you consider just how quickly the W&J offense moves and how many more plays the defense spends on the field because of that.
 
The list of departures on defense reads as a who's who of stars, including All-American cornerback O'Shea Anderson and all-region selections: defensive lineman Tom Marra, linebacker Nick Murgo and defensive back Luke Merhaut. "Because of those players," said Sirianni. "People thought about defense when they thought about W&J.
 
"It all starts with [defensive coordinator] Vince [Luvara]. He's done a terrific job with our defense. I let him control everything and challenged him to be aggressive and it paid off for us.
 
"Now this year, he's going to have his hands full, but getting a great player like [junior linebacker] Nick Getz (Tyrone, Pa./Tyrone) back should help that transition."
 
Getz has the ability to play defensive back or linebacker, depending on where the coaching staff feels the team needs a boost. Another dynamic player that can perform at two levels and provides great length and range is senior Zac Quattrone (White Oak, Pa./Serra Catholic) who started games at cornerback and outside linebacker last year. Those two will be counted on to carry one or both units between the linebackers and defensive backs in 2018.
 
Overall, Sirianni knows coming into the year that an inexperienced defense may need some time to catch up to the offense, "It's going to take a while, and I'm ok with that. I don't expect them to come out lighting it up right off the bat, but by weeks four or five we could be really good on that side of the ball."
 
Defensive Line
Key Departures: Tom Marra, Matt Girting, John Loper, Luke Ratkus, Freddie McKissick
 
Despite losing quality talent up front, the defensive line looks to be one of the strengths on the defensive side of the ball entering 2018. Junior Jeffrey Oxner (Silver Spring, Md./Bullis School) started every game last year and earned an Honorable Mention all-conference award. Senior Sal DeCario (New Derry, Pa./Derry) did not start last year, but played a large amount and provides leadership. Junior Mike Williams (Pittsburgh, Pa./Langley) played sparingly last season as he re-acclimated to football following a return from active duty in the United States Military. Senior Brad Villa (South Park, Pa./South Park) also saw time in the defensive line rotation last year, as the Presidents rotated seven, sometimes eight or more players throughout the course of games.
 
As far as younger players, Sirianni quips that there is a reason W&J plays JV games and it has shown at the defensive line position. Sophomores Keith Knowell (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport), Skyler Rideout (Wendermere, Fla./Wendermere Prep), Easton Fine (Eighty Four, Pa./Ringgold) and Pat Bebie (West Lake, Ohio/St. Edward) all gained valuable experience in those contests, while Conor Manning (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township) has made the transition up front from the linebacker unit.
 
Linebacker
Key Departures: Nick Murgo, Zach Walker, Ricky Zuk, Dalton Day, Billy Drear, Brendan Reddy
 
W&J graduated a great deal of talent and leadership from its linebacking corps from 2017. Getz and Quattrone can play linebacker if needed as they're both big and strong enough to hold down those roles. Experience as a varsity linebacker at W&J outside of those two is minimal, but there is experience at the JV level within the system that could prove useful this year. Junior Albert Shackelford (Capitol Heights, Md./St. John's College) and sophomores Sean Dugan (Huntersville, N.C./Lake Norman Charter), Chris Hayes (Rochester, Pa./Rochester) and Cole Weston (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) are returners who will be given the first opportunities to earn playing time at linebacker.
 
Another player with collegiate experience at linebacker that is expected to contribute is sophomore Slippery Rock transfer Sean Doran (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock). Doran appeared in 10 games last year for the Rock and made two starts and 22 tackles as a true freshman. "We don't do the transfer thing at W&J, but Doran has experience and was here in the spring so we are counting on him to shore up one of those positions."

Defensive Back
Key Departures: O'Shea Anderson, Luke Merhaut, Will Bowser, Marlon Brown
 
Anderson's nine interceptions last season were the third most in program history, one fewer than the record. As a team, W&J picked off 23 passes in 12 games, nearly two per contest. Senior Zack Queen (Level Green, Pa./Penn Trafford) returns at the other corner position after starting all 12 games last season and having arguably his best performance in the NCAA First Round against Johns Hopkins where he broke up five passes. Sophomore Zachary Taylor (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) was the Presidents' nickel cornerback for much of 2017 and brings a wealth of athleticism as evidenced by his second-place finishes in both the long and triple jumps at the PAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in April. Sirianni expects Taylor to be given the reigns at Anderson's position, while Queen holds down his same spot. W&J's depth at wide receiver allowed the Presidents to move sophomore Max Garda (Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell) to cornerback, which Sirianni believes bolsters the secondary by quite a bit.
 
Senior Zach Royba (Beaver, Pa./Beaver) enters the year having started the last two seasons at free safety and Sirianni calls him one of the best leaders on the program. "We're going to expect him to lead on the field, off the field, everything," said Sirianni. "That might be his biggest job this year, to provide leadership, and I think he can do it." Royba returns as the top tackler back from last season with 56 stops, in addition to tying for second on the team with three interceptions.
 
Depth options in the secondary include senior Cody Milsom (Butler, Pa./Knoch) and junior Kurt Niklaus (Pittsburgh, Pa./Avonworth), with Sirianni expecting others to step up and challenge for playing time as the season moves on.
 
Special Teams
Sirianni doesn't mince words when discussing special teams, "We have to get better on special teams. The fact that we've won 20 games over the last two years with such poor special teams play is amazing.
 
"That's on me as the head coach. I need to work on emphasizing it more. Not just kicking, but all facets."
 
Senior Josh Hnat (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) and sophomore Mauricio Garibay (Hickory Hills, Ill./Saint Lawrence) return to handle kicking duties. The two combined to go 43-of-53 on point-after attempts and 4-of-8 on field goal attempts. Hnat took over PAT duties late in the season and converted 18-of-20, while Garibay was called on to boot the game-winning 46-yard field goal that bounced off the crossbar and over in the final minute of W&J's 31-28 NCAA First Round win over Johns Hopkins.
 
Newcomers include junior Adam Napotnik (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) and freshman Jacob Sarver (Sarver, Pa./Freeport), who figures to be penciled in as the punter entering camp.
 
The loss of Merhaut in the return game hurts as he was a consistent presence deep on punts and kick-offs for three years, averaging 24.3 yards per kick return and 12.8 yards per punt return. Whiting returns after taking back nine kicks last season at a 20.1-yard average. Toy also brings experience deep on punts, having corralled 25 punts the last two seasons and netting 4.9 yards per return on them.
 
Sirianni is not afraid to put starting players back to return kicks either, as it means another way to get the ball in the hands of top playmakers meaning West, Wolf, Pray and Burns could all see time in the return game, as well as Koroly.