ELMHURST, Ill. - After posting a 5-5 record and a third-place finish in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin in 2014, the Elmhurst College football team enters the 2015 season with high expectations under second-year head coach Ron Planz.

"Last year was a learning experience for both our coaching staff and our team," said Planz. "We struggled at times, but we also played some very good football. Finishing third in a conference as strong as the CCIW was a good step, but no one left the season feeling satisfied. I believe we'll be more consistent in our play this year which should lead to better results as well."

OFFENSE

Planz's team has several holes to fill on the offensive side of the ball with the graduation of starting quarterback Joe Camiliere and a large portion of the offensive line, but the Bluejays return two of their top two weapons in running back Josh Williams and tight end Garrett Claxon. Williams was tabbed as a first-team preseason All-American by D3football.com while Claxon earned second-team honors.

Williams is expected to carry the bulk of the load on the ground after rushing 251 times for 1,291 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2014. Tyler Smith (4.2 yards per carry in 2014) and Connor Brewer (4.6 yards per carry in 2014) provide Planz's squad added depth in the backfield.

"Josh is a just a great all-around talent," said Planz. "He's a tremendous football player but he is also extremely humble and has a great work ethic. He's a pleasure to be around and coach. Tyler is extremely versatile in the backfield and both he and Connor are capable of producing big plays."

Claxon highlights the Bluejays' tight ends and super backs after catching a team-leading 52 passes for 483 yards and three touchdowns last season. Evan Leski and Jimmy Scales also return after seeing time in 2014.

"Garrett can do just about anything we ask him to do," said Planz. "He blocks well, he's got good hands and he runs routes well. I think he has the potential to have another great season once our offense finds its rhythm."

The Bluejays will take the field in 2015 with a new quarterback under center after the loss of Camiliere to graduation. Planz expects Logan Stelzriede, Drew Domino and Zach Campbell, and Jimmy Mitchell to all battle for the starting role.

 

"We definitely have an open competition at quarterback this season," said Planz. "Logan, Drew, Jimmy and Zach are all very competitive and capable of leading our offense. Logan has some varsity experience and has fought through some injuries while Zach played wide receiver for us last year and is moving back to his natural spot at quarterback."

Elmhurst's quarterback will have no shortage of targets to find in the passing game as the Bluejays' return experienced receivers in Kaylon Miller, Adam Bowers, Spencer Frisbie, Joe Sanfilippo and Korey Partenheimer. Miller hauled in 35 passes in 2014 while leading the team in yardage (629) and touchdown receptions (seven), earning second-team all-conference honors in the process.

"Kaylon was an athlete in high school and was away from football for a year," said Planz. "He had some rust to work off in the early part of 2014, but he really began to show what he's capable of as the season progressed. Adam had a solid year for us last season after switching to the offensive side of the ball. Joe has plenty of experience but was hampered by an injury last season. Korey and Spencer are also capable of seeing more time in 2015."

The Bluejays' offensive line may have the most to replace as Elmhurst lost Drake Hoffman, C.J. Barense and Adam Connors to graduation. Connors earned all-conference honors at left tackle while Hoffman was an all-conference pick at center.

"Losing three starters on our offensive line is tough, but I truly believe we have the talent to succeed up front," said Planz. "They may not have a ton of varsity experience yet, but I believe they're ready to step in and perform."
 

Leading the way on the offensive line is senior Danny McHale, who started the entire season at right guard in 2014. Junior Sam Rathbun also returns after moving into the starting lineup at left guard in 2014. Planz will look to returners Billy Schaefer, Robert Coniglio, Pat Walsh, Garrett Underwood, Timothy O'Sullivan, Stephen Richardson and Ryan Gillespie, along with transfer Evan Hutchinson, to fill the final three starting roles on the offensive line.

"We have a lot of depth with our offensive lineman," said Planz. "It's very possible, that we could see players shifting to a different spot up front so that we can put our strongest five players on the field."

Planz expects the Bluejays to be more comfortable on the field after tinkering with the offense. "We don't have a new offense, we have a refined offense," he said. "We have simplified the system and our players have shown a great grasp in what we want to run. As their comfort and confidence grows, I expect we'll starting seeing more success."
 
DEFENSE
Planz expects the Elmhurst defense will show improvement as the team's hybrid formation stayed in place.

"We lost a lot of seniors from last season on defense, but we have a lot of juniors who saw plenty of playing time over the past two years," said Planz. "Last year, we were able to really evaluate what worked and where a player may fit best and I think we've made some key adjustments entering this season."

Planz expects a heavy rotation among the defensive line led by returners Jimmy Abbott, Jackson Smith, Myles Carroll, Eddie Beyer, Jakub Szylak, Chris Eberhart and John Rubino.

"We have good depth in our defensive line and made some adjustments in our technique that will let us be more aggressive in our system," Planz said.
 

The Bluejays return several experienced players at linebacker who will likely enter the 2015 season playing a slightly different role. Brian Tucker moves from the middle to the outside while Andy Warsen, the team's starter at rover last season, slides to the middle linebacker. Trent Howard will also shift to the linebacker spot after playing rover last year. Alec Datoli and Jacob Mazzenga could also be battling for playing time at linebacker in 2015. Tucker amassed 51 tackles last season while Warsen finished with 38 and Howard recorded 29 stops.

"We moved some guys around to new positions and moved some players up from the secondary in an effort to fill some of the holes we had while also taking advantage of their strengths." 

Valdez Honorable, an all-conference selection at safety last season, will move to the rover position in 2015. Honorable led the squad with 58 tackles in 2015. Perode Charles will also see time at rover after playing linebacker last season.

"Val had a great season at strong safety but we wanted to move him closer to the ball to take advantage of his aggressiveness," said Planz. "Perode has the speed and aggressiveness that we like and has been a big part of our special teams last season as well."

Elmhurst lost starters Marvin Carr and Jake Pawlicki at cornerback, but juniors Charlie Kreager and Ryan Weier both saw plenty of action in 2014 and are expected to compete for the starting roles along with sophomores Tyler Hosman and Victor Ogbebor.

At safety, Planz will look to Tyler Schwartz, Sean Wetherall, Nolan Kopplin and Tristan Bolas to battle for the starting role.

"We have a lot of players in our secondary who are interchangeable," said Planz. "Tyler and Sean both saw a lot of time at safety last season while Nolan, who transitioned from cornerback last year, and Tristan had a very solid freshman season."

 

SPECIAL TEAMS
Brett Bayer returns to the squad to handle the kicking duties after converting 31-of-32 extra point attempts and 6-of-10 field goal attempts in 2014. Bayer and Tom Finucane are expected to share punting duties similar to the way they did in 2014 when Bayer punted 18 times and Finucane kicked 16 times. Wes Wagner returns to the squad to handle the role of long snapper.

"Brett proved himself as a kicker last season," said Planz. "I like being able to use both Brett and Tom when it comes to punting. One kicks with the left foot and the other the right. The long snapper position can be overlooked by some, even though it's an important specialty position. It's always nice when you have an experienced player returning to handle those duties"

Overall, Planz is excited for the Bluejays' 2015 season and expects the squad to show some strides in his second year at the helm.

"Last year we struggled out of the gate before showing some improvement at the start of the conference season," said Planz. "We had some big wins and I really thought we played some of our best football at the end of the season despite losing the season finale. Our players have had a year to get comfortable with our coaches and systems, so I'm expecting to see some progress on both sides of the ball."

Elmhurst opens the 2015 season by hosting Loras College Saturday. September 5.