UMHB, ranked No. 4 in the NCAA Division III preseason poll, had 185 players report Monday for workouts, which begin at 8:45 a.m. today. And 11th-year coach Pete Fredenburg is chomping at the bit to get started.
“It goes without saying that we’re talented,” said Fredenburg, whose squad went 12-2 and advanced to the national semifinals last year. “All of our returners are back after a great summer, and this is one of the best-looking classes we’ve ever recruited. Plus, we have some transfers who are very talented.”
Among the newcomers are quarterbacks Rashon Lewis, who transferred from McMurry, and Matt Hurst (Baylor). They will compete with senior Josh Saenz and sophomore Kyle Noack for the vacant starting job.
Copperas Cove product Jonathan Woods (South Carolina State) could help returning 1,500-yard rusher Quincy Daniels shoulder some of the load at running back. Former Temple standout JocQuise Brown (Sul Ross State) and 6-6 Ervin Johnson - who played basketball the last two years at Temple College - should bolster the Crusaders’ receiving corps.
But Fredenburg warned that even talented players must prove themselves on the field.
“We have some offensive linemen and some defensive ends who need to step up,” he said. “And our kicking game is a concern. But we have very high regard for our players, so obviously there are a lot of expectations.”
UMHB won’t practice in full pads until Saturday, but the coaching staff will get a good look at the Crusaders during an Aug. 28 home scrimmage against National University of Mexico City.
“We had several schools that wanted to scrimmage us, especially from Mexico,” Fredenburg said. “I don’t know why other than they want to expose their players to some good football.
“They contacted us about the scrimmage, and as a trade-off, we sent our coaches down there to put on a clinic over the summer.”
UMHB also will have an intrasquad scrimmage Sept. 4 before hosting NAIA opponent Southern Nazarene (Okla.) in the Crusaders’ season opener Sept. 13, by which time the 185 players will have been divided into varsity and junior varsity teams.
“It’s great to see everybody again, and the guys look good,” Fredenburg said. “The only problem is that early on, it’s just so crowded back there in the locker room. But the guys are dealing with it and nobody’s complaining.”
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