Football 9/6/2017 8:05:00 AM

NOTES: Bulldog Defense Looks To Contain High-Powered Offense Saturday

The Morningside Game

Live Stats // Listen Live // Watch Live
Game Notes(PDF) // @TSUBulldogFB // GLVC Football Standings

The Bulldogs will look to contain one of the most prolific offenses in college football when they travel to Sioux City, Iowa to face nationally ranked Morningside College on Saturday.

The Mustangs have averaged a whopping 724 yards in their first two wins of the year and were ranked fourth in the NAIA preseason coaches poll. Quarterback Trent Solsma has thrown for 469 yards and nine touchdowns in two games while completing 78% of his passes. His top target has been Connor Niles with 20 catches, four touchdowns and 485 yards.

The Bulldogs scored first in their season opener against Michigan Tech and got a 75-yard run by quarterback Jaden Barr to tie things up at 14 apiece in the first quarter. However, Michigan Tech scored 24 straight points in the final three quarters and shutdown the Truman offense in picking up a 38-14 win on Thursday night.

Barr finished with 116 yards on 12 rushing attempts, with 108 coming in the first half. Barr's 75-yard rush in the first quarter matched the sixth longest run from scrimmage by a Bulldog and longest by a quarterback. The previous long by a Truman QB was 74 by Dusty Burk against Missouri Southern in 2002. Barr completed 12-of-17 passes for 79 yards and another touchdown to true freshman tight end Jake Ellis.

This will be the second meeting between the Bulldogs and Mustangs. The first came in 1992 when Morningside came to Kirksville for the season opener. The Bulldogs edged out the Mustangs 25-21 in a game that was delayed by lightning for a good chunk of the afternoon.

Chris Livingstone connected with Jeff Fuller on a two-yard pass with 20 seconds left to lift the Bulldogs past the Mustangs in that first meeting. The then-Chiefs led 14-3 following a lightning delay before Robert Merriman ran back a 19-yard interception return for a score. Chad Guthrie put Truman back on top 18-14 late in the third quarter only to watch Morningside regain the lead early in the fourth.

COACHES…Truman is led by Gregg Nesbitt in his eighth year at his alma mater and has a 38-39 overall record. Nesbitt is fifth on the all-time victories list at Truman and is the sixth Bulldog taskmaster to have also played and lettered for the team he now leads. Steve Ryan is in his 16^th season at Morningside and has guided the Mustangs to a 142-39 record and 13 consecutive post-season appearances in the NAIA.

MORE ABOUT THE MUSTANGS…Morningside was in the national championship game in 2012, falling in overtime to Marian 30-27 and then advanced to the semifinals of the NAIA in the next three seasons. Last year, they lost in the quarterfinal round 42-35 to Saint Francis.

FAMILIAR FOE…The leading running back for Morningside is former Southwest Baptist rusher Bubba Jenkins…Jenkins ran for 125 yards against the Bulldogs in 2015 while also catching three passes for 15 yards. In 2016, Jenkins was held to 69 yards on 23 attempts and no scores. Jenkins was a second team Don Hansen All-America running back for SBU last season with school records of 1,739 yards rushing and 20 touchdowns, he was the GLVC's leading career rusher.

HOUGHTON TIDBITS… It was Jaden Barr's first 100-yard rushing game as a Bulldog, Truman had only one, 100-yard game by a back last year in Jordan Salima (125) against Lincoln. The Bulldog record for rushing yards in a game by a quarterback is 160 by Dusty Burk at Drake in 2002. Only three other Truman quarterbacks have gained 100-yards rushing in a contest, Burk (three times), Phil Davis (twice) and Matt Ticich (twice).

MORE HOUGHTON…The Bulldogs were 1-of-14 on third downs and 0-of-7 in the second half. Last year, the fewest third downs in a game came against Grand Valley State with three. Truman averaged over 40% on third downs last season.

AGAINST THE NAIA…This will be the fourth game against an NAIA opponent in the last five years. The Bulldogs knocked off #20 William Penn 24-23 in 2013, defeated Langston 17-12 in 2014 and won at Saint Francis (Ill.) 24-20 in 2015. Prior to 2013, the previous game against an NAIA team was in 1993 against Iowa Wesleyan. Morningside will return the visit and play in Kirksville for week two next season.

RETURNING ALL-GLVC…The Bulldogs placed 15 players on the All-GLVC list last season, the most by the team since the 1990 season. Of the 15 players, returning will be first team members, sophomore Sam Reeves and junior Ben Wellman. Second team returners are sophomore Jaden Barr, sophomore Jordan Salima, junior Nick Verbeck, senior Jordan Brown, sophomore Bryan Edwards and honorable mention choices sophomore Drew Slager, senior Isaiah Hinton and junior Brock Rohler.

ACADEMIC SUCCESS…The Bulldogs had 42 players named to the GLVC All-Academic team last season, up from 29 the previous two years. To earn Academic All-GLVC, a player must have a 3.3 cumulative GPA or a 3.4 GPA over the academic year. The team had a team GPA last year of 2.94 and is ranked among the top public schools in the NCAA Academic Success Rate.

YOUTH SERVED…Thirteen players made their first trip for the Bulldogs to Houghton, Michigan. Of those 13, two true freshmen not only travelled but were on the field. Tight end Jake Ellis caught the Bulldogs first touchdown pass of the season and Jaylen Jefferson was a defensive back and returned four kickoffs.

YOUTH SERVED (II)…Other redshirt Bulldogs to see their Truman debut included Dan Zeigler (QB), Dante Ruffin (WR), Jacob VanDoren (OL), A.J. Devecchi (DL), Reed McBroom (LB), Wyatt Fishel (DB), Josh Jackson (DB) and Dillon Weiss (DB)

CHAMPIONS AGAIN…Truman captured their first GLVC title last year as they shared the crown with Southwest Baptist. It was the 27^th overall league title for the Bulldogs dating back to 1912 and first since the 1988 season.

SETTING THE BARR…Quarterback Jaden Barr started the final 10 games as a redshirt freshman last season. He finished sixth in Truman single-season history with 26 touchdowns responsible for with 17 through the air and 10 rushing scores. Barr completed nearly 60% of his passes for 1905 yards with a single game high of 270 against William Jewell on October 22.

A "TRUMAN"…Running back Jordan Salima is a graduate of Truman High School in Kansas City and led the Bulldogs in rushing and all-purpose yards last season. Salima ran for 696 yards and had five touchdowns. His single game highs were 25 carries against William Jewell on October 22 and 125 yards against Lincoln on September 24. His longest rush of the season was 35 yards against Southwest Baptist on October 7.

MONEY MAN…Freshman Drew Slager led the Bulldogs in receptions (39) and yards (625). Slager led the team with 27 receptions that resulted in either a first down or touchdown aka "Money Plays". Slager averaged 16 yards per catch and had a season high six receptions in two games and 90 yards receiving against Southwest Baptist on October 7.

RETURN TO SENDER…Jordan Jorgenson broke a school record last season with 375 yards in punt returns (11.7 avg.) while Jordan Salima had 381 yards in kick returns (29.3 avg.). Defensive back Ben Chaney is currently fifth on the Truman career interception return yardage after accumulating 141 last season on two INTs.

BOOKENDS…Defensive ends Sam Reeves and Isaiah Hinton had a combine total of 25.5 tackles for loss a year ago and 18 of the teams 35 quarterback sacks. Reeves had 16 tackles for loss to rank third in Truman single season history, a half behind Nic Abbate and one behind Patrick Blackwell. His 10.5 sacks were tied for fourth in a Truman season.

BRINGIN THE HEAT…The Bulldog defense set a school record last year with 90 TFLs. Five of the top six years on the record books have been set by a Bulldog defense coached by Defensive Coordinator Kellen Nesbitt. Truman has averaged 6.8 tackles for loss per game since 2010.

BRINGIN THE HEAT (II)…Truman also set a school record last year with 35 quarterback sacks breaking the previous mark of 28 set in 1998, 1997 and 2012. The defense was ranked seventh nationally in red zone at 62%, 17^th in sacks and 19^th in rushing defense at allowing 103 yards per game by an opponent.

DEFENSIVE QUICK HITS…The 940 yards rushing allowed last season was the sixth fewest in program history and the least since 1,072 yards allowed in 1982. The Bulldogs allowed only nine rushing touchdowns all season after only 10 allowed in 2015.

B(ROCK)'n ROHLER…Junior punter Brock Rohler was fifth in the GLVC in punting last year at 39.5 yards per punt. He put 25 of his 55 attempts inside the opponents 20 yardline and 12 of the 25 inside the 10. On kickoffs, Rohler averaged 56.3 yards and had six touchbacks. He was a GLVC and D2Football.com Special Teams Player of the Week after having all five of his punts downed inside the Lincoln 20, four of which were downed inside the 10.

DOUBLE-DIP…With the closure of Saint Joseph's College in the GLVC, the Bulldogs were left with 10 games on the schedule. Fellow co-champion Southwest Baptist was left with nine games, one below the NCAA Division II minimum for qualification to the national tournament. The two teams had an open date on November 4 and agreed to play again. The Bulldogs have doubled up on an opponent three times in their history, against William Jewell in 1904 (split), Central Methodist in 1909 (Truman wins) and again against William Jewell in 1909. The 1909 games were marred with controversy as the Cardinals on the first game 49-0 but were awarded a 1-0 win after the Bulldogs left the field in protest during the second game.

A GRAND SEASON…The first game of the 2017 season will be game 1001 in the Bulldog history books. Truman finished the first 1,000 games with a 564-402-34 (.581) record that ranks among the top NCAA Division II programs in wins and winning percentage and second among NCAA schools (all divisions) in the state of Missouri.

COACHES POLLS…Truman was picked second in the GLVC Preseason Coaches poll with 41 total votes and two first-place tallies. Southwest Baptist was picked first with 48 points and six first-place votes. The Bulldogs also received votes in the first American Football Coaches Association preseason Top 25 survey. In the week two AFCA Coaches Poll, Indianapolis made the big jump up to 18^th in the poll while SBU grabbed five votes. The Bulldogs did not garner any votes.

AROUND THE GLVC…It was a tough week for GLVC Football as seven of the eight schools lost their opener. The lone bright spot was Indianapolis upsetting #2 Grand Valley State 24-20 at home. Indianapolis took two of the three spots for the GLVC Player of the Week honors. Freshman running back Al McKeller ran for 206 yards and scored the game winning touchdown on a 51-yard scamper to earn offensive honors, Cole Sigmund had 10 tackles and two for loss to get the defensive nod and Missouri S&T kicker Ben Styron connected on three field goals and accounted for 10 of the Miners' 16 points to get the Special Teams award.

UP NEXT…Truman will open up GLVC action with their first home game at the refurbished Stokes Stadium next Saturday night. The Bulldogs will host longtime rival Missouri S&T. The two teams have the most history of any two GLVC opponents and will be playing for the 80^th time next week…the stadium had several renovations over the past nine months including the installation of a new turf surface, a new track and a new press box. Game time is 7 p.m.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#83 Jake Ellis: TE; 6' 7"; Freshman; National Letter of Intent

#17 Jaylen Jefferson: RB; 5' 9"; Freshman; National Letter of Intent

#15 Jaden Barr: QB; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#6 Jordan Brown: DB; 5' 7"; Senior

#19 Ben Chaney: DB; 6' 1"; Senior

#47 A.J. Devecchi: DL; 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman

#48 Bryan Edwards: LB; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#40 Wyatt Fishel: DB; 5' 7"; Redshirt Freshman

#7 Isaiah Hinton: DL; 5' 9"; Senior

#37 Josh Jackson: DB; 5' 11"; Redshirt Freshman

#11 Jordan Jorgenson: WR; 5' 10"; Senior

#38 Reed McBroom: LB; 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman

Players Mentioned

#83 Jake Ellis
: 6' 7"; Freshman; National Letter of Intent
: TE

#17 Jaylen Jefferson
: 5' 9"; Freshman; National Letter of Intent
: RB

#15 Jaden Barr
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: QB

#6 Jordan Brown
: 5' 7"; Senior
: DB

#19 Ben Chaney
: 6' 1"; Senior
: DB

#47 A.J. Devecchi
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman
: DL

#48 Bryan Edwards
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: LB

#40 Wyatt Fishel
: 5' 7"; Redshirt Freshman
: DB

#7 Isaiah Hinton
: 5' 9"; Senior
: DL

#37 Josh Jackson
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Freshman
: DB

#11 Jordan Jorgenson
: 5' 10"; Senior
: WR

#38 Reed McBroom
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman
: LB