Football 9/1/2021 8:56:00 AM

2021 Season Kicks Off For Truman Football In Michigan

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - The 2021 Truman Football season will kickoff on Saturday afternoon in Caledonia, Michigan as the Bulldogs will face Davenport University in the first of four non-conference games to start the season. Truman was 3-1 in games played in the spring after the 2020 regular season was cancelled due to COVID-19. Davenport played two spring games and came away with wins against Gannon (Pa.).

This is the first meeting between these two schools as Davenport is only in its fifth full season of existence. They are a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (GLIAC).

As mentioned above, Truman was 3-1 in the GLVC spring season that had the Bulldogs play "divisional" games against Southwest Baptist, William Jewell and Missouri S&T. After sweeping wins in those three games, the Bulldogs played the University of Indianapolis in a GLVC Championship game and fell 46-29.

The Bulldogs have won six straight non-conference games dating back to 2018. They were a perfect 5-0 including a victory in the America's Crossroads Bowl in December of the 2019 season over Ohio Dominican. Their last non-conference loss came on the road at Saginaw Valley State by a 21-20 score.

Since that game, Truman is 19-5 in their last 24 ball games with three of those losses coming against Indianapolis.

Truman is looking for their second straight win against a GLIAC team during the Gregg Nesbitt era. The Bulldogs had lost seven straight until last years win at home over Wayne (Mich.) State. The team has three losses to Grand Valley (Mich.) State, two to Michigan Tech and one each to Saginaw Valley State (Mich.) and a prior meeting with Wayne St.

In Davenport's two wins over Gannon last spring, projected starting quarterback Deondre Ford threw for 324 yards on 19 completions and three touchdowns. He was the starter in the second matchup and went 17-for-28 for 300 yards and three scores while being sacked five times. Kyshawn Richards rushed for 104 yards in the first meeting while Jaler Harden rushed for a high of 87 yards game two. Amonte Phillips was the top target for Ford as he nabbed six balls for 149 yards and three scores in the 37-22 game two win.

The Panthers are 4-1 against teams from the GLVC and have won their last three. They defeated Lindenwood in 2019 by a 35-24 score, downed Quincy in 2018 26-10 and McKendree in 2017 27-24 in overtime. They lost to Saint Joseph's College 24-20 in 2016 after beating Quincy the week before 14-10.

About the Bulldogs:
Truman placed 14 players on the all-conference list and had freshman quarterback Nolan Hair selected as the GLVC Freshman of the Year. Hair made his first four collegiate starts for the Bulldogs and completed 71-of-124 passes for 818 yards. He had the team's first 300-yard passing game since 2013 when he threw for 316 yards in the title game against the Greyhounds.

Ten of the 14 all-conference players were first-team selections with four on offense and six on defense. Running back Cody Schrader was an unanimous choice on the first team after rushing for 405 yards on 82 attempts and seven touchdowns in the spring. He had three, 100-yard rushing games including a high of 142 in the victory over William Jewell. He was a second-team choice in 2019.

Jacob Morris and Jake Ellis are also returning first-team selections on offense. Morris is a four-time all-GLVC performer at the utility position and caught 42 passes for 382 yards in his career. Ellis is Truman's redzone threat with 21 career touchdowns receptions to go with his 88 catches for 1,114 yards. He is one touchdown reception from tying the school career record of 22 held by Andrew Blakley (1999-02) and Lloyd Henry (1975-77).

Five defensive players earned all-league honors with four returning this fall. Defensive linemen Robert Greco, Alec Devecchi and Kendrick Scarbrough joined defensive back Ben Watson on the list. The defense was re-tooled between 2019 and 2021 with several new faces on the unit. They did allow over 400 yards of total offense in the four spring games but did force six turnovers and registered seven quarterback sacks.

Special teams has always been special for the Bulldogs and last spring was no different. Jaylen Jefferson earned first-team all-league accolades with his nine kick returns for an average of 27.4 yards each. His long was 46 yards and his 28.7 average on 29 career returns is second on the Truman rankings.

Josh Scheiderer and Taylor Cornish handle the kicking duties with Scheiderer as the place kicker and Cornish as the punter. Scheiderer is marching up the Truman career records with 101 PAT kicks made, good for fifth on the Truman list and has 32 made field goals which is third. Scheiderer has scored 199 career points, good for 11^th all-time. Cornish has averaged 39.2 yards per punt in his 62 attempts since joining the team in 2019, in which he was named a first-team all-GLVC punter.

Head Coach Gregg Nesbitt is also on the cusp of some Truman career rankings. Nesbitt is in his 12^th season on the sidelines for Truman, which moves him into second place in service time behind only the 16 seasons coached by Maurice "Red" Wade from 1951 through 1966. Nesbitt's 62 wins ranks third behind Wade's 99 and legendary coach Don Faurot's (1926-34) 63 wins. Faurot would leave Kirksville and head south to Columbia where he led the Missouri Tigers for 19 seasons and won 101 more games.

This will be Nesbitt's 19 season at Truman having served as Defensive Coordinator from 1990-93. Nesbitt is the sixth Truman coach to have also played for the school as he lettered in both 1978 and 1979.

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The Bulldogs are 40-15 when leading after the first quarter under Coach Nesbitt and 54-8 when leading at the half.
Truman is 30-1 when they rush for over 200 yards as a team. Their only loss came in 2010 when they ran for 336 yards but lost 62-61 to Nebraska-Omaha.
In offensive coordinator Jason Killday's 49 games as a Bulldog, Truman's offense has averaged nearly 350 yards per game with 163 on the ground and 186 through the air. They have been successful on third downs 44% of the time.
The longest drive in 2019 was a 19-play, 74-yard drive against Ohio Dominican that consumed 10:31 of game time and resulted in a field goal in the America's Crossroads Bowl victory. The Bulldogs also had a 99-yard drive in that 21-7 win.
In the first five games of the 2019 season, the Truman defense surrendered just 47 points or 9.4 per game. Opponents were held to 20 or fewer points in eight games during that season.
Cody Schrader has already gained over 1,000 career rushing (1010) yards in 17 games. He has 14 rushing touchdowns
Ben Thomas lead the Truman defense with four career interceptions in 12 games played.
Robert Greco is the active career leader in quarterback sacks with six and tackles for loss with 13.5.
Josh Scheiderer has converted on 101-of-103 point after touchdown attempts and is 32-of-45 in career field goals with a long 47 yards.

Up Next:
A second straight trip to Michigan for the Bulldogs as they will head to the Motor City to face Wayne State next Saturday afternoon. Truman downed the Warriors 35-12 in Kirksville in 2019 but that victory sparked Wayne State as they won eight of their next nine games to finish at 8-3 that season. The Warriors open up at home on Saturday against #5 Slippery Rock (Pa.) on Thursday and will kickoff against the Bulldogs at 1 p.m. eastern time from Tom Adams Field on September 11^th.

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Players Mentioned

#98 Taylor Cornish: P; 6' 4"; Junior

#9 Alec DeVecchi: DE; 6' 2"; Junior

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

#51 Robert Greco: DT; 6' 1"; Junior

#6 Nolan Hair: QB; 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman

#4 Jaylen Jefferson: RB; 5' 9"; Senior; National Letter of Intent

#30 Jacob Morris: FB; 5' 11"; Senior; National Letter of Intent

#56 Kendrick Scarbrough: DE; 6' 0"; Freshman

#99 Josh Scheiderer: K/P; 5' 11"; Junior

#7 Cody Schrader: RB; 5' 9"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#98 Taylor Cornish
: 6' 4"; Junior
: P

#9 Alec DeVecchi
: 6' 2"; Junior
: DE

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

#51 Robert Greco
: 6' 1"; Junior
: DT

#6 Nolan Hair
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman
: QB

#4 Jaylen Jefferson
: 5' 9"; Senior; National Letter of Intent
: RB

#30 Jacob Morris
: 5' 11"; Senior; National Letter of Intent
: FB

#56 Kendrick Scarbrough
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: DE

#99 Josh Scheiderer
: 5' 11"; Junior
: K/P

#7 Cody Schrader
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: RB