KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - The 2022 Truman Football season will kick off on Saturday as the Bulldogs welcome Davenport (Mich.) University to Stokes Stadium. The two teams met in last year's lid lifter up in Michigan with the Bulldogs pulling away with a 31-14 win as they rushed for 218 yards while holding the Panthers to only 24 yards on the ground.
Head Coach Gregg Nesbitt enters his 13th season on the sidelines of the Bulldogs, the second most by any previous coach in Truman State history and the team has gone 28-8 (.778) in their last 36 games with two bowl championships.
Truman went 12-4 in 16 games played during the 2021 calendar year and 9-3 during the traditional fall season. The Bulldogs had the GLVC Offensive Player of the Year in Cody Schrader, who rushed for 2,074 yards and 25 touchdowns before entering the transfer portal and signing with the University of Missouri. Robert Greco and Ben Watson, both defensive players are returning first-team all-GLVC. In total, the Bulldogs had 18 players selected to the all-league list and will return 60 letter winners and 23 starters from 2021.
Also returning all-conference for the Bulldogs are quarterback Nolan Hair (2021 Spring Freshman of the Year), tight end Matt Hall, defensive back Ben Thomas, linebacker Isaiah Estes and Ulysses Ross, defensive lineman Ben Miller, offensive linemen Nick Biesmeyer, Dane Eggert and Justin Watson and punter Taylor Cornish.
The Bulldogs were picked second in the GLVC Preseason Coaches poll behind perennial champion, Indianapolis and ahead of McKendree, Southwest Baptist, Missouri S&T, Quincy and William Jewell.
Davenport is under the direction of sixth year head coach Sparky McEwen and are coming off a 3-8 season in which the team averaged just 9.5 points per game with a total of 12 touchdowns scored. The team played five different quarterbacks and averaged only 230.6 yards of total offense per game.
The Panthers 2022 travel roster features 54 players that had played at other collegiate schools including projected starting quarterback Jason Whittaker. The graduate player appeared in a few games at Northwestern (Ill.) during the 2019 season. Running back Jaier Harden led DU with 348 yards rushing last season on 83 attempts.
Davenport was picked seven out of seven schools in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference preseason coaches poll.
About the Bulldogs:
Offense:
Nolan Hair started all 16 games at quarterback during the 2021 calendar year throwing for 2,953 yards and 29 touchdowns. He completed 61% of his passes and also gained 199 yards on the ground with another score.
Graduate transfer Shamar Griffith is the projected started at running back for the Bulldogs. Griffith is no stranger to Kirksville as he was a standout back at Hannibal High School, a fellow conference member of Kirksville High School. Griffith earned all-MIAA honors in 2017 (kick returner), 2018 and 2019 (running back) at Missouri Western State University. He ran for 1,891 yards in 35 games as a Griffon (54.3) with five games over 100 yards. His most single-game yards was 119 against Missouri Southern.
Jake Tuttle was the primary backup behind Cody Schrader last season with 36 rushing attempts for 143 yards and a score.
Tight End Matt Hall led the team in receiving yards during the fall with 475 on 37 catches. Tate Crane was third with 19 for 265 and Zach Zerwig had 19 for 243. Hall had six touchdown receptions.
The offensive line has been anchored by three returning all-league players in Dane Eggert, Nick Biesemeyer and Justin Watson along with junior Jon Saxbury and sophomore Kody Lingensmith.
Offensive coordinator Jason Killday's group was first in the GLVC last season in scoring offense and averaged 6.27 yards per play, the second most in school history.
Defense:
Truman's defensive unit has continually ranked among the nation's best under coordinator Kellen Nesbitt. The unit returns 11 starters that allowed just over 330 yards of total offense per game last season. Four returning players, Isaiah Estes, Peyton Carr, Ben Thomas and Ben Watson all registered over 85 tackles each. Linebacker Ulysses Ross was tops in tackles for loss with 14.5 and 5.5 sacks.
Up front all four starters return in seniors Alec Devecchi, Robert Greco along with junior Ben Miller and sophomore Jack Marth.
The team recorded 87.5 tackles for loss last season and 31.5 quarterback sacks.
In the takeaway category, the Bulldogs recorded 18 pass interceptions last season with four by Jake Closser and three each by Ben Thomas, Ben Watson and Ryan Olivas.
In the 12 seasons under Kellen Nesbitt, the Truman defense has averaged opponents to 23.3 points per game with a 36% third down conversion percentage (126 games). Last season, the defensive scoring average was 19.3 points and rushing yards allowed as a personal best 77.3 yards per game.
Special Teams:
Another feather in the cap of the Bulldogs has been the execution of all phase of special teams. Truman has consistently ranked near the top in kicking, punting and returns.
Punter Taylor Cornish enters his fourth season with a career average of 39.8 yards on 105 punts.
Grant Ross is the projected replacement for Josh Schiederer in the kickoffs, field goals and point after attempts. Ross was 8-of-9 on field goals and 31-of-32 in extra points while kicking for Liberty (Mo.) High School in Kansas City. He also had 32 touchbacks during his senior season.
Shamar Griffith and Jack Butchko are slated to return kickoffs, Griffith was second in the MIAA in 2017 with an average of 22.7 yards per return. For his career, Griffith has 54 returns for 1,154 yards.
Ben Thomas returned 15 punts last season for 176 yards (11.7/return).
Since 2018, Truman has returned seven kickoffs for touchdowns and three more punts for scores. The last opponent to score on a kickoff was in 2016 by William Jewell.
Up Next:
Truman will travel for the first time to South Dakota Mines in Rapid City next Saturday afternoon. The Hardrockers open up on the road at GLVC foe Missouri S&T on Thursday night. They were 6-5 last season and are led by a Truman connection in former offensive coordinator Charlie Flohr.
Kickoff from O'Harra Stadium is slated for noon, mountain time.
