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KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Truman State Bulldog Football team returns to Stokes Stadium for the first time since last November when they host South Dakota Mines at noon on Saturday. The Bulldogs and Hardrockers are both 1-0 on the season after victories against Findlay (Ohio) and Valley City (S.D.) State respectively.
 
It is the return trip for the Hardrockers after the Bulldogs went to Rapid City last season and won 27-20 behind three touchdown passes from Nolan Hair, two to Christopher Kerr and a Shamar Griffith 12-yard run early in the fourth quarter to put Truman ahead 27-6. SDM tacked on two scores in the final four minutes of the game but the Bulldogs recovered the ensuing onside kick and Hair took the kneel to run out the clock for the win.
 
Hair finished with what stood up as his best passing performance for the season with 228 yards on 18-of-29 attempts and also ran the ball for 53 yards to lead the rushing attack. Kerr caught a season-high five passes for 90 yards and Tate Crane added six catches for 68 yards.
 
Jayden Johannsen and Spencer Zur split snaps for the Hardrockers with projected 2023 starter Johannsen completing 16-of-25 passes for 175 yards. SDM combined for 362 yards through the air that afternoon in Rapid City with Jeremiah Bridges catching nine passes for 106 yards and Mason Galbreath hauling in five for 90 and Isaiah Eastman nine for 84 yards.
 
The Bulldog defense turned over Mines three times during the game while the Bulldog offense kept a clean turnover sheet.
 
A Look Back At Last Week:
Mason Huskey's catch and run for 66 yards three plays into the second half broke a 10-all tie as Truman's defense shutout Findlay over the final 30 minutes to win 20-10 on Saturday. It was the longest pass completion for Nolan Hair and longest pass by a Bulldog quarterback since a 75-yard pass by Jaden Barr against Valparaiso (Ind.) in 2018.
 
Grant Ross gave the Bulldogs some insurance with a 42-yard field goal with 6:32 left in the third quarter while the defense limited the Oilers 108 yards of offense in the second half with two interceptions, one each by Peyton Carr and Isaiah Estes, and two turnovers on downs.
 
South Dakota Mines knocked off NAIA Valley City (S.D.) State 31-14 in their season debut last Friday evening. The Hardrockers scored two second quarter touchdowns to lead 21-14 at halftime. The Mines defense shutout the Vikings in the second half.  Jayden Johannsen was 21-of-30 for 203 yards with two touchdown passes and an interception. Ben Noland caught eight passes and two scores for 89 yards while running back Jalen Frye rushed for 176 yards and averaged 11 yards per carry on the night.
 
Truman Non-Conference:
The Bulldogs are 27-15 in non-conference games under Coach Gregg Nesbitt. Since the 2019 season, Truman State is 15-1 against non-GLVC teams. The only loss came at home last year in the opener when Davenport (Mich.) held on for a 20-19 win over the Bulldogs.
 
After today, Truman's remaining schedule non-league games will be next week at home against Saginaw Valley (Mich.) State and at Wayne (Mich.) State the following week.
 
About the Bulldogs:
Gregg Nesbitt is in his 14^th season on the sidelines second only to the 16 seasons of Maurice "Red" Wade in head coaching years of service at the school. The Bulldogs are 81-57 under Coach Nesbitt and have a 32-8 record since the start of the 2019 season. Last year, Truman State won nine games for the second consecutive season and capped off the 9-2 record with their third "America's Crossroads Bowl" championship. He was the GLVC Co-Coach of the Year last season.
 
The Bulldogs have averaged close to or more than 200 yards rushing per game over the past five seasons and have scored over 30 points per game in the past four.
 
Quarterback Hair has started the past 27 games at quarterback and with his 184 yards passing last week, moved inside the career top 10 in passing yards at Truman with 4,693. He has completed 61% of his passes with 45 touchdown passes. His 45 TD passes is fifth on the all-time Bulldog career list and will chase down teammate Jaden Barr who is next on the list with 52.
 
Denim Cook and Mason Huskey along with Gerry Marteen Jr., Tim Johnson Jr., and Jack Butchko are listed on the depth chart in the running backs slot. Cook was a breakout start as a true freshman last season behind graduate starter Shamar Griffith. Cook averaged 7.5 yards per carry for 375 yards and six touchdowns. Johnson, Butchko and Huskey all had carries last season.
 
The receiving corps is also deep with Tate Crane, Zach Zerwig and Christopher Kerr having each caught over 20 passes last season. Crane led the unit with 413 yards on 37 grabs and three touchdowns with Zerwig catching 30 passes for 338 and Kerr 24 for 283. Other receivers listed on the two-deep are Nathan Ryan, Noach Copeland, Zach Valentine, Joseph Spaulding and Parker Erickson.
 
The Bulldog defense has been one of the stingiest groups and last year's group allowed under 300 yards per game. It was the first time since the 1982 season in which Truman State held the opposition under 300 yards per game. It was the fourth time in the past nine seasons that Truman held opponents to under 20 points per game with their 18.6 scoring average. The defense has recorded 34 interceptions over the past two seasons and has averaged nearly two take-aways per game under Coach Nesbitt.
 
Up front, the line will be anchored by juniors Ben Miller and Zach Rouland along with sophomores Jack Weltha and Thomas Spaulding. Miller was an all-GLVC defensive lineman last season and both Weltha and Spaulding saw significant action as true freshmen.
 
Linebackers Isaiah Estes and Ulysses Ross have played in a combine 62 games and both have been previously selected to the all-GLVC team. Estes is the active leader in tackles made with 209.
 
The five defensive backs are also well-versed in their trades with lone senior Ben Thomas highlighting the group. Thomas has 12 career interceptions, tied for fourth on the all-time list. Junior Ryan Olivas has nine career picks. Jake Closser was a first-team all-GLVC defender at a utility position last season. Brock Jones, Peyton Carr and Kendall Hutchison also had significant action the last few years.
 
Another calling card for the Bulldog program has been their special teams. The team has been among the national leaders in kick returns, kick returns allowed, punt returns and punt returns allowed. Vinie Calvaruso is scheduled to handle the kickoff duties for the first time this year, while Grant Ross will handle field goals and extra points. Ross made 9-of-12 field goals with a long of 45 last season and converted on 39-of-41 point after attempts.
 
Mason Gessert will take over for four-year starter Taylor Cornish as the Bulldogs punter.
 
Ben Thomas has handled the majority of punt returns for the Bulldogs the last two seasons and has 30 returns for 390 yards.
 
Gerry Marteen Jr. and Mason Huskey will be the starting kick returners. Since 2018, Truman has had seven kick returns for touchdowns. The return group has averaged 22.8 yards per attempt over the course of five seasons.
 
The Bulldogs picked up 35 votes and were listed in the first America Football Coaches Association preseason Division II coaches poll. Three of the four non-conference opponents were also listed in the receiving votes category including Saturday's opponent Findlay, Saginaw Valley State and Wayne State. The University of Indianapolis earned enough points to crack the AFCA Top 25 (20^th).
 
Truman's four non-conference opponents went a combined 23-20 last season. Findlay was 7-4, South Dakota Mines went 7-4, Saginaw Valley went 8-3 and Wayne State 1-9.
 
Truman was picked second in the GLVC Preseason Coaches Poll.
 
Scouting South Dakota Mines:
The Hardrockers are led by fourth year coach Charlie Flohr, who in 2004 served as the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator for then Truman State Head Coach Shannon Currier in Kirksville. Flohr was the offensive coordinator for Northwest Missouri State from 2006-2019.
 
Mines is 16-11 under Coach Flohr after posting a 7-4 finish in 2022. They were picked fourth behind Colorado Mines, Colorado State Pueblo and Western Colorado in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Coaches poll.
 
The Hardrockers averaged 31 points and accumulated 442 yards of total offense per game last season while allowing 24 points and 351 yards in total defense. Quarterback Jayden Johannsen passed for 3,199 yards with 28 touchdowns while also leading the team in rushing with 526 yards and eight more scores.
 
Up Next:
Truman State returns to Stokes Stadium next week when they host Saginaw Valley (Mich.) State at 2 p.m. for Family Day. The Cardinals won 34-24 in week one over Winona (Minn.) State and will host Northwood (Mich.) on Saturday. The two teams met in 2018 in Michigan with Saginaw Valley got two touchdowns in the final five minutes, with the winning score coming with 15 seconds left to beat the Bulldogs 21-20.