KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Washburn football is ready to prove the doubters wrong. The Ichabods were picked ninth in the MIAA preseason coaches and media poll, only finishing ahead of Nebraska-Kearney in the polls, which were released during the MIAA Media Day on Tuesday.
“I have been proud of them, since the season has ended, they didn’t hang their heads. They just went to work and let’s flip this thing,” head coach Craig Schurig said. “It felt like we had that attitude in the spring.”
The Ichabods are coming off a frustrating season where they finished 2-9, their worst record since 1994. Injuries played a massive part with former starting quarterback Kellen Simoncic and safety Jordan Finnesy going down early in the season. Simoncic is currently on the coaching staff with Missouri while Finnesy returns and is hungry to get back on the field.
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“I feel like a big bundled up ball of emotion and when that first game comes, I am going to let it out,” Finnesy said with a smile. “There is still work to be done before then and we’ll get through that. Come that first game, I will be ready to go.”
Rankings don’t mean much in the preseason, but sometimes they do.
Schurig, Finnesy and fullback Connor Searcy all shared during media availability that the Ichabods want to prove that they are better than ninth.
“I think we should have motivation no matter what critics think of us,” Searcy said. “If they think we are going to be the ninth team in the conference, well good for them, we are going to prove them wrong. If we are going to be the best, we will then prove them right.”
The young roster of Washburn will feature sophomore quarterback Sam Van Dyne, who stepped in for Simoncic last year. Van Dyne threw for 2,002 yards and 15 touchdowns while he completed 53.2% of his passes. D.J. Bell, a sophomore wide receiver, led the team in touchdowns last year with six and will also be back for the Ichabods.
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The skill positions are chock-full of underclassmen with Searcy being one of a few seniors. The Ichabods have just 14 seniors on their entire roster. Building team chemistry has been a point of emphasis from the end of last season and into the spring, according to Searcy.
“I have a good idea on how the offense is supposed to work and how the coaches expect it to work,” he said. “I can coach them up that way and really just mold them and help them from the start of their career to help them understand what they are supposed to do and why they are supposed to do it.”
Schurig obviously does not want to replicate last season’s record and stayed hungry during the offseason. Along with his coaching staff, they traveled around the country to learn from other coaches to help them stay on the cutting edge of the game. This will be Schurig’s 23rd year with the Ichabods and he emphasized the importance of development.
“We went out and saw the coaches at KU, K-State, Vanderbilt, North Dakota State and went to all kinds of practices,” Schurig said. “We got ideas on kinda how they are doing things and we did take some of their ideas and institute those into our camp and our regular season.”
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The season is a gauntlet straight from the jump, which is a constant in the prestigious MIAA. Washburn will go on the road to face Emporia State in week one action on Thursday, Aug. 29. The Hornets, which finished last season 9-3, return a majority of their players and secured the transfer of former Oklahoma State quarterback Gunnar Gundy.
Washburn’s home opener will be against non-conference opponent Colorado School of Mines on Saturday, Sept. 14. The Orediggers have reached the last two national championship games.
“Obviously, if you play teams that are good and challenging, your players like it,” Schurig said. “Even though we had a really bad year like we did last year, the mindset of the coaching staff and players is that we have to get back so that we are challenging for the playoffs. To get there, you have to have a road to get there, a vision to get there, playing a team with good records.”
MIAA preseason coaches poll
- 1. Central Missouri (8)
- 2. Pittsburg State (2)
- 3. Northwest Missouri
- 4. Emporia State
- 5. Fort Hays State
- 6. Missouri Western
- 7. Central Oklahoma
- 8. Missouri Southern
- 9. Washburn
- 10. Nebraska Kearney
MIAA preseason media poll
- 1. Central Missouri (20)
- 2. Pittsburg State (6)
- 3. Northwest Missouri
- 4. Missouri Western
- 5. Fort Hays State
- 6. Emporia State
- 7. Central Oklahoma
- 8. Missouri Southern
- 9. Washburn
- 10. Nebraska Kearney
Liam Keating covers high school sports for The Topeka Capital-Journal. Send stats or information to him at Lkeating@ g annett.com
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Washburn University football's youthful roster ready to prove doubters wrong this season
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