ST. PAUL, Minn. – This Thursday when Concordia-St. Paul football opens the 2015 at St. Cloud State with a 6 p.m. kickoff at Husky Stadium, the Golden Bear offense will stroll onto the field without three key headlining skill position players.
 
Running back Tre Spears captured the NSIC rushing title in 2014 with a 1,254 yard campaign and finished his career as the league's ninth all-time leading rusher with 3,160 yards (NSIC games). Wide receiver Cordell Smith was a two-sport star also excelling in basketball as a Golden Bear. On the gridiron, he hauled in 145 career receptions in league play, ranking 12^th in Northern Sun history with 25 of those catches going for touchdowns and 2,183 yards.
 
Spears left the program as the team's fourth leading rusher with 3,173 yards (all games), Smith finished ranked fifth in career receiving yards (2,237) and sixth in catches (147) across his entire body of work and tight end Jermaine Clemon became the team's first tight end to record 100 career receptions, ranking 10^th in program history while adding 1,140 yards.
 
Together, the trio accounted for 6,767 combined rushing/receiving yards in four seasons.
 
"That's where recruiting gets tested. Some of those guys were in our first recruiting class," said fifth year head coach Ryan Williams. "Our diligence behind the scenes and the recruiting that nobody sees is where you start to see the true transitions of a program. That will be tested this year, we have some very capable kids that will step into those roles, not to discredit what Tre Spears did as the leading rusher in the best rushing conference in the country last year, Coy Smith was a two-sport star and Jermaine Clemon was a really good football player. But nobody in a good program should ever be irreplaceable, you have to replace people to go on and continue to be good or further your program, but they'll be missed because they were productive football players."
 
Despite losing key skill players who have been instrumental at making plays with the football, the team won't change the course. Over the past few seasons, the program has transitioned from a vertical passing team into a ball control, power rushing offense.
 
"Honestly we'll be the same type of team we were in the last four games of last season, we just hope to be a little faster and a little more dynamic with the personnel that we have. We created the identity that we wanted to create at the end of the year, and that's who we're going to be," said Williams.
 
OFFENSIVE LINE
It starts up front with the offensive line, where the team retains the most continuity with four returning starters including three players who will be either third or fourth year starters up front.
 
"They're going to be the key to our success. They provide experience, attitude, knowledge, they are physical and they are going to set the standard for what we do. Four of the five were starters during our run late last season. We've juggled things around late in camp as the competition for the final starting spot has played out, but it'll be Terrell Taylor as the fifth piece to the puzzle. From left to right, we'll go Cole Parker, Josh Coyne, Brett Morris at center, and Nat Schmidtke at right guard with Taylor at the right tackle."

"That left side is pretty good," explained Williams. "They get pushed, they answer every opportunity they get put in with coach Mike Shafer. I'm excited to see what they do collectively as a group. More importantly than their talents on the field are their leadership qualities and how they embody this football team and offense. They are selfless guys, true offensive linemen. They work hard and define what Golden Bear football should be about."
 
Coyne and Morris were All-NSIC Honorable Mention selections and Parker was an Academic All-America First Team honoree. The offensive line helped protect three Concordia quarterbacks who were sacked just 1.27 times per game, the 30^th best rate in Division II football allowing them to throw only nine interceptions on the year. The line also surrendered just 5.18 tackles for loss per game, the 25^th best in the country while holding a time of possession average of 33:33 per contest, the 12^th best nationally.
 
The second string offensive line includes a young group of players who also competed for a starting role up front in a competitive battle that should leave the group with depth as a result. "Our second offensive line is filled with a group of redshirt freshmen that are developing nicely, are working hard and will provide us with solid depth when we need them this fall."
 
QUARTERBACKS
They'll be protecting two of last season's three starting quarterbacks including opening day 2014 starter Corey Cole along with Ben Schramski who closed out the season with his first five career starts, dropping the first at Minnesota State before guiding the team to four straight wins to finish the year.
 
Although Cole had to miss the season following an injury in the second game, he retained his junior athletic eligibility. He had an exciting start to his career as a quarterback after two years as a receiver and kick returner. In his debut start at Minnesota Duluth, Cole rushed for 177 yards and a touchdown on 18 attempts and combined for over 300 yards of total offense in a competitive one touchdown loss on the road at the nationally ranked Bulldogs.
 
Schramski was thrust into a starting spot in his redshirt freshman campaign against a similarly tough foe as MSU finished the year as Division II national runner-up. The duo will be supplemented by third stringer Trevor Tillett, who redshirted last season.
 
"At the quarterback position, we look for an athletic player who is able to run because we are a running team, but we also want someone who can throw and be accurate in our 3-step game, and of course we look for a player with positive leadership qualities," said coach Williams, a former Division II quarterback for North Dakota State. "If we find athletic quarterbacks, it allows us to move that player to another position if necessary, like we've done with Billy Brown (now a linebacker), Hayden Vavra (running back, then tight end) and of course Corey Cole earlier in his career (wide receiver & returner)."
 
Williams continued, "Versatility with everyone in our program is valuable so you can find a spot for a talented football player at the Division II level. It helps with program consistency and player retention."
 
Williams noted that Cole and Schramski offer similar styles, "Between Corey and Ben, we have two players that keep our offense in a consistent look. Both can run, can make throws, are leaders and are strong decision makers. Adding Trevor to that mix because he's had a good camp, we have three players who can do everything we look for in that position for our offense, meaning we won't have to change what we do."
 
The program has also infused three freshmen quarterbacks this fall, Maxon Hutton, Anthony Hockett and Jesse Collins. "Our freshmen quarterbacks are all athletic, fitting in with the program philosophy at the position. Maxon was one of our most highly recruited players and he has a lot of tools, he's quick and has a chance to be a really good player in the future. As a group, they do the fundamental things well and are taking that first important step in development as a college player."
 
RUNNING BACKS
"We've done a good job recruiting the running back position and coach Derek Branch has done a great job coaching and developing them in the last couple of years. Kids want to stick around and play for him which has created depth. It won't be a running back by committee approach, we'll go with Darius Chapes, Alex Carr and Jay Parker with a host of others competing and battling for travel spots in that fourth spot, with Bruce Russell contributing as a swing guy."
 
Williams continued, "We'll expect Darius and Alex to carry much of the load and Jay will be an awesome compliment to them. The group is so dynamic, all of them have big play, 25-yard to 60-yard run ability which our offense has lacked the last few years and now we have it at every position of our skill group."
 
The top returner at the position is Chapes, who was a solid compliment to the powerful running style employed by Spears. Chapes led the team with a 5.6 yards per carry average and is the top returner in rushing/receiving yardage with 334 (317 rushing, 17 receiving), adding a pair of touchdowns and a long run of 60 yards.
 
"Darius will be our workhorse, he has great vision and balance along with a strong knowledge of the game."
 
Carr joined the Golden Bears in 2014 from Northern Iowa and was making a strong impression in fall camp before an injury ended his season. "He can turn that something that looks like nothing or a regular 5-yard run into an 85-yard game-changing touchdown. He has that extra speed and quickness in the hole and his playmaking in space is something that we haven't seen here for a while."
 
Parker is coming off his redshirt season and "brings the power to the group. He's a staple inside zone and short yardage back and in physical games we'll wear teams down by bringing in another horse in our main run concept. He's full of power and youth with endless energy. He's an explosive kid."
 
Russell adds another component to the offense in that he'll be seeing action as a running back in his third year in the program while also contributing at the tight end/h-back spot. "Bruce is an important piece in our offense because of that added versatility and he brings quality game experience."
 
Russell has carried the ball 44 times in two seasons, running for 142 yards and a touchdown in 17 games.
 
WIDE RECEIVERS
Looking to the outside, the wide receiver position is one of the younger groups on the roster with junior Sammy Baucham providing the most experience while opening the season as the likely third receiver showing just how much upside exists within the group.
 
Jason Oney, a sophomore and Alquawn Vickers, a redshirt freshman will open the year atop the two-deep in the base offensive Tiger-2 personnel.
 
"Both are hard workers, both can run, block and catch the ball and have all the skills we need. They are both relentless in their work ethic. While Jason brings experience as a guy who just gets the job done, Vickers brings a new dimension to the offense with his playmaking ability. He's like a running back with make-em-miss speed and is a big person to watch."
 
Oney debuted last year as a redshirt freshman, playing in nine contests with eight catches.
 
Baucham has the most production on his resume' entering the year, leading all returners with 20 catches for 213 yards and two touchdowns in his 2014 sophomore campaign.
 
"Sammy is a veteran who has stepped into that top three or four group and we need him to be a consistent playmaker in our offense. He's always had the ability, but now we'll look for him to be consistent in games which we'll need to be a productive offense and he's going to have an opportunity to do that for us."
 
The group also includes redshirt freshman Matt Liewen and sophomores Vantwon Melton and Uzziah Davis. "As a track guy, Vantwon hasn't had as much time to get acclimated in spring ball and in our offseason program and Uzziah is a player that will help us as well like he did last year, but he's been working through some injuries in camp."
 
Melton played in nine games, making four starts with eight catches for 75 yards while Davis played 11 games with three starts, making 10 catches for 115 yards. Davis also served as a returner, with 607 kickoff return yards and a 21.7 average.
 
TIGHT ENDS/H-BACKS
The tight end position has been a consistent source of talent and depth for the better part of a decade. The most recent graduate of the program is Clemon, a powerful and versatile player who was recruited as a wide receiver before moving to tight end early in his career. He also saw time on the offense line as a senior down the stretch and helped as a snapper on special teams.
 
The unit will feature turnover, but senior Anton Bedeaux appears poised to make an impact. "He's our most athletic tight end, potentially that we've had for some time," said Williams. "He can run like a wideout, will be a quality blocker and our most versatile two-way tight end, we expect him to be a productive player."
 
Last year, Bedeaux played in all 11 games including three starts with six catches for 51 yards.
 
"The tight end position is an interesting group," Williams noted. "We've had to reallocate talent from across different positions."
 
Last year's opening day starting center, Matt Bjork is one of the players who has shifted positions. Bjork started the first five games of the year in the middle before his season ended early to injury which led to the offseason position change.
 
"Matt's more of a run tight end, but he can catch balls, too and as our former starting center there won't be a better blocking tight end in the league. He's relentless, athletic and weighing 230 pounds he looks awesome."
 
Bruce Russell and Jake Munkwitz "provide the quality depth and versatility the tight end position needs. They both can play Y and H, and it gives us a very athletic and versatile tight end group."
 
Like Russell, Munkwitz also brings solid game experience to the table, having played all 11 games each of the last two years including four receptions for 25 yards along with quality blocking and special teams contributions.
 
There is youth adding further depth to the position in redshirt freshman Hunter Vavra and first year freshmen Nick Ziebell and Hunter Kauffman.