ST. PAUL, Minn. – As Concordia-St. Paul steamrolls ahead towards National Signing Day on Wednesday, February 5, Golden Bear head football coach Shannon Currier has buoyed the program with an influx of transfers who have accumulated experience in Northern Sun (NSIC) football programs.
 
The addition of 11 players from St. Cloud State University, one more from the University of Minnesota Crookston along with six other spring semester transfers brings the CSP football roster to 95 for this spring's offseason.
 
"BUILDING ON THE ROCK"
To get there, it took Currier and his staff four years of disciplined recruiting and intentional player development aimed at retaining student-athletes, persistence towards graduation and an emphasis on individual outcomes following graduation. The focus on a well-rounded experience has continued to pay dividends for the program's student-athletes as the staff will see its first wave of four year graduates walk this spring.
 
"As an administrator, I respect the commitment of Coach Currier and his staff to building this program and his focus on developing our student-athletes off the field has definitely been noticed throughout our campus," said Regan McAthie, CSP Director of Athletics. "Under his leadership, adding the transfers from our fellow NSIC institutions means that we've not only added football players, but we have added even more positive contributors to our campus community, as well as future graduates of our institution."
 
The above is to say nothing of the staff's ability to evaluate talent, scout, game plan and improve the program's ability to win games – which is a key ingredient in player retention and long term buy-in for what Currier is aiming to do in his second stint leading Concordia football.
 
The results have come on the field, too, inheriting a program that was coming off of a one win season led to a three year stretch that included five total wins. But in 2017, despite just two wins, there were three games decided by less than a touchdown, putting a .500 finish within realistic reach.
 
In 2018, CSP converted those into victories for a 5-6 season, a three-win improvement and for the second straight year with three of the losses decided by a touchdown or less to put a winning campaign on the horizon.
 
This past year, the program reached a winning campaign for the first time since 2011 and once again had three games decided by a touchdown or less – putting a nine win season within reach, which comes with conference championship and playoff aspirations.
 
"I could have easily gone to Saint John's or UW-Whitewater, very successful programs," said Nathan Gimza, a transfer wide receiver from St. Cloud State. The sport management major (marketing minor) from Chicago Ridge, Illinois continued, "CSP is similar to St. Cloud because we are all grinding for the common goal of success. I believe in building a great team, not joining one. The coaches were very open and made it known where I stand in their eyes. In most recruitments, there is plenty of fake love. Here at CSP, I felt as if the love they were showing me was genuine."
 
To get there, it's been a prep-focused recruiting effort for the football coaching staff, but it's not been without its share of transfers. Concordia has a focused, strategic outlook towards bringing in transfers who have not only helped fill gaps on the roster's two-deep, but also have an eye towards graduating and creating positive steps towards a successful post-football career.
 
The diligence and priority in which Currier and his staff have implemented the way they've built the program has been noticed by athletics administrators as well as university administration.
 
FINDING NEW HOMES FOR NORTHERN SUN STUDENT-ATHLETES
That's why, when news of the elimination of the football programs at St. Cloud State and Minnesota Crookston unfolded in December, just before finals, Concordia's administration quickly worked to prioritize how CSP could help those affected student-athletes continue their college careers.
 
Provost and COO Dr. Eric LaMott, who was filling in as interim CEO at the time as Concordia awaited its newest President, immediately contacted McAthie to make sure that the university's vision as being a welcoming, transfer-friendly community would help to serve the affected student-athletes.
 
"I am so very proud that our university continues to be highly responsive to the needs of our prospective students," said Dr. LaMott. "The entire campus has rallied around these students to make them welcome, whether it be through the speedy enrollment and admissions process, class registration and housing. The CSP community lives the pledge to serve our students."
 
LaMott has been instrumental and a key player in Concordia's growth for over two decades and now enters his role serving a third CSP President, first as a key faculty member when CSP made the NCAA Division II jump under President Rev. Dr. Robert Holst in 1999. In 2013, LaMott was a senior vice president working closely with President Rev. Dr. Tom Ries to implement a tuition reset that helped catapult Concordia's enrollment, academics and athletics offerings. And now, LaMott's role as Provost and COO makes him an invaluable asset to incoming President Rev. Dr. Brian Friedrich, who started his term at CSP in the New Year, with LaMott handling interim CEO duties between Ries and Friedrich's terms.
 
Having support from not only athletics administration, but the highest level of campus officials was critical in Concordia's ability to attract the student-athletes reeling from the elimination of their home programs.
 
Offensive lineman Robby Carrillo, a sport management major who has four years remaining at CSP indicated as much, "I was looking for good coaches and a school that backed their football program with a lot of support." Carrillo, originally from Racine, Wisconsin, intends to pursue Concordia's 3+2 degree plan that will have him leave CSP with a master's degree, and aims to work in an NFL front office someday. "The recruitment process was very stressful, and I was not planning to transfer at the semester but I found the right fit here (at CSP), so I made the move."
 
Fellow offensive lineman Sarek Hoerth agreed, "The school seems like it supports its student-athletes, and I do like being in the city for college. The reason I chose CSP was because I like Coach Jon Medlo and he came off as someone I would like to be coached by." Hoerth, a Genoa City, Wisconsin native, will have three years to compete in the trenches and looks forward to starting his coaching career at Concordia, a practical opportunity that he says put CSP over the top.
 
Meanwhile, former SCSU head coach Scott Underwood had supplied his roster and the players' contact information to Northern Sun head coaches, with Currier immediately reaching out to veteran tight end Luke Shepherd. Early conversations between Currier and Shepherd allowed CSP's coach to determine top targets, and the staff gathered together to create a plan to recruit over a dozen Husky football players, as well as one UMC Golden Eagle player.
 
They knew they had limited resources in order to both welcome SCSU and UMC players to the program without hindering their prep recruiting efforts.
 
For McAthie, it was a slam dunk, "When the news broke (of SCSU/UMC eliminating football), Coach Currier quickly presented me with a detailed proposal on the resources he thought it would take to secure these student-athletes. He was enthusiastic about the potential to supplement the current talent on our team, but more importantly, the opportunity to serve a population of student-athletes who were looking for their next home. The fact that we are able to provide them with a second chance to live out their college football careers and be students at our institution made it an easy decision for me."
 
Coach Currier explained the approach, "We were looking for good, young players with multiple years left and the hunger to grow. I wanted to scoop up on all their young talent, and we started by addressing a program need at wide receiver, moved to the defensive line and Coach Medlo was already attacking the offensive line. From there, I spoke with (SCSU) Coach Sipple, who I view as one of the top defensive coordinators in the Northern Sun and actually had tried to hire him when I was at Truman State, and he verified some of the players we were targeting."
 
He continued, "During that time, Dr. LaMott had mentioned to me that we should open our arms and do anything we could to help them, which I wasn't exactly sure what he meant at the time. But our goals remain to add quality people to the roster, so we created our plan, met with Regan and discussed how we could make it work with additional scholarship money. She was receptive, met with Dr. LaMott and they were supportive of our proposal to add any of the student-athletes we felt fit best in our program."
 
From there, the coaching staff and the student-athletes quickly worked towards resolutions, with Concordia becoming a top landing spot for nearly every target on the recruiting list.
 
"We got all of the guys we had targeted except for four: two of them were brothers who decided to attend Augustana, one decided not to continue playing and we're not sure what the other decided, but we really hit paydirt," Currier reflected. "We had all of them to campus, and our whole staff was involved and attentive throughout the process as they started coming to campus informally. We had our coaches go to St. Cloud for a day to spend time with them and their coaches and were available for all of their players to come through and meet with us."
 
The increase in resources is not permanent and was an intentional exception to accommodate the ability to help the players from SCSU and UMC continue their path towards graduation and as student-athletes in a program that is centered around more than just winning football games.
 
"This was a great demonstration of support from our administration, starting with Dr. LaMott at the campus administrative level and Regan McAthie at the athletics administrative level. This wouldn't have happened without their support. We had a chance to not only add good football players, but high quality men who are doing well in school."
 
PROGRAM GROWTH CONTINUES
With the program exhibiting growth in retention under Currier's staff, an already large spring roster was injected with additional experienced Northern Sun college football players, which has immediately shifted the culture inside the football walls of the Fandrei Center and Athletics Performance Center weight room.
 
"Our returning players have enjoyed them so far and recognize their character. The SCSU players were surveyed and as a result, we have added Luke Shepherd to our leadership council which helps represent the voices of the 11 SCSU players in our program. We've talked about our players being more intentional about choosing different lift partners to continue to create more chemistry and build relationships to help the newcomers feel more comfortable in this time of transition," Currier noted.
 
The incoming players have noticed the shift, as well, "The transition has been better than I thought," said Dominic LaCombe, a native of Corcoran, Minnesota who will have four years to compete as a Golden Bear while pursuing a degree in criminal justice. "I'm not too familiar with the players at CSP, but that's how it goes and I'll get more familiar with them as time goes on. I wanted a program that had potential to be great, and where I could surround myself with like-minded people. I like the coaching staff, the location within the Twin Cities and the opportunity to be a part of a growing football team."
 
Business management major and Greenville, Wisconsin native Jake Edwards agreed with LaCombe, "It has been an interesting process, but has gone rather smoothly for me. So far it seems like the returning players have been helpful. It has definitely been difficult at times but first impressions are good so far, it has just been a lot of different and getting used to things is easier than it was my freshman year since I have that experience already."
 
Currier noted that the players are doing more than just learning a new playbook and meeting their new teammates, and his staff has been conscious of the changes the incoming players will experience.
 
"Their living conditions are all changing, they are used to just walking everywhere around school and now some of the guys are living off campus and have to commute, for example. It's just another adjustment, but they recognize we're here to help them have the best experience they can, and our returning players have done a great job of welcoming them in here."
 
Lastly, Currier is excited about the potential for a competitive spring season and what it will mean going forward.
 
"Having depth and competition in the program creates a sense of urgency for everyone and increases the expectations and commitment level. People want to be the best, they want to start and they want to play. Some of these (transfers) guys have experience already, a lot of them will make our travel roster, make us deeper and help on special teams and time will tell what role each of them will have, but we didn't just add numbers to the program, we added guys who can play," Currier stated. "They are high quality character guys who are doing well in school, have proven their commitment level on and off the field to college football and that's a big difference from a high school senior – they've demonstrated they can work through the challenges that come with being successful all around at this level and that's a big deal for our program."
 
Last fall, St. Cloud State topped Concordia 18-15 in overtime in a tightly contested, physical football game in cold, rainy conditions at Husky Stadium overlooking the Mississippi River on SCSU's campus.
 
Several Huskies offered their take on competing in that game and what it means going forward:
"It was one of the best game experiences I have ever had, the energy on the sideline and the crowd and being an overtime thriller. Something I liked about the guys at CSP was they were humble, even in defeat, which I feel is something they instill in their players: humble in victory or defeat." – Dominic LaCombe
 
"It was a crazy game and great defense on both sides. A tough fought game for both teams. It was a challenge at times lining up against the (CSP) defense." – Jake Edwards
 
"It was a crazy game to win in OT, I am most excited to compete on the roster and get a lot more exciting wins with this team." – Robby Carrillo
 
"I'm looking forward to practicing against the CSP defensive line, and think that will make me a better football player." – Sarek Hoerth
 
SCSU/UMC TRANSFER ROSTER TO CONCORDIA
Robby Carrillo (OL, 6-6, 300, R-Fr., Racine, Wis. / Racine Case HS)
Luke Dunsmoor (DL, 6-3, 235, Jr., St. Cloud, Minn. / St. Cloud Apollo HS)
Jake Edwards (OL, 6-5, 285, So., Greenville, Wis. / Fox Valley Lutheran HS)
Nathan Gimza (WR, 6-2, 180, Jr., Chicago Ridge, Ill. / Richards HS)
Taylon Hensley (OL, 6-3, 310, R-Fr., Burlington, Wis. / Burlington HS)
Sarek Hoerth (OL, 6-5, 305, So., Genoa City, Wis. / Badger HS)
Dominic LaCombe (LB, 6-0, 190, R-Fr., Plymouth, Minn. / Providence Academy)
*Ryan Martin (DL, 6-3, 236, R-Fr., Kissimmee, Fla. / Poinciana HS)
Luke Shepherd (TE, 6-3, 248, Jr., Grayslake, Ill. / Grayslake Central HS)
Mason Van Zeeland (WR, 6-3, 195, R-Fr., Kaukauna, Wis. / Kaukauna HS)
Nick Webley (WR, 6-2, 190, R-Fr., Burlington, Wis. / Burlington HS)
Christian Winfield (DL, 6-3, 290, So., Beloit, Wis. / Memorial HS)
 
Year is based on expected athletic eligibility entering 2020 season and is subject to change based on past redshirt or medical hardship waivers
 
* - from Minnesota Crookston