St. Andrews University will have the North Carolina college football landscape all to itself this Saturday.
The Knights, who compete at the NAIA level, are the only collegiate team in the state playing a “Week 0” contest. The Laurinburg school will usher in the new season at home against visiting Webber International. The game begins at 1 p.m.
“There is an air of excitement going about the campus,” coach Bob Curtin said.
Curtin enters his second season in charge of the program. His first proved rough at times. After arriving on campus shortly before the season started, St. Andrews finish 1-10, with its only victory coming by a point against Union.
Things are much more stable a year later, Curtin said, with more than 100 players on the roster – including 48 who return from last year.
“We’ll be much better,” he said.
There is still a lot of youth, but the team will build around upperclassmen like seniors Marvin Farmer and Austin Hunt, and junior Aronson Cook.
Farmer, who plays on the offensive line, and Hunt, a linebacker, are returning all-conference players. Hunt accounted for 116 tackles a year ago. Cook caught 41 passes for 585 yards and seven touchdowns.
Six players have been competing for the starting quarterback spot vacated by Andrew Fowler, now an assistant coach in the program. Curtin announced earlier this week that Jalen Dodd had won the job. He transferred in during the spring from Carson Newman.
“He’s got a mastery of the playbook and great command of the huddle,” Curtin said.
Offensive coordinator Aaron Christensen returns and that has helped establish continuity. Curtin said he wants to use an inside power game, with a balance of run and pass. Returnee Anterius Carpenter headlines the running back corps.
The Knights will have a new defensive coordinator but a familiar face in Trent Fredericks, who was with the team a year ago. Numbers are good on the defensive side of the ball, Curtin said, but the team lacks overall size up front. That could be a factor against what is shaping up to be a grueling schedule.
The College Football Network released its preseason top 25 for NAIA earlier this summer, and four of St. Andrews’ opponents were on it – No. 4 Lindsey Wilson, No. 6 Bethel, No. 8 Reinhardt and No. 25 Bluefield. Three of those games come in September.
The Knights also play at Davidson in a few weeks. The Wildcats compete at the FCS level, one of the projected favorites to win the Pioneer Football League.
St. Andrews is the only NAIA school from North Carolina that offers football. That presents challenges in scheduling and building rivalries. But Curtin and his staff have recruited the state hard over the past year, pitching the unique opportunity St. Andrews offers. The school inked a solid class of 24 new players in the latest cycle, many from the Old North State.
“This is going to help us build for the future,” Curtin said. “And the future is Saturday. We’ve just got to be really competitive every week. That’s how we get better.”
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