Season Outlook - Guilford College

  • 2005 GUILFORD COLLEGE FOOTBALL OUTLOOK

 

      Kevin Kiesel likens his first season as Guilford College's head football coach to a jigsaw puzzle. He sits at the table with the pieces scattered around the box top, which shows the finished product. In 2005, Kiesel wants to find the corners and straight edges, lock them together and start building the framework for an eventual Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) champion and NCAA Division III playoff participant.

 

      Kiesel inherited 12 starters and 35 letter winners from a Quakers team that went 1-9 in 2004 (1-5 ODAC), Guilford's seventh straight losing season. The 12-year head coaching veteran took over in March for Mike Ketchum '78, who stepped aside after 14 years as his alma mater's head coach. No stranger to rebuilding non-scholarship football teams, Kiesel enjoyed successful coaching stints at Albright and Fairfield before spending the last four years at Division II Millersville.

 

      Kiesel used his first two months on the job to meet his student-athletes and lead spring practice. He found the Quakers have a great work ethic and desire to win, keys to any successful venture. Kiesel also noted the team's intelligence, which helped him install base formations for offense, defense and special teams during 16 days of spring practice. Guilford's goal is a winning season and Kiesel says the Quakers have the necessary foundation to reach that goal.

 

      Guilford's offense will have a one-back, multiple look, but beyond that, it is difficult to make solid predictions. The offensive line is a "corner piece" in Kiesel's puzzle and the Quakers return three starters from last year's line:  seniors Corey Haase and Jon Matthews and sophomore Brad Davis. Senior Ian Kirwan, a nose tackle in his first two Guilford seasons, moves to center.

 

      The receiving trio of juniors Chris Barnette and Micah Rushing and redshirt-sophomore Joe Joyner offer Guilford's offense depth and athleticism. Barnette earned honorable mention All-ODAC laurels last year after catching a team-best 52 passes, the most by a Quaker since 1999. Rushing was Guilford's Most Valuable Offensive Player in 2003 and has averaged just under 90 all-purpose yards per game in his first two years.

 

      Quarterback is another important piece of the puzzle hidden somewhere on Kiesel's table. Two-year starter Chris Gammon is out for the year due to an injury suffered in a previous season that never healed properly. Sophomore Taylor Baker saw limited action as Gammon's backup last season, but moved to safety for the last three games. Barnette and junior Kyle Kiser, a two-year starting receiver, are other possibilities. Freshman Josh Vogelbach, who sat out 2004 at East Carolina before transferring to Guilford this fall, was a 2003 first-team all-state selection for Bishop Verot (FL) High School.

 

      Opposing offenses will face an attacking eight-man front when they play Guilford. With only three starters back from last year's defensive unit, Guilford has many vacancies. You need more than size to play in Kiesel's system, which places a premium on speed and toughness. Sophomore Bryan Cook, the Quakers' top returning tackler from 2004, may move from cornerback to outside linebacker, despite standing in at 5-6, 160 pounds. Classmate Scottie Byrd has the makings of a top defensive lineman and will improve with time. The same can be said for sophomore inside linebacker Nate Hummel, a nine-game starter in 2004. Junior Vance Blackwell is a top contender at cornerback after starting there twice as a sophomore.

 

      The rest of the defensive personnel lies in the pile of puzzle pieces. Upperclassmen Brad Fortier, Eric Smallwood, Charlie Stroup and Josh Sutton have started at times, but with limited distinction. Kiser and Baker could also end up in the secondary, if not under center. Junior Mario Paylor returns after a year's absence. The veterans' development and newcomers' contributions will surely impact Guilford's defensive success.

 

      Kiesel's special-teams philosophy also emphasizes energetic play and quickness. He hopes to gain good field position with Guilford's kick returns and speedsters like Rushing and Blackwell have returned kicks for touchdowns in the past two years. Junior place-kicker Travis Frazier garnered All-South and All-ODAC laurels in 2003 and could inherit the punting duties with the graduation of two-time All-America Christian Adams '05. Stroup has been the Quakers' top long snapper in each of the past two years.

 

      Kiesel looks forward to the challenge of assembling a winning team at Guilford, just as he has at Albright and Fairfield. He believes the pieces are "on the table" and 2005 will be an exciting start to putting them in place. While the process is underway, it begins in earnest August 11 when the student-athletes report to camp.

 

      The season begins a week earlier than in past years when the Quakers visit Ferrum September 3. Guilford's schedule includes six home games for the second time in three years, with another game in Greensboro October 1 when the Quakers meet Greensboro College in the ninth annual Gate City Soup Bowl. The ODAC schedule includes a tough road test against four-time defending league champion Bridgewater October 15.