GROVE CITY — Chris Smith is entering his 31st and final year as the head football coach of Grove City College.

He's hoping it goes much better than the 2014 season.

The Wolverines struggled mightily, going 0-10 for the first time in the program's 120-year history.

It was no surprise then that Grove City was picked to finish last this season in the Presidents' Athletic Conference coaches and media poll.

“I would have voted for us to finish last, too, after last year's season,” Smith said.

But there is reason for optimism in Grove City this year.

Andrew DiDonato, who has every major passing record on the Wolverines' books, came back to his alma mater as offensive coordinator and head coach in waiting.

DiDonato's offense will take advantage for Grove City's wealth of talent at the skill positions.

“It's a fun offense,” DiDonato said. “It's an offense you see every Saturday, you see every Sunday if you watch football. It's the way football has been going in general. I think our kids are familiar with it. It's not something completely foreign.”

And it's not the ground-heavy attack of the R.J. Bowers' days, for sure.

Smith has given DiDonato the keys to the offense and he hopes it purrs like the attack DiDonato built at South Fayette High School the last two seasons with quarterback Brett Brumbaugh.

“We're running his offense because you can't run two different offenses,” Smith said. “People have tried that on other occasions and I've seen that often enough to know you can't do that. You can't kind of do this and kind of do that. You end up doing nothing.”

Competition has been fierce at many positions, including quarterback where a slew of candidates are doing battle.

Karns City grad and Grove City College sophomore Tyler Kepple is one of them.

Kepple played well in limited action at the position last season, leading the Wolverines in quarterback efficiency. Seven players threw at least one pass for Grove City last year.

DiDonato said just because a player doesn't win a starting role at one position doesn't mean he won't find a spot at another.

“When you are switching offenses, you might have a guy who played wing in the old offense and he finds himself somewhere else in the new offense,” DiDonato said. “There's a place for everybody. It's just finding where that place is.”

For Smith, it has brought a challenge — and excitement — to his final season on the sideline.

“You just have to have your best athletes get the quickest route to get on the field,” Smith said.

That is still in major flux. That is another challenge for Smith and his staff.

“We need to clear the fog as to who is going to be No. 1 and No. 2,” Smith said.

That could make Grove City a dangerous team this season.

There's not a lot known about who will play where outside of the Grove City campus.

“We're going to be under the radar,” Smith said. “We're going to be a whole lot better team than just about anyone outside of this building realizes. That will be to our advantage. It will be a motivational factor. It will be something we will use and something we can use to springboard into a very good start to the season.”

Kepple also sees the massive chip on the Wolverines' collective shoulder.

“We're already counting down the days to (the season-opener),” Kepple said. “We're ready to go. It's not a bad thing to be an underdog. Nobody expects much from you. But I think, especially with this new offense, we're going to be tough.”

What will be tough for DiDonato is saying goodbye to Smith after the season and taking over for the long-time coach.

The two shared a special relationship when DiDonato was the quarterback from 2006-09.

“Coach and I when I was a player here had a relationship I can't really imagine another player-coach having,” DiDonato said. “We had as good of a relationship as you could ever have. I look up to him. I respect him and cherish every minute I have with him. I love the man, so to be here in his last season is great. I couldn't ask for a better situation.”