SLIPPERY ROCK — Winning the PSAC West is the goal of all eight teams in that division.

Slippery Rock University has made a habit of it.

The Rock enters the 2022 season as three-time defending division champions. Its record in the league is 20-1 during that time and head coach Shawn Lutz, entering his seventh season, is 28-7 against West Division opponents in his career.

“But this year is a lot different,” Lutz cautioned. “We have to move on from our 16 seniors from last season who, arguably, were the most successful class in the history of this program.”

Among those departed players are the receiving corps of Henry Litwin, Jermaine Wynn Jr., and Cinque Sweeting. That trio combined for 183 receptions, 2,593 yards and 29 touchdowns last year alone.

“There’s no way you can replace that three-headed monster,” Lutz said. “Our offense will have a new look this year. We have a new offensive coordinator and I like the work he’s doing in making those adjustments.”

Offensive coordinator Drew Moulton has a few transfer players working into the mix on that side of the ball. The Rock has 20 transfers on the 2022 roster overall and many of them will start.

Noah Grover returns as the starting quarterback after taking over that position for the final four games last season. He threw for 15 touchdowns — including a school-record eight TD passes in his first start against Gannon — and averaged 384 passing yards per game.

“We’ll be doing some multiple things off our spread formation,” Moulton said. “Kyle Sheets is the one returning receiver we have with experience. I’m sure he’ll be in the mix and we will use the tight end quite a bit.”

That means Max Maciejewski, with 28 catches for 413 yards and four TDs as the starting tight end last season, figures to play a prominent role. So, too, does Karns City graduate Nathan Waltman, a 6-foot-5 target and a sophomore this season.

“I see him playing a ton,” Moulton said of Waltman. “He’s a big target who is also an excellent blocker.”

Other receiving candidates include transfers Jacob Odom (North Dakota), Cohen Russell (Lackawanna), Quon Anderson-Butts (Hampton), Bryce Profitt (Akron) and Jawon Hall (Lackawanna), along with holdovers Gavyn Barnes, Kenyon Johnson and Tyler Settle.

Running backs Tim Smith and Chris D’Or return after combining for 954 yards and 11 scores last year.

Colton Rossi, a senior guard, is the lone returning offensive lineman to start every game last year. Butler graduate Nate Stazer figures to nail down a starting guard spot.

“There’s a lot of new faces here, but that’s good since we’re putting in a new offense,” Moulton said. “That will help the transition.”

The Rock graduated a senior-laden defensive unit as well.

“We lose seven starters and a lot of those guys started since they were freshmen,” defensive coordinator Dom Razzano said. “While we lost experience, we do have some talented transfers in to fill the void.

“I expect our defensive line to be much improved, too.”

The Rock will play a 4-2-5 alignment this year as opposed to its traditional 43. Jeff Marx, a preseason second team All-American, returns at tackle after missing most of last season with an injury. Munchie Johnson is back, as is D.J. Adediwura, a Fairmont State transfer who missed last year with an injury.

Starting linebackers are expected to be transfers Brandon Bischof (Akron) and Brandon Tuck-Hayden (Wayne State, Mich.) SRU opens the season at home Sept. 3 against Wayne State.

Anchoring the secondary are a pair of all-conference corners from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in Kevin Hyde (Tiffin) and Jacob Williams (Ashland).

“It may take a while for this group to mesh and come together as a unit,” Razzano cautioned. “They haven’t played together. But I’m excited about what they’re capable of doing.”

The kicking game returns intact with place-kicker DJ Opsatnik, punter Kyle Butts and long-snapper Josh George.

“You can never take for granted the competition in this league,” Lutz said. “IUP and California are going to be right there with experienced units. Seton Hill is the sleeper because they bring everybody back.

“Our goals are to win the West, win the PSAC, get to the national payoffs and win the national championship. We need to keep this program at that level. That’s the challenge for this year.”