SRU bidding to overtake rival IUP while reaching NCAA Div. II playoffs for 5th straight season
SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock University knows all about winning championships.
It also knows what it has to do to get there.
SRU enters the 2023 season having reached the NCAA Division II playoffs in four successive years, winning or sharing the PSAC West title in eight of the last 11 seasons, including the last four in a row. The Rock is 26-2 against PSAC West foes during those last four seasons.
Both losses are at the hands of rival Indiana (Pa.).
“We both know that whoever wins that game has a great chance to win the West Division,” SRU coach Shawn Lutz said. “That’s just the way it’s been. But we enter every year knowing everyone wants to beat us.”
Lutz is in his seventh year as Rock head coach. He is 58-17 in his career, the 58 wins marking the most among all PSAC head coaches over the past six seasons. Lutz is 31-4 against the PSAC West in the last five seasons.
The Rock returns 19 players who started at least five games a year ago. Included in that group are seven All-PSAC players from 2022: first teamers Chris D’Or (running back), Jawon Hall (receiver/return specialist) and defensive back Jalen Dangerfield, along with second teamers Yuiy Hryckowian, Colton Rossi and Jeff Burkhart on the offensive line and wide receiver Kyle Sheets.
Sheets caught 54 passes for 887 yards and nine touchdowns in 2022.
“Kyle Sheets may be the best receiver in Division II this year,” SRU right guard and Butler graduate Nick Stazer said. “That’s the type of talent we have here. We have all but one starter on the offensive line coming back from last year.
“Our offense is loaded. We’ve got outstanding skill people all over the place to go with a veteran line.”
Lutz said this season is a reversal of last season in terms of returnees.
“We had to fill a lot of holes on offense last year and had everybody back on defense,” the coach said. “This year seems to be the opposite of that.”
The big change for SRU offensively is at quarterback. Brayden Long, a junior, started one game last season and takes the reins of the offense this year. He replaces the graduated Noah Grover behind center.
Along with D’Or (1,001 all-purpose yards last year) and a receiving corps that includes Sheets, Hall and slot man Cohen Russell, Long will have running backs Isaiah Edwards (334 yards, 5 TDs) and Khalid Dorsey, a transfer from Shippensburg, where he was the Red Raiders’ leading rusher.
Receiver Tony Grimes, a transfer from Akron, and Jacob Odom, returning from injury, further bolster the wide receiver group.
“We have weapons, but you can’t win championships without a quarterback leading the way,” Lutz said. “Brayden is an athletic kid who’s waited his turn. He’s ready to do big things.”
“Leadership is my strong suit,” Long said. “The goal is to win the national championship and the talent is here to do that. I feel like I can be one of the triggers to make that happen.”
Defensively, The Rock has an experienced secondary returning, led by Dangerfield. But it must replace the loss of productive down linemen Jeff Marx and D.J. Adediwura, along with the team’s top two tacklers, linebackers Brandon Tuck-Hayden and Brandon Bischof, from last year.
Munchie Johnson, Daniel Toosen and Cottrell Hatchett return up front. Jake Miller (39 tackles) is the top returning linebacker. Kyle Kudla, a Division II All-American from Hillsdale (Mich.), has transferred in after compiling 221 tackles in 35 games at Hillsdale.
“He’s a remakable player who will impact our defense in a big way” Lutz said of Kudla. “Kyle has the speed to go sideline to sideline. We’re very happy to get him.”
Kudla admitted he was ready to move on to the work force, preparing to take a job in Cleveland, when he decided he wasn’t done with football.
“I know about the tradition here and the awesome family culture,” Kudla said. “I wanted to be part of that. It’s a chance to meet a whole new crop of friends and football family. The talent that’s assembled on this roster is impressive.
“I can’t wait to get going.”
Dangerfield says the same.
“We have playmakers in the secondary and we mesh together really well,” the junior safety said. “Tackling and run support are two of my strengths. Making plays is a mind-set. We’re all on the same page there.”
