Slippery Rock University’s football team is getting back on the field.

Finally.

SRU’s first formal spring practice is March 22. Its spring football game is April 23.

These players have not donned their football uniforms since their Division II semifinal loss to Minnesota State in December of 2019.

Now that the sport is picking up again at SRU, I thought it’d be fun to take a look back at the impact Butler County players have had on this program through the years.

Since 1997, I have been covering Rock football. It’s especially fun to see local high school football standouts stay in the county and go on to stellar careers on the gridiron at SRU.

A number of those guys have been linemen. Butler graduates Brian Minehart and Dave Sabolcik were centers who went on to reach All-American status at The Rock.

Seneca Valley graduate Steve Gaviglia and Slippery Rock High graduate Colten Raabe were outstanding offensive linemen on championship teams for SRU.

Slippery Rock High grad Tony Papley was a vocal and high-intensity leader of one of SRU’s best defenses. Tim Vernick, a Butler grad, still has a year to play and has already started 35 games at The Rock despite being relatively undersized as a middle linebacker.

All of those guys and others deserved consideration, but here is my Mount Rushmore of SRU football players from Butler County since 1997:

Brandon Fusco, Josh Kniess, Austin Miele and Bob Vernick.

Fusco, from Seneca Valley, is a no-brainer. He went on to a lengthy NFL career as an offensive lineman after winning the Gene Upshaw Award as the best lineman in all of Division II his final collegiate season.

Kniess, from Slippery Rock, set SRU’s record for career all-purpose yardage. He rushed for 3,527 yards and 39 touchdowns in college after coming across the street from high school.

Not too shabby.

Miele, a Mars graduate, was one of the most athletic linebackers to ever play at The Rock. He had 86 tackles, 11 passes defensed and three interceptions his senior year. He also compiled 90 tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss as a junior.

Vernick, Tim’s older brother, was a tackling machine in the middle of SRU’s defense. He had 67 tackles one year, 90 more in another, 69 more in a third year despite playing in only nine games.

Colleges don’t always have to look far to find talent that will impact their program.

The Rock’s latest Butler County recruit is Karns City tight end Nathan Waltman.

Will he make an impact?

History certainly suggests a positive answer to that question.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle