Bronco Football Practice Underway; Picked to Finish 6th in GPAC
(Hastings, Nebraska) – Year four of the Matt Franzen coaching tenure is just a few weeks away from starting as the team looks to grow from their 5-6 record a year ago The GPAC announced that the Broncos were voted to finish sixth in the preseason polls after finishing tied for seventh last year.
Note to media: For more information, contact David Loomis, assistant sports information director, at david.loomis@hastings.edu.
(Hastings, Nebraska) – Year four of the Matt Franzen coaching tenure is just a few weeks away from starting as the team looks to grow from their 5-6 record a year ago. The GPAC announced that the Broncos were voted to finish sixth in the preseason polls after finishing tied for seventh last year.
"I think attitudes are really good," Franzen said. "It's important, especially during fall camp which can be very monotonous and a grind, if guys can keep their heads up and have fun with part of the football process that sometimes isn't a whole lot of fun. The attitudes have been good, our guys have been positive. People are fighting for positions, fighting for reps, trying to find a way onto the field by the time the first game comes around. There's some excitement and there's some frustration there, but all in all, the attitudes have been good and I think our guys are working well together."
Although the team was 5-2 in games decided by one touchdown or less last year, senior wide receiver Ethan Wilborn emphasized that the team has been determined to improve that record by focusing each and every day of practice in preparation for the games.
"It's just the focus throughout the week. Taking every day seriously even when it gets later in the season. It's hard to keep that focus throughout the week. (We are) a much more confident team, that's for sure. It's a younger team. We've been working hard this offseason together. A lot of guys have gained confidence through this last season," Wilborn said.
New seasons come with many new faces and junior safety Marcus Dustin noted that he has been pleased with what he has seen so far.
"We have lots of new guys that are just all open to learning. The one guy in particular is number 41, Josh Levine. He's a quick receiver and he's competing with everyone in the starting spots," Dustin said.
Sophomore offensive lineman Sal Nacarelli stressed the importance of their offseason workout program and having many players returning from a year ago.
"Obviously buying into the workouts that were given to you by Coach Fisher, our head strength coach, and really taking the conditioning aspect really hard and getting in shape for fall camp and staying healthy. Obviously the mindset too is very important to work out in the offseason which is not really ever talked about, but just getting ready for the season and getting ready to go," Nacarelli said.
"We're returning a lot of dudes. On offense we're returning almost every player. We were a young team last year but we got some experience back with a lot of sophomores that started last year. I honestly think the sky's the limit for us. We could definitely compete for a GPAC Championship, but we just got to do our job and get the wins we can get and put points on the board and have our defense step up. They (defense) carried us last year, but offense will turn it up this year and be good," Nacarelli continued.
The season gets underway on Saturday, Aug. 31 against Peru State at Lloyd Wilson Field. The Broncos knocked off the Bobcats 37-31 in the overtime opener last year, a game that featured a 17-point fourth quarter comeback.
"As we get closer and closer to gametime we want to get more of our offensive and defensive installation put in and then figure out what we like, what we like with our players. Some things that last year maybe we liked, this year maybe they're not going to be as good for us, but maybe there's some other things that are based on some of the players that we have. Figuring some of those things out by the time we hit the first game and then realistically, even after the first game some of those things we adjust going into week two and even week three. Hopefully we have a general idea by the time we get to the first game of who our team is, how we operate best, what our strengths are, and what players we really want to try to highlight," Franzen said.
"(Fans) can expect another scrappy game. They probably will not see another two onside kick recoveries, but we should come out on top," Dustin said.
The non-conference matchup will take place at 6pm on Aug. 31 at Lloyd Wilson Field.
Hastings College is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Discover more at hastings.edu.
