Charger News
Tue, Aug 4, 2009 | Football
The GPAC Football Media day was held today at the River's Bend Conference Center at Stoney Creek Inn, in Sioux City, Iowa.  Following a lunch, each of the league's 12 coaches gave an outlook on their respective team.  At the conclusion of the event, the 2009 GPAC Preseason Coaches' Poll was released and the Chargers were picked 11th.  Poll:  Sioux Falls-121, Morningside-110, Dakota Wesleyan-95, Nebraska Wesleyan-86, Hastings-84, Northwestern-76, Midland Lutheran-64, Doane-51, Dana-32, Concordia-30, BCU-26, Dordt-17.
Media day comments from Coach Rethman:
 
Development:  "Have we made growth?  Absolutely.  I am excited about the progress that we have made and the direction we are going."
 
Numbers:  "We have 49 newcomers coming in, giving us around 90 at camp, compared to 78 last year."
 
Question Mark:  "If there is one area we took the biggest hit by graduation, it was on the defensive line.  We expect big things from Adnan Kasapovic and Steve Urquidez, a transfer from Central Methodist.... We are also encouraged by the development of d-end Richard Miller, who sat out last season."
 
Stength:  "The strength of our team continues to be our inside linebackers.... Jarrod Makovicka, who led the conference in tackles last season...one of best players in the league and Eric Bolin....  Calvin Christophersen will play on the outside as could either AJ Castro or newcomer Jordan Lester."
 
Secondary:  "We return our two corners, Jon Smith and Cecil Milton.  They are both very athletic and they grew and developed last year... We lost our free safety, but Taylor Schumacher could step into that role."
 
Offense:  "We like our skilled position players and return our top four receivers.  We also return a solid core at the running back position.  Stavhn Leavy gradually grew as a back last year, but missed the last three games of the season with an injury.  We expect decent things from him if he can stay healthy.  David Shepard and Julian Lee will also be big parts of what we will do offensively."
 
Signal Caller:  Rethman talked about Ryan Hajek, who was the Chargers' only quarterback in the spring.  Hajek, a senior, is yet to throw a touchdown for the Chargers, but is the frontrunner to lead the offense.  He played well in the spring, completing over 75 percent of his passes.  He will be pushed by two incoming freshmen (John Dodson, Lehi Tonga) who will be given the opportunity to prove themselves as well.
   
Outlook:  "With a lot of unanswered questions on defense, the offense is going to have to step up.  We did a good job of moving the ball between the 20's, but we also turned the ball over too much...  What excites me, is that we are at a point where we have raised the level of competition in our program... We will be a better football team." 
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