Twenty four seniors lost, five coaches up and gone and yet Maverick football still feels better than ever.
It is officially football season in Grand Junction and the Colorado Mesa University football team is preparing to redeem a bitter end to a promising outing last fall.
After getting a share in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference for the second consecutive year, and eventually falling to Azusa Pacific to miss the playoffs, the Mavericks are in high gear to break through that ever-so thick glass ceiling.
1. Missing some pieces but still in great shape
There are 24 seniors who left after last season, along with plenty of injuries plaguing starters in which CMU has to replace in the lineup. Safety Darian Turner will miss the entire season rehabbing a knee injury, two receivers in Isaiah Smith and Chris Brown are out for 6-8 weeks if not more and other potential starters like Kyle Schulmann will not even get the chance to showcase their skills.
The Mavericks are going to be down about 30 football players that, at some point, last season, saw a consistent amount of downs and were considered the core components. This season will have a significantly different look to both the offense and defense due to the fact it will portray mostly underclassmen.
“We may be better than we have ever been,” Head coach Russ Martin said. “That’s pretty tough to say losing that many guys but we have a very talented football team.”
2. Transferred right into place
Despite losing a great amount of talent due to graduation and injury, new acquisitions from transfers are adding depth and much-needed skill to the Mavericks’ roster.
Damar’ren Mitchell, a transfer junior safety from Louisiana Lafayette, recently received his release from his former school, the day before camp actually, to allow him to play this season. Mitchell played and started 11 games for the Ragin Cajuns but decided to leave the school after last season.
“I think we got probably the best defensive back since I have been here,” Martin stated about Mitchell.
Other Division I acquisitions from the offseason came in the form of DJ White who is only a sophomore but played a full season at Eastern Kentucky last year and stands at a towering 6’3”.
3. Some gems still remain
Only two CMU players made the All-RMAC Preseason First Team, yet somehow the Mavericks are still picked to finish second.
Starting quarterback and the 2017 RMAC Offensive Player of the Year, Eystin Salum, was selected as the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and named to the Preseason All-RMAC First Team. Senior Tommy Sager was the other Maverick named as Saager was awarded the same first-team honors after gaining All RMAC First Team honors his junior year at linebacker.
Both Salum and Saager will be considered the leaders on their sides of the ball. Salum will continue to lead the all-explosive CMU offense.
Saager, who normally finds himself in the linebacker position, will have a key job on the defense as the senior will travel between the defensive line and the linebacking core as a weapon of mass destruction for the CMU defense.
“Basically what we are doing is we are going to be moving Tommy [Saager] around,” Martin said. “Putting him in a position to make some more plays and put more pressure on people. We’ll see how it all fits around but he really is an outstanding player.”
Saager last season rallied up 78 total tackles and 5.5 of those going for a loss of yards. He also had 1.5 sacks.
4. The new look coaching staff
Russ Martin is entering his seventh year at the helm of the CMU football program and has accumulated a 43-24 overall record in his time as head coach. Martin had the difficulty of dealing with the departure of five coaches during the early spring of this year.
Former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jeromy McDowell and tight ends coach Justin Drudik left for Southeastern University. Other coaches such as Mac Alexander stayed in the RMAC by taking the defensive coordinator job down at Fort Lewis.
Since then, coach Martin and athletic coordinators Kris Mort and Ryan Brooks have hired four coaches to fill the positions. Two names worth mentioning are Jordan Dodge and Michael Donnelly. Dodge is taking over the wide receivers and played for Fort Hays State before taking an assistant coaching job at Ottawa University. Donnelly played for CMU for two years before becoming a part-time assistant coach. He will be taking the helm for the secondary.
Another secondary and tight ends coach have been hired as well.
“They are one hundred percent on board in all we are doing,” Russ Martin said. “They are great coaches and I am really looking forward to it.”
