Following a turbulent 2022-23 season, the Colorado Mesa University (CMU) football team eyes redemption in the second year of the Coach Kochevar era. With an intriguing mix of veterans and young talent, the Mavericks look to make some noise in the RMAC.
Last year, the Mavericks went a disappointing 4-6, but five of those losses were in two score games, with the one other being to the national runner-up, Colorado School of Mines. This season, the team projects to be better, as they were within five votes of fourth place in the RMAC coaches poll, and have a season under their belt with this coaching staff.
“The biggest thing is just a clear expectation of what our standard is more than last year. With the staff staying intact, and the continuity, that’s huge,” Kochevar said. “You’ve seen that growth in the team as we’ve done a lot through the offseason and learning to be consistent in everything we do.”
Arguably the biggest storyline going into the year is quarterback Gavin Herberg taking the starting reins back after spending the last two years backing up Karst Hunter, who transferred after last season.
Herberg came to CMU after a legendary high school career for perennial powerhouse Pine Creek, which included a state championship in 2019. Herberg started all three games as a true freshman during the Covid-19-shortend season, amassing 400 total yards and two touchdowns for the Mavericks.
Herberg then found himself in the backup role the next season and, despite showing some real potential the year prior, only got to see limited action. In total, he threw seven pass attempts in 2021. Herberg recalled how difficult this time was for him, but also how it deepened his faith.
“I was battling with whether to keep playing football here, somewhere else, or really to quit football altogether […] Honestly, I was coming home from practice in tears nearly every day. It was a really rough time because I was thinking ‘Is it really time to hang up the cleats’? I didn’t know where to look to find the answers, but I went to God and he put everything in place for me. From that point, I knew I had to be patient, and I was on the right path,” Herberg said.
That path led Herberg to stay with the Mavericks for the long haul. The redshirt junior still rode the bench in 2022 but was used as a Swiss army knife playing quarterback, wide receiver and even safety.
Herberg turned some heads when he started two games last season. Against New Mexico Highlands, Herberg passed for 325 yards and four touchdowns and tacked on 76 more yards and a touchdown on the ground during an RMAC Offensive Player of the Week showing. Herberg also threw for 342 yards and four touchdowns against Chadron State last November in a game he didn’t even start.
Kochevar came away impressed by what he saw and declared an open quarterback battle going into the Spring, which Gerberg won.
“Gavin can change the game in one play. He’s got a big strong arm and then he can run so he brings a multi-dimensional element to it and I’m excited to watch him go,” Kochevar said
Herberg’s teammates expressed similar faith in him when talking about his late-season showings.
“I told him ‘you can prove everybody wrong’. I’m 100% all in with Gavin [Herberg] I told him yesterday ‘silence the noise’, and be the guy that I know you are so I’m 100% rocking with him”- linebacker Cam Nathan said.
Herberg and company look to replicate the same success from last year when the team finished with the third-best passing offense and the second-best scoring offense in the RMAC. Backing up Herberg will be Leslie Richardson, a transfer from Colorado State-Pueblo who has also looked good in training camp.
Complementing Herberg is one of the better units for the Mavericks: the wide receivers. Veterans like David O’Connell, Noah Sarria, and Keenan Brown lead a younger group of receivers below them. The Mavericks plan to cycle through a lot of bodies out wide, and in turn, are returning younger players like sophomores Trevin Edwards and Jackson Brush.
“Being the leader of the unit with David [O’Connell] on the other side is cool. Noah Sarria is a good receiver too, and we got another transfer in Toryian Tubbs. I learned a lot of things from that group and we all just compete every day,” wide receiver Kennan Brown said.
In the running back room, the experience isn’t quite as prevalent after losing their top two backs to graduation. However, backs like Gianni Hurd, Marvin Jones, Myles Newble and Ernesto Rios have impressed during training camp as the offense may be run by a committee.
“In camp, coach’s challenge to us has been to get like eight turnovers a day. No matter if it’s a sack, a fumble, we just gotta get the ball back,” Nathan said.
The unit will be getting production back from all three levels of the ball. In the secondary, safety Liban Shongolo returns after an RMAC second-team selection last year.
On the line, former DI transfer Dirion Hutchins looks to help the run defense after missing last season due to injury. Then in the middle, linebacker Cam Nathan appears to be the leader of the unit.
“The middle linebacker has to be just about the most unselfish person and has to sacrifice himself. For me, it was like how can I be a good teammate when I’m not making the play, or how can I be a teammate when I’m not in so I can be truly supportive of all the guys around me,” Nathan said.
For Coach Kochevar and the squad, the season starts fast. In week one, the Mavericks take on Texas A&M Kingsville, who were picked third in the Lone Star Conference pre-season coaches poll. Then the Mavericks travel to play the University of San Diego, a division I opponent who are led by head coach Brandon Moore, who brought the Colorado School of Mines to the national championship last season.
“Anytime, anywhere, we really didn’t care who it was, we just wanted to fill up our schedule,” Kochevar said. “You can kind of use these games and measure yourself up right away, and it won’t be the end all be all, but it’s gonna give us a great indicator of where we’re at.”