Tommies Blog: St. Thomas Ranked No. 18 In Preseason Poll
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The St. Thomas football program has returned from its nearly two-week trip to Italy to play football and take part in community service. It didn't take long for the first "way too early" poll to come out ahead of the 2015 season.
A poll released by The Sporting News Magazine has the Tommies ranked No. 18 nationally in Division III. Mount Union, Linfield of Oregon and UW-Whitewater were the top three teams by the publication. Last year's MIAC champion, St. John's, came in at No. 7 nationally. Wartburg, which ended the Tommies' season last year in the NCAA Playoffs, was ranked No. 9.
Later this summer, D3Football.com will release its 2015 rankings. St. Thomas has been ranked in that poll for 78 of the last 79 weeks, dating back to 2008.
While it's far too early to project the 2015 season, it's a good sign after St. Thomas graduated 17 talented seniors from a team that finished 8-3, second in the MIAC and reached the postseason for the fifth time in the last six years. The most notable of those departures was All-American center T.J. Woodrow, All-Region defensive tackle Sam Pokornowski, quarterback Matt O'Connell and running back Brenton Braddock.
O'Connell and Braddock actually had the option to take fifth years after injuries, but both opted to graduate instead. Braddock finished his career with 30 touchdowns and more than 2,000 career yards despite several injuries. O'Connell finished his career 30-4 as a starting quarterback with more than 1,500 rushing yards and more than 5,000 passing yards. He also had a combined 50 touchdowns.
Expectations should be high yet again as Glenn Caruso gets ready for his eighth season at St. Thomas. His program returns 15 players who had starting experience from last year's squad. Caruso's numbers at St. Thomas speak for themselves and to the resurrection that he started for a program that hadn't been relevant in the MIAC for several years. Caruso is 73-13 in seven seasons for a win percentage of .849. He's led St. Thomas to an 11-5 mark in the Division III playoffs, including a Stagg Bowl appearance in 2012, a semifinal appearance the year before and three straight MIAC titles.
St. Thomas will have its largest senior class in the Caruso era this season, and there are many skilled players back from a team that averaged more than 44 points per game and nearly 500 yards of total offense per game.
John Gould will be the man behind center in charge of the offense. He's 4-1 as a starting quarterback with 16 touchdowns, six interceptions and created more than 1,600 yards of total offense last season. If he goes down, Alex Fenske will be the back-up after missing all of last year with an injury.
Gould will be helped with some depth in the backfield as Jack Kaiser and Nick Waldvogel are back for the Tommies. Kaiser scored 20 touchdowns and had more than 1,300 yards rushing last year, while Waldvogel scored 22 touchowns and had a combined 1,521 yards rushing and receiving.
Look for Charlie Dowdle at tight end to emerge as a go-to receiver for the Tommies. He finished last season with 49 catches for more than 700 yards and 12 touchdowns.
There always seems to be parity in MIAC football, but it will never be truer than in the upcoming season. The league has had different champions in each of the last three seasons between the Tommies, Bethel and St. John's. While the Johnnies should be the favorite coming in, Concordia (Moorhead), Gustavus and Augsburg can also be considered legitimate league contenders this year. That makes it a six-team race for one guaranteed spot in the playoffs.
That's not a lot of room for error, and St. Thomas has started the last two MIAC seasons with losses to St. John's. It makes this year's league opener in Collegeville on Sept. 26 that much more important.
Caruso announced his 2015 recruiting class back on May 1. It's a group that includes 56 incoming freshmen, 36 from Minnesota, and three transfers from seven different states.
