When the Bluffton University football team reports for training camp in August it will have been less than four months since the Beavers walked off the field at the end of the 2020-21 season. Bluffton went 4-4 while battling injuries that depleted the offense last year. Highlights were plentiful, however, as outstanding individual performances did not go unnoticed when the awards were handed out following the season and throughout the summer. With all athletes granted another year of eligibility due to COVID-19, Bluffton will look to build on its 2020-21 season as a bevy of All-HCAC honorees return for the 2021 campaign.
The Bluffton University Football Team will be under the direction of fourth-year Head Coach Aaron Krepps. The Beavers came out of the gate with a 3-0 mark before injuries to key personnel and an unfavorable back end of the schedule limited Bluffton to one victory during the final five games. Bluffton's 204.8 rushing yards were third in the conference.
One position that will be high on the priority list is running back. Three-time All-Heartland Conference selection Darian Greeley (Belleville, Mich./Chippewa Valley) had a phenomenal season that was cut short in his fifth game with a knee injury. Despite missing the final three and a half games, he still finished fourth in the country with 644 rushing yards en route to being named First Team All-America by D3football.com. His eight touchdowns were tied for second in the nation.
Dana Shoulders II (Mansfield/Lexington) will take advantage of his extra year after nailing down First Team All-Heartland Conference honors. He led the team with 9.5 TFL's for 40 yards and four sacks for 24 yards. The senior defensive end was tied for 5th on the team with 42 tackles. He added a breakup, a quarterback hurry and a forced fumble to his resume in 2020-21. Shoulders has 118 career tackles with 22.5 TFL's and 9.5 sacks.
Although he had his first senior season cut short with a broken hand that forced him to miss the final three games, Stephan Kosakowski (Cleveland/Benedictine) picked up his third straight All-HCAC award and he will return for a fifth season in the fall. The standout defensive back followed up consecutive Honorable Mention All-HCAC hardware with second team recognition. Kosakowski has wrapped up 167 career tackles with 127 of the solo variety. His 21 breakups are 4th all-time, the same as his 28 passes defended.
The awards piled up for Montez Archer Jr. (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King) following his freshman campaign this spring. They culminated with him being named First Team All-America by D3football.com. He was selected the HCAC Male Athlete of the Year after taking home three of the big four football honors (Defensive Player of the Year, Special Teams Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year). He was an HCAC Player of the Week three straight weeks and is a Lindy's pre-season First Team All-America selection for 2021.
Archer kicked off 2021 with an otherwordly two-game stretch, picking off six passes in a span of eight days as the Beavers took down Manchester and Anderson to open Heartland Conference play. He was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week twice, while earning HCAC Player of the Week three consecutive weeks. Archer's seven interceptions led all of NCAA Division III for pickoffs. He is also tops in the country with 531 kickoff return yards and 234 punt return yards.
Returning to anchor the offensive line are all-Heartland Conference senior Hunter Lacer (Oak Harbor) and freshman Markus Finley (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) who opened up holes for Greeley and Maalik Tucker (Fostoria) to plow through. They helped the Beavers put up 204.8 yards per game on the ground, good for 3rd in the conference. With the dominating freshman anchoring the line, Bluffton averaged 356.9 yards of offense per game.
Honorable mention All-HCAC defensive lineman Keith Holmes Jr. (Toledo/St. Francis DeSales) was in on 38 tackles, including five TFL's and a sack. A Second Team All-HCAC selection, Nick Perry (Northwood/Lake) was a freshman hybrid who showed his versatility as a linebacker and safety. Perry finished with 42 tackles in the spring. He also forced a fumble and recovered one. Two-year starting linebacker Louden Saulbeamer (Dayton/Troy Christian) has 57 tackles and three breakups heading into his final campaign.
Giving the Beavers tremendous experience under center, senior Zachary Nobis (Bryan) has 18 games on his resume. Nobis has completed 188 passes for 2,263 yards with 21 scoring strikes. The senior is always a threat to run as well, having racked up 424 yards on the ground with four touchdowns. His favorite target will return in 2021 in the form of sophomore Laurenz Johnson (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne) finished with 14 receptions and led the Beavers with four touchdown grabs.
Bluffton University will kick off its 2021 fall season at Alma on Saturday, Sept. 4 before returning to Alumni Field for the home opener against St. Vincent a week later. The Heartland Conference portion of the schedule is slated to go off on Saturday, Oct. 2, when Mount St. Joseph heads up Interstate 75 for Bluffton's Homecoming contest. The Beavers travel to rival Defiance for the season finale on November 13.
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