GRAND FORKS, N.D. - The Drake University football team opens the 2019 season against NCAA Division I member North Dakota Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, N.D. The game will be broadcast free on Pluto TV and in central Iowa on Mediacom MC22. Chuck Reed and Hunter Phillips will have the call on 1350 ESPN Des Moines and via the TuneIn app.
Saturday's contest is the third all-time meeting between Drake and North Dakota. The last meeting between the Bulldogs and the Fighting Hawks was Sept. 12, 2015 in Grand Forks. North Dakota built a 21-0 halftime lead and held off Drake in the second half for a 21-18 win.
Scouting the Bulldogs
Drake begins a new era Saturday under the leadership of first-year head coach
Todd Stepsis. Stepsis, who is the 27
th head coach in Drake football history in its 126 seasons. Stepsis takes the reins of the Bulldogs' program after serving as the program's defensive coordinator for the past five seasons under previous head coach Rick Fox. As the defensive coordinator, Stepsis built the Drake defense into one of the nation's top units and coached a total of 42 all-conference selections including the program's all-time leading tackler, John Huginin and the most recent Pioneer Football League Defensive Player of the Year,
Nathan Clayberg.
Drake is picked to finish third in the 2019 Pioneer Football League Coaches Preseason Poll as it returns eight All-PFL performers. Four of those PFL selections return on defense in defensive linemen,
Gavin Dinnen and
Erin Morgan, linebacker
Zac Rujawitz and safety
Will Warner. The quartet were part of last season's unit that ranked in the top 15 in nearly every defensive statistical category. Warner had an outstanding junior season that was capped by being named Drake's first first-team All-American since Eric Saubert in 2015 and the Bulldogs' first
Associated Press first-team All-American since 1982. Individually, Warner was second in the nation in interceptions with eight to also tie the Drake program record. He also led the nation in interception return yardage at 223 total yards. Outside of his interceptions, Warner was second on the team in solo tackles with 41 and successfully defended a total of 12 passes. Dinnen was a 2018 All-PFL First Team selection who recorded 3.0 sacks and 38 tackles. Morgan was selected to the 2018 All-PFL Second Team after he tallied 3.5 sacks, 8.0 tackles for loss and 21 tackles at defensive end. Rujawitz started all 11 games and is the top returning tackler with 54, including 22 solo stops. On the other side of the football, Drake will have a new quarterback under center in true freshman
Ian Corwin. Corwin comes to Drake after a decorated prep career for Jenks High School in Tulsa, Okla. At Jenks, Corwin broke 15 school records, went 29-8 in three seasons as the starter and helped Jenks finish as state runners-up in 2018. Corwin will play behind an experienced offensive line and will have help from the Bulldogs' top three leading rushers and receivers from last season. Corwin's top three receiving targets,
Devin Cates,
Steven Doran and
Mitch McFarlane combined for 1,865 receiving yards and 21 receiving touchdowns. The Bulldogs' top three returning rushers,
Braeden Hartwig, Drew Lauer and
Cross Robinson ran for 935 combined yards and seven touchdowns. Also, back is senior punter
Ross Kennedy. Kennedy was an All-PFL honorable mention selection last season. He recorded 52 punts for an average of 37.3 yards, including a season-long 57-yarder against Montana. Kennedy placed 17 punts inside the 20-yard line and didn't kick a touchback all year. He finished the season No. 93 among FCS punters with his average of 37.3 yards per punt.
Scouting the Fighting Hawks
North Dakota finished the 2018 season with a 6-5 overall record in its first year as an independent. The Fighting Hawks left the Big Sky Conference prior to last season and will join the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2020. North Dakota returns its starting quarterback, Nate Ketteringham, who started all 11 games last season, and threw 16 touchdown passes with 1,835 yards. Noah Wanzek is the team's top receiver after a standout 2018 season where he caught 52 receptions for 685 yards and six touchdowns.
