Spartan Football Picked 5th In HCAC Preseason Poll
August 28, 2019 at 2:13 a.m.
Spartan Football Picked 5th In HCAC Preseason Poll
By Dillon Bender-
The Hanover College Panthers were picked to repeat as conference champions. Hanover led the preseason poll with seven first-place votes and 60 points. Franklin College was picked second in the preseason poll and tallied 52 points. Mount St. Joseph received the final first-place vote and totaled 51 points.
Rose-Hulman was predicted to finish fourth after tallying 39 points in Tuesday's poll. Manchester rounded out the top five of the preseason poll with 28 points.
Bluffton (26 points), Anderson (17 points) and Defiance (15 points) completed the poll
Manchester will look to build upon last season's 4-4 mark in HCAC play. MU has five returners on the offensive side of the ball that were named "Players to Watch" by the HCAC on Tuesday.
Senior running back Donavan Henderson, Jr. rushed for school records of 1,268 yards and 17 touchdowns last season.
Henderson, Jr. is the school's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns with 33 and is just 863 yards shy of breaking Dan Taylor's career rushing record of 3,122 yards set back in the 1970s.
Senior quarterback Alex Downard will be back under center for the Spartans. Named a "Player to Watch," Downard has thrown for 2,474 yards and 19 TDs during his career.
MU had a pair of wide receivers named "Players to Watch." Senior Austin Roberts has accounted for 1,521 total yards of offense during his Spartan career. He's also accounted for nine total touchdowns.
Sophomore Harrington Greer played in all 10 games last season as a freshman. Greer had 27 catches for 392 yards and six scores.
Junior offensive lineman Connor Bettis was the final member of the MU offense to be named a "Player to Watch" by the conference on Tuesday morning. Bettis was a Second Team All-HCAC selection in 2018.
Defensively, the Spartans had three "Players to Watch." Senior linebacker Justin Thomas finished the 2018 season with 78 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, and six sacks. Junior defensive back Nick Tillman played in all 10 games last season and finished with 54 tackles and three interceptions. Senior defensive end Nolan Sipe was the final Spartan named a "Player to Watch" by the HCAC. Sipe has 21 career appearances and 53 total tackles under his belt heading into the 2019 season.
Nate Jensen will be in his fourth season as the head coach of the Manchester University football program.
The 2019 season begins at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 5 when the Spartans host regional rival Trine University at Burt Memorial Stadium.
The Hanover College Panthers were picked to repeat as conference champions. Hanover led the preseason poll with seven first-place votes and 60 points. Franklin College was picked second in the preseason poll and tallied 52 points. Mount St. Joseph received the final first-place vote and totaled 51 points.
Rose-Hulman was predicted to finish fourth after tallying 39 points in Tuesday's poll. Manchester rounded out the top five of the preseason poll with 28 points.
Bluffton (26 points), Anderson (17 points) and Defiance (15 points) completed the poll
Manchester will look to build upon last season's 4-4 mark in HCAC play. MU has five returners on the offensive side of the ball that were named "Players to Watch" by the HCAC on Tuesday.
Senior running back Donavan Henderson, Jr. rushed for school records of 1,268 yards and 17 touchdowns last season.
Henderson, Jr. is the school's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns with 33 and is just 863 yards shy of breaking Dan Taylor's career rushing record of 3,122 yards set back in the 1970s.
Senior quarterback Alex Downard will be back under center for the Spartans. Named a "Player to Watch," Downard has thrown for 2,474 yards and 19 TDs during his career.
MU had a pair of wide receivers named "Players to Watch." Senior Austin Roberts has accounted for 1,521 total yards of offense during his Spartan career. He's also accounted for nine total touchdowns.
Sophomore Harrington Greer played in all 10 games last season as a freshman. Greer had 27 catches for 392 yards and six scores.
Junior offensive lineman Connor Bettis was the final member of the MU offense to be named a "Player to Watch" by the conference on Tuesday morning. Bettis was a Second Team All-HCAC selection in 2018.
Defensively, the Spartans had three "Players to Watch." Senior linebacker Justin Thomas finished the 2018 season with 78 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, and six sacks. Junior defensive back Nick Tillman played in all 10 games last season and finished with 54 tackles and three interceptions. Senior defensive end Nolan Sipe was the final Spartan named a "Player to Watch" by the HCAC. Sipe has 21 career appearances and 53 total tackles under his belt heading into the 2019 season.
Nate Jensen will be in his fourth season as the head coach of the Manchester University football program.
The 2019 season begins at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 5 when the Spartans host regional rival Trine University at Burt Memorial Stadium.
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