Season Preview: Football team assembling pieces for 2014 season

MORE: Blue Devils selected sixth in WIAC preseason poll

MENOMONIE (August 10, 2014) – Putting together a football team can be like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Some pieces fit together easily, others are a little harder to locate.
 
UW-Stout's Clayt Birmingham begins his fifth year of assembling this yearly puzzle. He knows what he has, but he and his staff will be digging into the box to find some other pieces.
 
The offensive backfield appears to be in pretty good shape with several returners, including quarterback Hank Kujak (Sr, Blair), who handled the vast majority of snaps last season, earning honorable mention all-conference honors.
 
"Hank is a good, all-around athlete," said Birmingham. "He is a guy that can lead us."
 
Kujak threw for 2183 yards – the most yards by a Stout quarterback since Matt Bunyan threw for 3220 yards during the 1998 seasons – and tossed 11 touchdown passes. Kujak, a team captain for the second year, completed 193-of-308 passes (52.4 percent) and rushed for 159 yards and one score, ranking third in the WIAC in total offense.
 
Doug Delebreau (Sr, Kewaunee) will provide an experienced back-up to Kujak.
 
The backfield will consist of two experienced tailbacks – senior Tanner Kuehn (Fairchild) and sophomore Adolfo Pacheco (South Elgin, Ill).
 
"Tanner is the ringleader for the whole (offensive backfield) group," Birmingham said. "He is tough, unselfish. He will help the young guys. He is the glue to hold this position together."
 
Kuehn has been a steady performer out of the backfield and fielding punts throughout his career. Kuehn ran for 304 yards last year and scored two touchdowns. Kuehn was also the favorite receiver out of the backfield, hauling in 14 passes.
 
Pacheco provided some electricity out of the backfield. During his freshman season, Pacheco earned second team all-conference honors, rushing for 965 yards on 171 carries and a team-high nine touchdowns. The 965 yards was the most by a Stout freshman since Hall of Famer Luke Bundgaard ran for 1366 yards in 2000. Pacheco ranked third in the final conference standings in rushing and put together four consecutive 100-yard games to end the season.
 
"Adolfo brings that raw talent," Birmingham said.
 
Brandon Burnham (So, Sparta) will come into camp leading the fullback position. 
 
The Blue Devils tend to work tight ends into the fullback alignments. Reggie Kujak (Jr, Blair), Ben Hall (Jr, North Palm Beach, Fla), Aaron Koerner (So, Colby) and Devon Hartman (So, Milton) will give the Blue Devils size at the position. All weigh in around 220-lbs, and Kujak is 6-foot, 7-inches, while Hall and Koerner are 6-3.
 
Hall pulled in three passes last year, while Reggie Kujak hauled in nine passes from big brother Hank Kujak, including a diving TD snag in the corner of the end zone on a day Reggie had two TD receptions in a win over UW-Eau Claire.
 
The wide receiver spots will be led by Cody Rosemeyer (Sr, Gilman), Matt Small (Sr, Atwater, Calif) and Zak Snell (Sr, Castiac, Calif).
 
Rosemeyer leads all returning receivers, rolling up 456 yards last season on 40 receptions and his first collegiate touchdown. Small averaged 17.2 yards per catch last season, taking eight passes for 138 yards.
 
Snell is a jack-of-all-trades. In addition to playing wide receiver where he caught nine passes and a TD, Snell is a key performer on special teams and is utilized all over the field on offense. Snell is one of the few players in Blue Devil history who, throughout the course of his career, has completed a pass, rushed for yardage, caught passes, returned punts, served as a punter, returned kickoffs and served as the place kicker on the kickoff team.
 
"We have a bunch of utility guys at wide receiver," Birmingham said. "Now, they will each be pushed to a new role. We will need them to step up."
 
Keith Bolden (So, Merced, Calif), Zach St. Aubin (So, Cameron), Justin Guarnaccio (Fr, Libertyville, Ill), Jake Pollock (Jr, Litchfield, Minn) and Aaron Jenny (Sr, Spicer, Minn) will give depth at the receiver position.  Jenny joined the team this past spring after a four year basketball career with the Blue Devils.  A first team all-WIAC selection in basketball last season, Jenny played for state high school football and basketball championship teams and, with his basketball career behind him, wanted to give collegiate football a shot.
 
While not unfamiliar to the coaching staff, the offensive line returns only two starters, but several players who have seen time, including some game starts.
 
"We lost two guys last year," Birmingham said. "This will be a younger line. It is always demanding to find five to 10 guys to have a solid two-deep on the line."
 
David Koronkiewicz (Jr, Peshtigo) started all 10 games at center. Kane'ala Atchinson-Keolanui (So, Lodi) started seven games at guard. Seth Tompkins (Sr, Lake Elmo, Minn) started the final eight games at right tackle. Kevin Russell (Sr, Plymouth, Minn) started four games at guard.
 
Matt McKone (Jr, Superior), Logan Stoa (So, Hawley, Minn) and Corey Parris (So, West Bend) are front runners for the tackle spots.
 
"We will only be as good as our offensive line," Birmingham said. "We will need them to protect and to open holes. The line will have to adjust to a number of new players and will need to adjust to a new (position) coach."
 
Transfer Logan Figueroa (Sr, Valders), Casey Hanson (So, Fort Atkinson) and Michael Beeler (So, Sparta) will see time at guard. Mark Hatcher (So Highland Ranch, Colo) should see time on the line, in particular at center.
 
The offensive line could be mix-and-match throughout the preseason, and newcomers will need to step up to the positions.
 
Defensively, the Blue Devils have some spots to fill throughout the lineup, especially in the back-up positions.
 
But upfront, the Blue Devils return three players who have earned a lot of starts and have been with the program throughout their careers.
 
Jamie Rohrig (Sr, Owatonna, Minn) started all 10 games as an interior lineman, earning second team all-conference honors, leading the team in sacks with 2.5. He tallied 5.0 tackles for loss, among his 32 total tackles, and batted down two passes.
 
Alec Zoern (Sr, Germantown) and Kevin Houts (Sr, Bloomington, Minn) held down the defensive end spots last year. Zoern led all WIAC defensive linemen in tackles with 48, recorded 7.0 tackles for loss and forced two fumbles. Houts tallied 38 tackles, with 5.5 tackles for a loss and 2.0 sacks.
 
Josh Archibald (Sr, Cottage Grove) has an inside track at the nose guard spot, with Garrett Eide (So, Blair) and Tyler Last (So, New Berlin) challenging for the spot.
 
Mike Van Thiel (Jr, Hilbert), Charles Mitchell (Jr, Lac du Flambeau) and Ty Johnson (So, Minnetonka, Minn) should see time on the defensive line.
 
"We will need to add some depth, especially on the outside," Birmingham said. "This will be a great spot for someone to step in and gain some game experience so when these guys graduate, we will have some guys who have played."
 
With the graduation of the starting linebackers from last year, the Blue Devils will have new faces starting at linebacker, but they will not be unfamiliar faces.
 
Luke Bakkum (Sr, Oconomowoc), a team captain, is expected to return to the linebacker spot after playing as the strong safety last season, earning honorable mention all-conference. Bakkum led the team in tackles, and was second in the WIAC, with 94 total tackles, 50 solo. Bakkum recorded a team-high 8.5 tackles for loss, had 3.0 sacks and returned his first collegiate interception.
 
Kyle Hoeft (So, Morton, Ill), who saw action all 10 games last season, is slated opposite Bakkum.
 
Nick Schulenberg (So, Fort Atkinson), Jared Allen (So, Maple Grove, Minn), Dallis Ramos-de Leon (Jr, Waukesha) and Josh Robinson (So, Lakeville, Minn) will be looking at playing time at the linebacker spots.
 
Mike Bond (Sr, Milwaukee) and Grant Miller (So, Pleasonton, Calif) are holding down the cornerback spots. Bond started seven games last year, including the final games of the season, and recorded two interceptions. Miller slid over from the offensive side of the ball and played the final three games of the season at cornerback, recording 13 tackles and returning an interception 22 yards.
 
Dominque Rhodes (Sr, Milwaukee) earned a number of starts last season at cornerback, tallying 45 tackles, 33 solo, with an interception.
 
"I am excited about our defensive backs," Birmingham said. "The cornerbacks bring a lot of talent and the safeties bring a lot of savvy experience."
 
LaRon Thompson (Jr, Modesto, Calif) and Chris Pica-Anderson (SO, Eau Claire) will both complete for the corners spot this year.
 
Team captain Tyler Naatz (Sr, Menomonie) will lead the safeties, playing the free safety spot. Naatz was third on the team in tackles with 62 and the two-time all-conference honorable mention pick led the team in pass breakups with six.
 
Collin Laursen (Jr, Mondovi), a 2012 honorable mention all-conference choice, returns as the strong safety after an injury knocked him out in last season's first game. Even missing a big part of that one game, Laursen totaled five tackles.
 
Austin Ludowese (So, Stewart, Minn), who sat out the 2013 season, had a solid spring and has the inside track at the weak-side safety spot.
 
Vying for safety spots will be Derek Koll (Sr, Litchfield, Minn), Joe Hakeem (So, Woodbury, Minn) and James Van Thiel (So, Hilbert).
 
Special teams will be up for grabs for the first time in nearly four years, due to the graduation of Ricky Marteney, who became the second-leading scorer in school history. But Marteney returns as kicking coach and will have a clean slate to work with. Aaron O'Neill (Fr, Macomb, Ill) was with the Blue Devils during spring camp and is currently the front runner for the place kicking duties.  Transfer Clark Reidel (Fr, Waukesha) is the current leader for punting.
 
Riley Anderson (Sr, Woodville) returns for his final season as the team's long snapper. Kuehn, Rosemeyer and Snell will be among several to be considered as kick and punt returners.
 
The Blue Devils open the season Saturday, Sept. 6 at Dakota Wesleyan, then will open the home schedule, Saturday, Sept. 13 against Loras College at 2 p.m. Stout played Dakota Wesleyan for the first time last year, and have not played Loras since the middle-1980s. Stout will open the conference season Saturday, Oct. 4 at UW-Oshkosh.