OGDEN — Despite losing 19 seniors and 12 starters from last year's 8-4 season, the 2004 Weber State football team could make some noise in the race for the Big Sky Conference title.
The noise began last season. The Wildcats hope to continue riding the momentum of a four-game winning streak to finish off the 2003 season, starting with their first game against Southern Utah at Stewart Stadium on Sept. 4.
Coach Jerry Graybeal is ready.
Graybeal was named the 2003 Big Sky coach of the year and was awarded a new three-year contract after the Wildcats won the most games in a season since 1991. Weber State was coming off back-to-back 3-8 seasons and was picked to finish last in the league standings. This year, the Wildcats are projected to finish fifth in the conference standings.
With Graybeal and his staff seemingly intact for seasons to come, there are some other key elements that could determine how the Wildcats fare in 2004:
Who will start at quarterback? Graybeal doesn't like to name his starting man until the first game, but playing in eight games last year should place senior quarterback Kyle Bauer first on the depth chart. But Graybeal is quick to say that sophomore Ian Pizarro and senior Jeff Fowler have also looked good in practice. The job appears to be Bauer's to lose. Last season, Bauer threw for 1,351 yards and 10 touchdowns. The others saw limited action.
How will the offensive line and skill positions perform? Only left tackle Paul McQuistan returns to the offensive line from last year's squad. McQuistan will likely be joined by twin brother, Pat; sophomores Vince Henry and Jake Francks; and senior Nathan Hunt. Graybeal admits they are inexperienced, but they have the potential to be the best O-line to ever wear Weber's purple and white.
"They are big, athletic and strong," Graybeal said. "I know it's a big statement, but they could be the best offensive line ever."
Graybeal is also confident the offensive line will gain experience and learn quickly because they face one of the better defensive lines in the conference in practice each day.
The Wildcats should also be solid at the running back position. Nick Chournos had a breakout junior year, rushing for 1,649 yards and 13 touchdowns. He only needs 522 more yards to become Weber State's all-time leading rusher. He earned first-team all-Big Sky and third team all-American recognition in 2003.
"Nick is all you want in a football player," Graybeal said. "He works hard and leads by example."
One offensive question mark could be the receiving corps. The Wildcats lost their top four receivers to graduation, including top receiver Justin DeFour. Those filling in include seniors Ryan Nath and Christ McConnell and junior Wiley King. There have been several dropped passes in fall camp, but Graybeal believes it's just early season jitters and players will soon settle in.
How will the 2004 defense look? The Wildcats have already suffered a big blow defensively, losing linebacker Mike Stroshine for the season with a torn bicep in the first full contact practice of camp on Aug. 13. Stroshine was going to be part of a linebacking corps that would fill the big shoes of all-conference linebacker Matt McFadden, who averaged 12.1 tackles per game and finished with a career total of 350.
Despite Stroshine's loss, Graybeal thinks everything will still be OK, as long as everyone else stays healthy. Players like Eric Jones, Shane Barkdull, Dallas Drecksel, Dewey Crayton and Brady Fosmark will be looked to as leaders on the defense. The defensive line, with Bardull and Fosmark, should be a main anchor for the Wildcat defense.
"We finally have some experience on the defensive line, and what's more exciting, we should have them for two or three more years," Graybeal said. "To win we need to stop the run and we have some players that can do that."
How are the special teams? Junior Joe Johnson and JC transfer Casey Gardner are still battling to see who will take the placekicking duties. Johnson was the second leading scorer on the team with 67 points in 2003.
The punting duties are also up for grabs between juniors Travis Atwood and Wyatt Kennah. Both players have experience.