Ichabods open practice Saturday night under the lights
Aug. 4, 2006

The 2005 MIAA football champion Washburn Ichabods will have their first practice of the season on the new turf inside Yager Stadium at 7 p.m. on Aug. 5.
More than 105 student athletes are excepted to be in the first full workout under the lights. On Sat., Aug. 12, the Ichabods will have their media day at 3 p.m. at Yager Stadium.
The Ichabod football team is reporting today (Aug. 4) with testing scheduled to take place Saturday morning -- which will be a CLOSED practice.

** Season Preview Attatched at bottom of schedule **

Practice schedule for Aug. 5-Aug. 12 - schedule subject to change depending on weather

Saturday, Aug. 5
7 p.m. - Yager Stadium - Helmets

Sunday, Aug. 6
7:25 p.m. - Yager Stadium - Helmets

Monday, Aug. 7
7:25 p.m. - Yager Stadium - Helmets/Shells

Tuesday, Aug. 8
7:25 p.m. - Yager Stadium - Helmets/Shells

Wednesday, Aug. 9
7:25 p.m. - Yager Stadium - Full Pads

Thursday, Aug. 10
9 a.m. - Yager Stadium - Full Pads
3 p.m. - Practice Fields - Helmets/Shells

Friday, Aug. 11
7 p.m. - Yager Stadium - Full Pads -- First Scrimmage

Saturday, Aug. 12
9 a.m. Practice Fields - Helmets/Shells
3 p.m. - Media Day

2006 Preview
By Gene Cassell
Washburn Sports Information Director

So many firsts in a single season.
After wrapping up their first nine-win season in school history, the Washburn Ichabods went on to win the first MIAA title since joining the league in 1989 and their first since 1983 when the Ichabods won the Central States Intercollegiate Conference championship. The Ichabods also received an at-large bid for the NCAA National Playoffs and played host for the first postseason game of any division in school history.
Coming up for the 2006 season, the Ichabods will again look to take the next step in the national playoffs building from the 2004 season. They won the Mineral Water Bowl and last season taking the MIAA Championship becoming the first team since 1993 other than Northwest Missouri or Pittsburg State to win an outright conference championship.
“We continue to build on the successes we’ve had in the previous years,” Schurig said. “We play in the toughest conference in the nation from top to bottom and winning the MIAA Championship last season gives this team a lot of confidence, but we want to also continue deeper into the playoffs this season. We are determined to get back to the national playoffs and utilize last year’s experience to win in the postseason in 2006.”

The Offense
The Ichabods return six starters from the most prolific scoring unit in school history as they scored 430 points, averaging 35.8 points per game. However, they must replace six starters in receivers Mike Odupitan and Cason Lehman, fullback Rawshawn Bland, tight end Jeff Scott and linemen Jim Holland and Rudy Sué. Sué was a second team All-American pick and Odupitan and Bland were both all-MIAA selections.
“We have a number of very talented players returning who played significant roles in the success we had last season. We look to improve on last year’s success,” Schurig said.

Quarterback
Junior quarterback Jordan Brill returns to his starting position after setting a new school record in 2005 with 2,775 yards. He was 16th in the nation in passing efficiency completing 168 passes on 297 attempts with 24 touchdowns, which was second in the MIAA. He started all 12 games for the Ichabods and received honorable mention all-MIAA honors and passed for a career-high 348 yards in the season opener against Colorado Mines and tossed five touchdowns against Central Washington.
“Jordan played extremely well in his first season as the starter,” Schurig said. “We are excited to see his improvement coming into this season after having an outstanding spring camp.”
The competition for the No. 2 quarterback will be between junior Tommy Mangino and redshirt freshman Beau Wofford. Mangino appeared in three games last season, but missed the spring practice season as he was catching for the Ichabod baseball team. Wofford gained experience in the spring as he played with both the No. 1 and No. 2 offenses in the Blue/White Spring Game.

Offensive Backfield
For the second year in a row, the Ichabods will have the luxury of having two 1,000-yard rushers in the same backfield. Senior Trent Hearn, who needs 198 yards to become the all-time leading rusher in Washburn history, rushed for school single-season records of 1,203 yards and 20 touchdowns averaging 5.4 yards per carry and 100.2 yards per game.
Hearn had six 100-yard rushing games last season including, a career-high 178 against Truman last season on homecoming. He has 39 rushing touchdowns in his career, which is tops on the Washburn career charts.
Junior Ra’Shawn Mosley rushed for 1,084 yards as a redshirt freshman, but was limited to 443 last year after suffering an injury playing in eight games picking up four rushing touchdowns.
“With Trent and Ra’Shawn, we have two very high-quality backs and that is a good problem to have,” Schurig said. “They are both 1,000-yard rushers and we look forward to using their talents to the fullest this season.”
The Ichabods are deep at running back with eight listed on their personnel chart for the upcoming season, more than any other position. The only returning running back with game experience is junior A.J. Patterson, who played in six games rushing for 123 yards on 20 carries including a 70-yard performance against Southwest Baptist and a touchdown reception against Missouri Southern.
Also in the mix will be Brent Meter, a redshirt sophomore transfer from Kansas along with three freshman in Aaron Harvey, Terrence Lowe and Josh Torrez.
At fullback, the Ichabods lose four-year starter Rawshawn Bland, who helped clear the path for three straight 1,000-yard rushers. Senior Taurence Minikwu returns to the Ichabods after sitting out last season and Damian Brackenbury, a junior transfer from Garden City Community College, who joined the Ichabods in the spring will look to take over at fullback.
“Taurence and Damian are very physical running backs and they posess the qualities we look for from the fullback position,” Schurig said.
Minikwu had a couple of receptions in the spring game. At Garden City, he played linebacker and led the team in tackles as a sophomore, but returns to fullback where he played in high school. Also looking for playing time will be redshirt freshmen Brad Haug.

Offensive Line
The Washburn offensive linemen will need to replace All-American guard Sué, who was part of an offensive line that cleared the path for two 1,000-yard rushers. This season, the Ichabods are looking for their fourth straight 1,000-yard rusher dating back to the 2002 season.
The Ichabods return three full-time starters from last season’s offensive line in senior center Dan Schneider, junior right guard Jeff Rickard and sophomore right tackle Andy Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh started the first six games of last season at right tackle before moving to left tackle. Rickard was an honorable mention all-MIAA pick.
“We believe we have a solid group on the offensive line and we will be as big and strong as any offensive line that we’ve had,” Schurig said. “This is a very close-knit group.”
Entering the season as a starter at left guard is junior Eric Eisenbarth, who played on the offensive and defensive lines last season. Also making the move from the defensive line to the offensive line is senior Nick Bull. Bull was a three-year starter at defensive tackle, but will enter fall camp as the starting left tackle and he picked up valuable experience practicing the entire spring practice session on the offensive line.
Also looking for playing time will be junior left tackle D.J. Frommoethelydo, junior left guard Trent Stanley, redshirt freshman center Grant Hajek, junior right guard Brian Strand and junior right tackle Ted Hilger. Stanley was a first team All-American at Coffeyville Community College.

Wide Receivers
The Ichabod receivers lose all-MIAA pick Michael Odupitan and Cason Lehman, but the return of the MIAA’s career touchdown reception leader in senior Sam Sissom will add to the nucleus of players returning.
Sissom missed the final nine games of the season after injuring his knee on special teams on a punt return. He returned to action in the spring with the baseball team earning second team all-MIAA honors, fully recovering from his injury. Sissom needs 489 receiving yards to set a new career record at Washburn.
Also returning from last season is junior Jake Lebahn. Lebahn averaged a team-high 19.6 yards per reception on 19 catches for 372 yards and five touchdowns. He also added a touchdown on a blocked punt return for a score as well. Senior Aaron Gardiner will also see time in the rotation. He had 10 receptions for 194 yards and a 45-yard touchdown score against Northwest Missouri in the NCAA Playoffs.
Making the switch from quarterback to wide receiver is sophomore Brandon Walker. Walker recorded only one reception last season, but rushed for 348 yards from the quarterback position. He lined up as a wide receiver more toward the end of the season.
Brad Cole, a redshirt freshman transfer from Northern Iowa will look for playing time and redshirt freshman Joe Hastings will also be in the playing rotation as he picked up a game-high five catches in the Blue/White spring game. Fellow redshirt Drameagon Powers will also look for time in the receiver’s rotation.

The Defense
The Ichabods return five full time starters from a defense that forced an MIAA-leading 30 turnovers – an improvement for the third year in a row.
“Our defense has continued to improve each year and we look to be a very solid on defense,” Schurig said. “We have a physical defensive line and a talented secondary. We have the potential to be a very good defense this fall.”

Defensive Line
In what is the most experienced unit of the defense, the defensive line returns three starters and others who have had experience in games.
“We have six players who have seen extensive playing time in the last four years, including a few who have started as true freshmen,” Schurig said. “We as a coaching staff are looking forward to see their culmination of four years of hard work.”
At left end, senior Cody Huenefeld returns after starting the last 30 games. Next to him at left defensive tackle is senior all-MIAA first team performer Trey Lewis. Lewis has started the 24 games and recorded 94 tackles at Washburn. Another pair of seniors, Zach Hemmerling and Roy Sims, will rotate at the other defensive tackle spot. Hemmerling started 22 straight game and Sims is back after missing the final six games of last season after breaking his arm against Pittsburg State. At the other defensive end, sophomore all-MIAA honorable mention pick Eric Lawrence started all 12 games last season and redshirt sophomore Dustin Moyer returns after suffering a knee injury.
Also in the mix will be redshirt freshman Ben Bianchino at right end and Brandon Jackson at end and tackle.

Linebackers
The defensive unit hit hardest by graduation is the linebackers with the loss of All-American and the Ichabod all-time leader in tackles Grant Gould. Also lost is honorable mention all-MIAA pick Mike Gonzalez along with four-year starter Josh Looney and two-year starter Terell Cobb.
“We have linebackers who have game experience, but not necessarily at the position they are going to play this fall,” Schurig said. “However, they all picked up valuable experience in the spring, so we are confident in our linebacking corps.”
The lone returner is senior Aaron Neal, who started all 12 games last season at outside linebacker. Fellow senior Chris Brown is listed at a starter at the other outside linebacker. He played in all 12 games last season and also played two games both ways picking up 185 yards rushing and 10 tackles. After playing in seven games at free safety, junior Adam Ewy is moving to an outside linebackers position. He recorded 38 tackles last season including 14 against Missouri Western.
On the inside, junior Aaron Hicks enters the fall as a starter after recording 16 tackles last season. He will be joined by redshirt freshman Zach Watkins at the other inside linebackers position. Looking for playing time will be junior Sam Tossie, who joined the Ichabods last season playing in the final 10 games recording 34 tackles and three sacks. Tossie lined up as a stand up defensive end last season before making the move to linebacker for the upcoming year. Redshirt freshman Michael Krajicek will also be in the mix on the inside as well as junior transfer Bruce Ringwood from Kansas.

Defensive Secondary
The Ichabods return senior All-American and unanimous first team all-MIAA selection Fletcher Terrell at the left cornerback slot. Terrell has already set the school record for most interceptions with 17 and owns the NCAA record for passes defended with 58.
“We’re looking for big things from Fletcher for his senior season,” Schurig said.
At the other corner is junior transfer Carey Williams. Williams joined the Ichabods last season and redshirted after coming in from Fordham University. Making the move from outside linebacker is senior Henry Talley. Talley lined up as a cornerback his sophomore season. Junior Jake Forck and redshirt freshman Ben Vann will be in the rotation as well at the left defensive back position. On the right side, junior Tramaine Young returns as well as senior Marquetis Burgess.
At the safety position, junior Jarod Tetuan returns. Tetuan started the season at wide receiver, but moved to safety the second game of the season and played both ways before moving full-time to defense. Also returning to safety is junior Erin Beck who started six games, recording 44 tackles and two interceptions. Also in the mix will be redshirt freshmen Michael Wilhoite and sophomore Steven Schuster.

Special Teams
Washburn returns senior Connor Sabel at placekicker. Sabel already owns the school record for most extra points in a career with 126 and needs 58 more points this season to become Washburn’s all-time kick scorer.
The Ichabods lose former all-MIAA punter in Curtis Massey, but will see the return of senior Ben Boswell, who handled the duties as a sophomore and averaged 36 yards a punt last season filling in for Massey who was injured.