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When the North Coast Athletic Conference released its preseason coaches’ poll for football last week, I was pleased to see the DePauw University Tigers right were they should be: in the middle of the pack at No. five.
It’s easy to feel optimistic about the 2014 edition of Tigers football. The team won four of its last six games and discovered a gem of a quarterback, making it easy for fans to feel confident about this season.
But I’m here with a message to Tiger fans: be cautiously optimistic about DePauw football this year.
Tigers’ football should be better than a year ago, but fans shouldn’t expect them to be light-years ahead of where they finished last season.
True, the underclassmen will have had an entire calendar year in Head Coach Bill Lynch’s system and a summer to get into shape. Returning players will add leadership to a team loaded with first-years and sophomores. Even with all of this, however, they still aren’t ready to compete with the giants of the NCAC like Wittenberg University, and yes, Wabash College.
They still have an inexperienced team and some hurdles to jump through, especially sophomore quarterback Matt Hunt.
Hunt put up big numbers last year in his first season in Greencastle, Indiana. He came just shy of throwing for 2000 yards, and he tossed 17 touchdowns and only three interceptions.
For Hunt, 2014 will be different because he lost Barry Flynn, his favorite target. Flynn’s six-foot-five-inch frame gave Hunt a big target to throw to downfield. This year, the Tigers are going to have to find someone to replace Flynn’s 889 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.
Another factor against Hunt is the dreaded sophomore slump. It’s cliché but it’s true: quarterbacks who put up big numbers in their first season traditionally see a setback in their second year.
Last year, Hunt came into training camp as just another guy fighting for a spot on the team. When he took the field, opponents didn’t know much about him. Going into this season, however, the competition has film on Hunt and will know all of his tendencies. His ability to adjust to the other teams’ knowledge will be a key factor in how this season turns out for the Tigers.
The competition the Tigers will face in the NCAC is still incredibly fierce. The four teams ahead of the Tigers in preseason rankings defeated DePauw last year. Wabash and Wittenberg were the class of the conference last fall and will likely remain there.
The two other schools ranked ahead of the Tigers, Denison University and the College of Wooster, will have improved for 2014 as well, making gaining any ground difficult for the Tigers.
This is tough to hear right now, but the Tigers may not always start the season this way. The team has been building for the future. Lynch has brought in a massive class of first-years that features over 40 players, allowing him to create a junior varsity squad. The new squad will help the Tigers exponentially in the years to come because it gives younger players a chance to gain game experience before hitting the varsity field.
In the end, I see this season as one more transition year for the Tigers. They’ll use this year to grow and gain experience, but might not win more than five games. And that’s fine. This year should be all about growing for the future.