USD Football 2009

2009 OUTLOOK: TOREROS READY TO ROLL

bolstered by the return of senior DE Kevin Dunn (6-3, 240), senior safety Derek Pilkington (6-2, 215), sen ior DT Nick Coppedge (6-2, 240),junior DT Paul Tremblay (6-3, 275), junior DE Julian Strickland (6-2, 250),soph– omore LB Loka Kanongataa (5-11 , 220) and sophomore DB Frederick Obi (6-0, 190). Three kickers wil l be competing for playing time with the special team's unit - senior James Cullen (33 points;27-33 in PAT's),redshirtfresh– man Mike Levine (Las Vegas, NV) and junior transfer Stanley Shurson (San Diego Mesa JC). The punting chores will go to sophomore Kyle Negrete (Fresno, CA). Last year Ne– grete averaged a solid 41 .0 yards on 27 punts for the Toreros, including a long of 62. Look for the versatile Ro– gan, if healthy, to see plenty of ac– tion in the kickoff return game - he led the nation in 2007 with his 33.2 average. Other possible returners could include junior Derron Juarez and sophomore AI-Ri lwan Adeyemi. Look for seniors Conrad Smith (long snapper) and Sean Cullina (holder) to play key roles as well. USD plays four of its first five games on the road with Marist (Sept. 19th) the lone home contest prior to mid-October. Four of USD's final six games are at home (Drake,Jackson– ville, Davidson and Southern Utah) with the PFL Champion hosting the NEC champion in the Gridiron Classic on December 5th. All USD games will air on San Diego 1700 AM, in addition to being streamed at www.usdtoreros.com, with Jack Cronin providing the play-by-play. 2009 PFL PRESEASON COACHES POLL 1. San Diego (S) ....................... 77 2. Dayton (3) ............................ 71 Jacksonville (2) .................... 71 4. Morehead State................... 51 5. Butler ................................... 42 6.Drake.................................... 40 7. Davidson .............................. 37 8. Marist ................................... 32 9. Valparaiso ............................ 20 10. Campbell ............................. 9 (First place votes in parenthesis)

Third -year head coach Ron Caragh– er and his staff will look to continue their winning ways on the heels of back-to-back 9-2 campaigns.The To– reros return 55 players and 14 starters (8 offense/6 defense) from last year's squad that tied for second in the Pio– neer Football League race with a 6-2 mark. For the fourth straight year the Toreros have been picked by the PFL Coaches to win the Pioneer Football League title. The offense will be in good hands with senior quarterback Sebastian Truji llo, a 2009 Walter Payton Award Watch candidate, back to lead the offensive attack. Last year Trujillo passed for 2,822 yards and 35 touch– downs on his way to earning First Team AII-PFL honors. Although he wi ll be without three of his gradu– ated receivers that accounted for 164 receptions and 35 touchdowns, including All-America wideout John Matthews (102 for 1,478 and 21 TDs), Truji llo wi ll have solid targets in junior WR Godfrey Smith (24 receptions for 234 yards, 2 TDs), sophomore WR John McGough (14-177 yards, 2TDs), sophomore TE Patrick Doyle (big TD reception in win over UC Davis), and sophomore RB Phil Morelli (25- 180 yards, 1TD) out of the backfield. Morelli and sophomore sidekick Matt Jelmini return at running back, along with the great news that JT Rogan was granted an additional year by

the NCAA after suffering a season– ending injury in the 2008 opener. Morelli stepped in nicely for Rogan and finished with 757 yards and 7 TDs. Jelmini proved he belongs too with totals of 573 yards and 2TDs. If hea lthy, Rogan will provide impor– tant depth and leadership at both running back and with the return game. He enters the 2009 campaign as the program's all-time leader in rushing yards (3,013), touchdowns (47) and all-purpose yardage (5,344). In 2007 he was named a First Team All-American as a return special – ist. Additional backfield depth will come from RB Brendan Feliczak (6-2, 228), who returns after missing the past two seasons, and sophomore fullback Kyle Sul livan (6-2, 240). The offensive line unit will be anchored by seniors Conrad Smith (6-6, 300), Patrick Calahan (6-4, 275), Kyle Ko– foed (6-2, 290) and Nick Kostielney (6-3, 270). Defensively the Toreros will be paced by First Team AII -PFL return– ers Gabriel Derricks, a senior corner– back, and senior linebacker Derek Marten. Derricks is a 4-year starter for the Toreros, whi le Marten re– turns for his second and final Torero campaign after leading all tacklers with 53 stops in 2008. Sophomore AI-Ri lwan Adeyemi, the 2008 PFL Freshman Defensive Player of the Year, is also back at cornerback. Ad– eyemi led USD with 5 interceptions, including two returns for touch– downs. The defense will also be