CEDAR CITY, Utah, July 28 – Southern Utah University will open its second fall football camp in the Ed Lamb era Monday when the Thunderbirds welcome newcomers and returning players to opening meetings and sessions. All players are scheduled to report Monday for orientation with the first practice slated for 4:15 p.m. at the Thunderbird practice facility.
    “The players and coaches are very eager to get started,” Coach Lamb says. “Everyone has put in a lot of hard work, and we are anxious to see the cumulative team result of so much effort.”
    The Thunderbirds open the season Sept. 3, when they host Dixie State in the first gridiron meeting between the two schools since SUU moved to four-year competition in 1963. SUU then plays three straight on the road, at San Diego State, at Northern Arizona and at Utah State, before the second home game of the season, against Texas State, Oct. 3.
    After an Oct. 10 bye SUU opens Great West Conference play at Cal Poly, Oct. 17, then hosts a pair of GWC opponents, North Dakota and UC Davis, Oct. 24 and 31, respectively. The North Dakota game is SUU's 2009 Homecoming.
    SUU then hits the road for another GWC contest, at South Dakota, Nov. 11, before returning home to host Eastern Washington in the '09 Eccles Coliseum finale, Nov. 14. The Thunderbirds close the regular season Nov. 21 at San Diego.

Thunderbird Practice Schedule: 

    Week One: The team will hold meetings and fundamental instruction each morning Monday through Friday, with practices slated for 4:15 p.m. each of those days. Practices on Monday and Tuesday will be in helmets only, while practices on Wednesday and Thursday will be in shells. The first full-pads practice will be Friday, and Saturday the team will hold its first two-a-day practice with a morning workout at 9:05 a.m. and an afternoon practice at 4:15.
    Week Two: Two-a-day workouts will be held Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:05 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., with single workouts at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. The first full scrimmage will be Saturday at 4:15 p.m.
    Week Three: Two-a-days again on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with single sessions Tuesday and Thursday. The team will hold another scrimmage during Thursday's session at 4:15 p.m. and the team will hold a 4:15 p.m. practice on Saturday.
    Game Week: With the beginning of fall classes the team will practice once a day, with players reporting to the field at 4:15 p.m.
    NOTE: All practice and scrimmage times are approximate and subject to change.

Thunderbird Quick Hits:

• SUU will be entering its 47th season as a four-year football-playing institution and its 24th as a member of the NCAA. The 2008 season also marks the Thunderbirds' 17th as a member of the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) and is the school's sixth in the Great West Conference.
• The opener against Dixie State marks just the second time in the last seven seasons the Thunderbirds have played their first game of the season at home. The only other time SUU has opened at home during that stretch was in 2006 when it kicked off the season with a 34-0 defeat of Montana Tech at Eccles. Last year SUU opened at Air Force, in 2007 the team opened at Montana, in 2005 at Idaho State (in the only other Thursday opener in school history), in 2004 the team opened at Weber State and in 2003 the opener was at Nevada.
• The Thunderbirds have two all-Americans and six first team all-conference players returning, including senior punter Trevor Ward and junior receiver Tysson Poots, who both earned honorable mention all-America and first-team all-conference honors last year. In addition to Ward and Poots, senior linebacker Robert Takeno, junior cornerback Colin Pretlow, junior safety Akeem Anifowashe and senior center Stephen Boyer all earned first-team all GWC honors last year. In addition to the first-teamers, senior guard Aarron Po'uha earned second-team recognition last year.
• SUU also returns three academic all-GWC honorees from the 2008 squad: Poots, Pretlow and Ward. In addition to those three, senior running back Brandon Godfrey, who sat out last year with an injury, earned academic all-GWC honors in 2006 and 2007.
• SUU plays six of its 11 games against FCS opponents this year, with the exceptions being the games at FBS opponents San Diego State and Utah State, the opener against Division II Dixie State, and the games vs. North Dakota and South Dakota, a pair of teams making the transition from Division II to Division I status.

    Quick Outlook: Heading into his second season as head coach of Southern Utah's football program, Lamb is optimistic about his team's outlook this year. Expectations for continued improvement stem from areas of upgraded talent, size and strength, and an additional year with the current offensive and defensive schemes in place, to on-the-field production.
    “I expect we will be able to show continued improvement over last year,” he says. “I felt like in year one of our staff working with these players that we had some significant improvement in the areas of competing with other teams. I think our talent level will be increased this year but what I'm really looking for as the indicator of how good we're going to be is how hard we play.
    “If we can play as hard as we did last year and combine that with our increased size, strength and talent, then we will be a very good team.”
    Expectations will be raised, as Lamb points out that “four wins last year was a huge improvement over the previous season but we won't be satisfied with just four wins this season.”
    Lamb's squad lost a handful of key players on both sides of the ball from last year's 4-7 squad, but the Thunderbirds also have a good group of returning starters as well as experienced backups.
    On the offensive side of the ball nine players who started at least one game last season return, while the defense boasts seven who started in various schemes last year. The only area where significant change will be evident is on special teams, where two of the three primary specialists will have to be replaced.
    Although nine players with starting experience return on the offensive side of the ball, the one position where the Thunderbirds will have a completely new face is at quarterback, where senior Cade Cooper is poised to step in. Cooper, a transfer from the University of Oregon, was the National Junior College Player of the Year at Snow College back in 2006 when he passed for over 3,100-yards and 33 touchdowns in leading the Badgers to a 12-1 season. He initially transferred to BYU, but after suffering an injury there he moved on to Oregon, where he sat out as a redshirt in 2007. With a host of quarterbacks in the Ducks' program heading into 2008, Cooper opted to transfer to Southern Utah and Oregon's loss was the Thunderbirds' gain.
    Lamb says Cooper gives SUU an upgrade at quarterback, even though he has never played a down in a game outside the spring scrimmage.
    Backing Cooper up will be redshirt sophomore Zack Olsen, as well as freshmen Ammon Olsen, Randall Nygren and J.J. Mayer. Zach Olsen is a redshirt sophomore who spent last season on the sidelines after returning from an LDS church mission. Ammon Olsen, perhaps the most decorated of SUU's 2009 signees, was Utah's 5A Player of the Year last year after leading Alta High to a state championship, while Nygren and Mayer both had excellent high school careers in California.
    No matter how one looks at it, the offensive line is upgraded this year. For the first time in several seasons, the task of protecting the quarterback – and opening running lanes – falls to a big and relatively experienced bunch as the offensive line returns three full-time and one part-time starter. Center Stephen Boyer and tackles Aarron Po'uha and Levi Mack were all starters last season, while guard Joe Ellis (6-6, 300) was a part-time starter who played starter's minutes. The fifth starter, at least heading into the season, is redshirt freshman Zach Brackus, but redshirt sophomore Trevor Schauerhamer could push for that position while backing up at all four positions except center. Freshman Russell Peterson, who returned from an LDS church mission in time to join the team for spring workouts, is another option up front.
    Adding depth along the front are a group of freshmen Lamb says “will look just like our starters in terms of height and weight,” including Cody Burgess, Greg Reid, Christian Rennie, Tony Coissart, Darren Griffin, Kevin Moss from St. George's Pine View High School, and Gavin Farr.
    At receiver the Thunderbirds also have a wealth of experience, with Poots, fellow junior Fesi Sitake and sophomore Jared Ursua all returning after starting last season. In addition to those three, the Thunderbirds also have senior Ryan Griffith back, while Kaden Carli made the move from defensive back during spring and redshirt junior Robert Ah Sue looks to produce as well.
    Poots finished third in the nation last year in receptions (7.55) and receiving yards per game (112.36), and he also set SUU records for catches (83) and receiving yards (1,236) in a season. Along the way he set the SUU single-game receptions record, with 16, and tied the record for touchdown catches with four at Cal Poly, where he finished with 246 receiving yards, third-most in a game in SUU history.
    Ursua and Sitake finished third and fourth on the SUU receiving list last year, as Ursua caught 27 passes for 298 yards and three TDs while Sitake had 26 receptions for 306 yards and two scores. Griffith caught three balls for 17 yards in 2008.
    Once again, Lamb says he believes his recruiting class will also provide depth as the players develop and learn. Freshmen Cameron Morgan, Mitch Jessop, Chandler Allphin and Jordan Ursua join the team this fall.
    Tight end is another position where a contributor from last year, sophomore Abbel Aiono will be asked to step up into a starter's role, while sophomore Aaron Rodriguez, who moved from wide receiver to tight end in the spring, will also look to contribute.
    At fullback the Thunderbirds will utilize a pair of juniors who have moved from the defensive side of the ball, former linebackers Tui Siliva and Taylor Pendley. Pendley made the move midway through last season while Siliva made the switch during spring ball.
    The team also returns its top three running backs from last season, junior Deckar Alexander, senior Kennie Apilli and sophomore Daryl Brown. Alexander led the team with 142 carries for 384 yards and two touchdowns while Apilli carried 45 times for 160 yards and a TD and Brown had 26 carries for 107 yards and another score. Senior Brandon Godfrey, a converted quarterback, will also be back after sitting out last year with an injury. Two more backs, sophomore Austin Minefee and junior Major Gray, will look to contribute as well. With so many backs in the program already, the Thunderbirds signed just one during the off-season, but that one, Karl Williams fits the SUU model perfectly, Lamb says.
    Going into last season SUU's defensive strength may have been the line, this year it may be its biggest question. With the losses of all-conference tackles Austin Curtis (also an honorable mention All-American) and Aaron Fernandez (now a member of the coaching staff), the Thunderbirds have just one full-time starter back along the defensive line: senior Chad Westwood, who made the move from end to tackle during spring ball.
    Senior end Scott Larsen has played significant minutes over the past several years, while junior tackle Nick Garcia and sophomore end Cody Heinreich got significant experience last season.
    In addition to those players, freshman Cody Larsen and sophomore Nick Witzmann, as well as JC transfer Trent Barney, will also look to contribute. Freshmen newcomers Andrew Eide and James Cowser will compete for playing time while learning the system and maturing.
    The Thunderbirds' most experienced returning player is senior linebacker Robert Takeno, who has earned all-conference honors the past three seasons and has finished among the team's top-three tacklers ever since earning a starting spot as a redshirt freshman in 2006. The team's top tackler the past two seasons, Takeno had 94 stops last year, 82 in 2007 and 73 in 2006. He has earned first-team all-GWC honors the past two seasons and is a fixture at WILL linebacker. His backup will be redshirt freshman Ricky Clark, who may not have Takeno's experience but has good size and physical ability.
    In the middle the Thunderbirds have Troy Bunting, who stepped up last season when D.J. Senter, another perennial all-GWC performer, went down with an injury. Bunting finished the season with 46 tackles, including seven for losses, despite starting just four games. Slated to back Bunting up in the middle is redshirt sophomore Andrew Taeoalii, who sat out last year after returning from an LDS mission. Taeoalii earned a starting spot midway through the 2005 season as well, and wound up with 36 tackles.
    The SAM linebacker, heading into fall, is a player with limited experience but vast potential. Drew Willard is another redshirt sophomore who was fresh off a mission in 2008, and although he did play he saw limited action, finishing with two tackles in five games. Listed as Willard's backup at the position is Blake Fenn, but Fenn was a starter at safety much of the 2008 campaign and will start in some nickel and dime packages this year. Fenn finished last season with 47 tackles and co-led the team with two interceptions. Freshmen linebackers coming in this season include Brady Davies and Sam Aigbe.
    Two-time all-conference cornerback Colin Pretlow and D.J. Lucchesi are the only starters returning at that position, but two more players have experience, including Myles Crawford-Harris and Erron Vonner. Newcomer Travis Barney and converted receiver Marlon Hogains are also expected to contribute.
    Lucchesi finished fourth on the team in tackles last year with 61, playing a variety of roles from linebacker to safety and he looks to fill the same needs this season, depending upon which defensive look is called for. Pretlow had 59 tackles in 2008, with two interceptions and a team-high six passes broken up to earn first-team all-GWC honors. Vonner and Crawford-Harris contributed both on defense and on cover teams last season; Vonner finished with 22 tackles, while Crawford-Harris finished the season with eight stops.
    Barney joins the team after transferring from Snow College. Freshmen newcomers include a pair of Californians, in Anthony Fagans and Dennis Fite.
    Safety is another position where the Thunderbirds return a first-team all-conference performer, in Akeem Anifowoshe. Anifowoshe finished the season second on the team with 76 tackles last year despite being sidelined for a game-and-a-half by injury. A player with a good combination of strength and speed, he made the move to safety last season after playing cornerback as a freshman. His primary backup will be Herman Sword.
    The other safety spot will be manned by either Dion Turner or Tyson Turley, depending upon the situation. Turner earned playing time midway through the season and finished with eight tackles in four games, while Turley was pressed into duty because of injuries and finished the season with seven tackles in seven games. Incoming freshman Matt Holley will also look to contribute as he learns the system.
    On special teams the good news is that honorable mention All-American punter Trevor Ward is back for his senior season. Unfortunately, return specialist Nick Miller, who led the nation in all-purpose yards, and kicker Steve Pulver both graduated.
    Ward finished the season ranked eighth in the nation with an average of 42.78 yards per punt and the team was sixth in net average at 35.89. Ward had 16 punts travel further than 50 yards, stopped 18 inside the 20 and set the SUU record for a single punt with his 91-yarder at Air Force. He was named the GWC Special Teams Player of the Week twice and national special teamer of the week once in 2008. He also finished as the team's fourth-leading rusher after carrying twice for 30 yards.
    Looking to replace Miller will be Sitake, Jared Ursua and Lucchesi, while Griffith may wind up kicking instead of playing a lot of wide receiver this year, after the performance he put on during spring ball.


    The Schedule: Coach Lamb says he really likes the way the 2009 schedule is set up, with a variety of tough opponents in the first five games before the GWC opener at Cal Poly, Oct. 17, then the conference schedule, and finally a pair of non-conference tilts to wrap up the campaign.
    “The thing I really like about our schedule is the way it's set up,” he explains. “We have five non-conference games before we even have to think about a conference game and I really like the way that's set up. We've got time to grow as a team, we've got time to have success, have struggles and respond to both before we have to get into our conference. The mark of a good team is the team that wins the conference championship so I expect us to be well prepared before we ever play a conference game.
    “Then we've got all four of our conference games in a row. If at that point we have learned in the first five games enough to win our conference in the next four, then we play two very well respected teams, with a shot to get into the [FCS] national playoffs. First things first, setting ourselves up in the first five games and win the conference. That would be a really nice position to be in, to have a conference championship in hand and then be playing Eastern Washington and San Diego in two highly visible games at the end of the season.
    “I think the schedule is perfect for us,” he adds. “The philosophy here has been to schedule the best teams we can get to come and play us and for us to play on the road. [SUU Athletic Director Ken Beazer] had a vision for us to become a national contender and I want it to stay that way.
    “We play two Division I-A teams [San Diego State and Utah State]; we play Texas State, a playoff team last year; obviously Cal Poly is in our league, they're a playoff team; UC Davis is a pre-season top-25; we round out our non-conference schedule with two traditional top-level FCS teams, Northern Arizona and Eastern Washington, who have both been in the top-half of the standings in the Big Sky; and we've got the University of San Diego, who averages nine or 10 wins over the past four years, the best [Division I] non-scholarship team we could schedule; so it's a challenging schedule, which is good. We also have the Dixie game, which will be a great game for community involvement, will be great for the southern Utah area.”

    Coaching Lineup: The staff will return virtually intact for the 2009 season, with Lamb as head coach/defensive coordinator. Former Weber State all-American and NFL standout Al Pupunu returns as assistant head/tight ends and running backs coach while former BYU and Utah assistant Steve Clark will again handle offensive coordinator duties. Another NFL veteran, former BYU standout Justin Ena is back as special teams coordinator and linebackers coach, and Paul Peterson, a former JC all-American at Snow College who was also a successful QB at Boston College, will again handle the quarterbacks and receivers as well as heading up recruiting. Ryan Hunt, a former all-conference performer at offensive tackle for SUU, returns as defensive line coach while Demario Warren, who played running back at UC Davis before injuries cut short his career, returns as secondary coach, and another NFL veteran and BYU grad, Jason Andersen, is slated to coach the offensive line. In addition to those coaches, Shane Braman returns as an offensive assistant. New to the staff this year will be graduate assistants Teag Whiting, another former BYU player with NFL experience, and Ronnie Pentz, who was an all-conference performer for Lamb at University of San Diego. Rounding out the staff will be student assistant Aaron Fernandez, a two-time all-GWC performer for the Thunderbirds.