CEDAR CITY, Utah -- For the Southern Utah football program, it has been well over a year since they laced up their Adidas cleats and took the field against a rival school. At 1:00 p.m. MT on Saturday, February 27, that will all change, as the Thunderbirds and Lumberjacks will kickoff in the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome with the Grand Canyon Rivalry Trophy on the line.
2019 Recap
Southern Utah wrapped up their 2019 campaign on November 23 in North Dakota that year, bringing to a close their eighth season in the Big Sky Conference.
The Thunderbirds went 3-9 on the year, and finished 2-6 in the Big Sky Conference.
SUU started the season 0-2 with losses to UNLV and No. 11/12 Northern Iowa before picking up their first victory of the year in a non-conference contest against Stephen F. Austin, 45-38 in overtime.
Following a five-game skid the middle of their schedule, the Thunderbirds claimed two of their final four Big Sky matchups.
They put on a dominating performance against Idaho State, knocking off the Bengals 59-34, and three weeks later knocked off NAU 31-30.
All three of Southern Utah's victories came at home.
When they kick off on Saturday, Southern Utah will be seeking its first road victory since November 11, 2017.
Top Returners: Offense
The Thunderbirds will be returning a number of offensive weapons from the 2019 roster that will have a big impact during the upcoming spring season.
At running back, Thomas Ducket had a breakout year for the Thunderbirds with 420 yards on the ground and five touchdowns in just his first year with the team.
In the passing game, Lance Lawson had a stellar year for the T-Birds with 78 total catches for 735 yards. He finished the year with three receiving touchdowns. Lawson was an Honorable Mention to the Big Sky All-Conference Team in 2019.
In just seven games, Landen Measom had 28 catches for 463 yards and one touchdown. He averaged 16.54 yards per catch last season.
Duckett caught 19 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns for the Thunderbirds as well. Freshman Zach Nelson had 13 catches for 200 yards and three touchdowns in just six appearances.
Southern Utah is returning two quarterbacks that took snaps last season in Justin Miller and Tyler Skidmore. Skidmore completed 17 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns, while Miller completed seven passes for 57 yards and one touchdown.
The Thunderbirds also return a lot of experience on the offensive line, including Braxton Jones, who was named to the All-Big Sky Third Team following the 2019 season, along with hearing the title of HERO Sports Sophomore All-American.
Judd Cockett was named to the All-Big Sky Third Team offense as a kick returner. He finished the year with 38 returns for 753 yards.
Top Returners: Defense
Southern Utah will return a number of its top performers on the defensive side of the ball as well heading into their six game slate.
AJ Stanley finished the 2019 season as SUU's second leading tackler with 71 total, with 52 of them being solo tackles. Stanley also had 2.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble on the year. He was also an Honorable Mention member of the All-Big Sky team.
Quaid Murray returns after being the team's third leading tackler in 2019 with 65 total. He also had 2.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
Aaron Romero led the Thunderbird in sacks during the 2019 season, racking up 4.5. He had six total tackles for loss.
Bishop Jones had three sacks and a team-high eight tackles for loss during the most recent campaign as well.
Coaching Staff Changes
Southern Utah has made a number of coaching staff changes since the conclusion of the 2019 season, but most notably they will be heading into their 2021 spring campaign with a new offensive and defensive coordinator.
On the offensive side of the ball, Matt Wade will be calling his first game as OC for the Thunderbirds. Wade spent the previous seven seasons with the University of Pacific, most recently serving as the team's offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator.
Defensively, Robert Bala will be coaching his first game as defensive coordinator for Southern Utah. Bala is in his third season at Southern Utah, and his first as DC. In 2018 he was SUU's cornerbacks coach and in 2019 he was the team's co-special teams coordinator.
Big Sky Schedule
Southern Utah will be competing in a modified Big Sky Conference slate this spring which will include six games over the span of eight weeks.
There are two built in weekends for makeup contests if games get canceled.
The Thunderbirds will open and close their season with contests against Northern Arizona, as Big Sky members are playing their closest regional foe twice during the year.
SUU will play its first home game on March 6 when they host Idaho State before going out on the road the next weekend for a game against Cal Poly.
On March 27 the T-Birds will travel to Moscow to face off against the Idaho Vandals before returning home on April 3 to host in-state rival Weber State.
The 2021 spring regular season will come to a close on April 10 at home against NAU.
Opponent Preview: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
Northern Arizona finished their 2019 campaign with a 4-8 overall record, and a 2-6 mark in Big Sky Conference play. In non-conference competition they were able to knock off Missouri State and Western New Mexico, and knocked off Northern Colorado and Portland State in Big Sky competition.
The Lumberjacks are returning a pair of Big Sky First Team All-Conference performers in kicker Luis Aguilar and punter DJ Arnson. Both were amongst the best at their respective positions in the FCS last season.
NAU head coach Chris Ball is entering his second season for Northern Arizona. He was named the 30th head coach of the Lumberjack football program on December 10, 2018.
In his first year leading the program, Ball's Lumberjacks finished 10th in scoring (37.2 points per game) and 3rd in total offense (484.1 yards) among 124 FCS programs. Quarterback Case Cookus finished second in the Walter Payton Award voting after leading the FCS in passing yards during Ball's first season as Northern Arizona's head coach.
Words From Coach Warren
On everything leading up to the adjusted schedule...
"This is just a resilient group," SUU head coach Demario Warren said. "Through the weather, COVID, and everything else going on these guys have stayed focused. They don't blink, they don't flinch, so I'm just proud of the way they're playing for each other. We've had a ton of things that have happened the last couple weeks, so I'm excited that our guys have just stayed focused on the next task, and we're excited to hopefully play some games this year."
On the new coordinators...
"They had a year to get ready, so it's been a long process," Warren said. "The players have been excited to actually run the plays instead of watching them on Zoom, so it's been good. We're not having as many practices as most teams are, so we really put a lot of extra work in during December and January to make sure we're ready for now. I think it's showing, and the guys are starting to take ownership of the new schemes."
On Northern Arizona…
"It's been so long since we played it," Warren said. "Their staff did a great job recruiting, but it's been so hard to keep track of who's eligible and who isn't this spring. So we're really trying to focus on us and be ready to battle. We know those guys, it's been a heated rivalry for a long time, and so we know they're going to come out and fight. I'm expecting them to come out looking for revenge, so our guys have to be ready to get punched in the mouth early and respond."
How To Watch/Listen/Follow Along
Saturday's contest will be streamed live on the PlutoTV App and www.WatchBigSky.com.
All of Southern Utah's football games can be heard over the airwaves on KSUB 107.7 FM and 590 AM in Cedar City, and KDXU News Radio 890 AM and 94.9 FM in St. George. Chris Holmes has recently been announced as the new radio voice for the Thunderbirds, taking on play-by-play duties moving forward.
A link to live stats will be available on www.tbirdstats.com prior to kickoff.
Follow Us
Keep tabs on the Thunderbirds all year by following @SUUFB on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the Southern Utah Football page on Facebook.
