By Tim Glon
The Ohio Northern football team enters the 2012 season with high hopes of another in a string of outstanding seasons.
ONU faithful hope the Polar Bears can continue a streak of 15 consecutive upper division finishes in the Ohio Athletic Conference and a streak of nine consecutive seasons of being ranked nationally.
Ninth-year head coach Dean Paul welcomes back 14 starters and 44 lettermen from last year's squad that went 6-4 overall and finished fourth in the OAC with a 5-4 record.
Experience will be an asset for ONU with 26 seniors on the squad that have had a hand in 23 victories over the past three seasons.
Northern welcomes back seven starters on offense, seven starters on defense and return an All-Conference punter and a trio of kickers on special teams.
"We feel very optimistic about our chances this season," Paul said. "The big theme is that their are many positives to take from last year. We do not measure our program by just wins and losses, but by other factors both on and off the field as well. That said, we are not satisfied by a 6-4 record and hope to improve that aspect of our program this fall."
Here is a breakdown of the 2011 Ohio Northern football team, by position:
Offensive Line
The Polar Bears return three starters and seven of the 10 players on last season's two-deep on the offensive line.
Senior two-time All-Conference center Kyle Smith, senior All-Conference and Academic All-Conference guard Tyler Joseph and junior guard Cullen Zelachowski all return after starting all 10 games together in 2011.
Senior Nick Jones, junior Grant Brand and sophomores Michael Howell and Steve Dembowski also return and are expected to use their experience from last year to step into larger roles this fall.
"We have a deep group of talented and experienced returners up front," Paul said. "We also have what may be the best recruiting class of offensive linemen coming in that we have had in recent years. The young guys should push the older veterans and we expect to have a great deal of competition up front, which should make this a strength of the squad."
Offensive Backfield
Junior All-OAC running back Justin Buenger highlights the list of returners in the backfield.
Buenger rushed for 707 yards and seven touchdowns in his first season as a starter despite being banged up from time to time throughout the season.
Junior Tyler Rue also returns after starting eight games at quarterback in 2011.
Rue completed 139-of-234 passes for 1,456 yards and 10 TDs and ran 80 times for 297 yards and five more scores.
Sophomore Matt Flynn will also battle for the starting signal-caller spot after seeing spot duty as a freshman last fall.
Seniors DeMarqus Payne (38a, 246y) and Carter Paul (53a, 302y) also return to give the Polar Bears many options at tailback.
The starting fullback position is up for grabs after graduation depleted the top three fullbacks from a year ago.
"We are excited about our offensive backfield," Paul said. "We have a nice group of running backs and a solid quarterback returning. We need to continue to improve our vertical passing game and that will come from both our quarterback and receiver positions."
Receivers / Tight End
The receiving corps will be a deep and talented group in 2011.
In all, eight players that caught at least one pass in 2010 return, to form a solid nucleus in the receiving corps.
Senior Jay Priest (41r, 404y, 3 TD) is a two-year starter and led the Polar Bears in receptions with 41 last year.
Seniors Justin Wilson, Frank Thien and Kyle Baker all return.
Wilson led the Polar Bears with 40 receptions for 387 yards and five TDs and started nine games after transferring to ONU.
Thien started the final eight games and caught 26 passes for 326 yards and three scores and Baker started the first two games (catching 10 passes) before an injury ended his season early.
"We fully expect our receivers to play at a high level this fall," Paul said. "We were really hampered by injuries last season but have three starters back and a large group of transfers, sophomores and incoming freshman ready to step in and play large roles for us. We are confident that this will be a position of strength in 2011."
Defensive Line
The Polar Bears are loaded with talent and experience on the defensive line as three starters return led by two-time All-Conference nose tackle Cody Kelly.
Kelly posted 35 tackles, a team-high 4.0 sacks and 9.5 TFL despite constant double-teaming from opponents last fall.
Junior Mike King (21t, 6.5 TFL) started the final six games at tackle.
Junior Sean Denson started eight games at end and led ONU with 10.5 TFL to go with his 3.0 sacks and 33 tackles.
"With three starters back up front, our defensive line looks solid," Paul said. "We also have very talented players waiting for opportunities to get playing time, so competition should be outstanding. This group developed into an outstanding unit last year and we expect great things out of them again this season."
Linebacker
The three linebacker positions should be a strength of the squad in 2011.
Senior Joe Powell returns at outside linebacker after leading the Polar Bears in tackles last season with 85.
Sophomore Steven Kenny started twice at middle linebacker and had 26 tackles in those two games before getting dinged up and is the favorite to lock up the starting position on a full-time basis this season.
The other starting outside linebacker slot in Paul's 4-3 defense will be a battle as junior Dillon Kwiat leads a list of retueners that appear ready to step into a starting role.
"Linebacker could be a strength," Paul said. "Powell was our leading tackler last year and Kenny was outstanding when he was at full strength. The third position will be a good competition among several very talented players."
Secondary
Senior safety Cory Spelman leads the list of returners in the secondary.
Spelman was third on the team with 70 tackles a year ago.
Junior corner Ryan Reid started all 10 games as well and had 49 tackles, an interception and seven PBUs in 2011.
"It will be an interesting group in the secondary this fall," Paul said. "We have a great deal of very talented athletes returning. We may be inexperienced, but we expect to have a great deal of depth, talent and competition for playing time at all four positions."
Special Teams
Junior All-Conference punter Kevin Weslosky (36p, 37.5 ave) returns after an outstanding freshman and sophomore years.
Three placekickers return that scored points a year.
Junior Luke Rice made a team-best four field goals and handled most of the kickoff duties.
Senior Lee Luckasevic nailed a game-winning field goal against John Carroll and took over the field goal duties the latter half of the season and senior Nick Newman was 3-for-4 on PATs in 2011.
Two outstanding punt and kickoff return specialists return to give the Polar Bears a pair of dangerous weapons in the return game.
Senior DeMarqus Payne is back after setting a school record by returning two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same game a year ago.
Sophomore Austin Griffin joined Payne on kickoff return duties and handled the bulk of the punt return chores as a freshman last season.
"Our special teams were solid last year and we have high expectations in all three areas this year," Paul said. "We have talent and competition at both kicking positions and in the kick return game."
