University of St. Thomas Athletics
Football No. 8 in Pioneer Football League coaches' poll
7/27/2021 1:00:00 PM | Football
Pioneer Football League news release
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Division I newcomer St. Thomas Football was slotted at No. 8 out of 11 teams in a preseason coaches vote for the 2021 Pioneer Football League race.
Davidson (eight first-place votes) and San Diego (three) took the first two spots, with Drake at No. 3 leading a second tier of teams.
St. Thomas, Marist, Stetson and Butler hold the Nos. 8-9-10-11 spots. PFL head coaches didn't vote for their own teams but ranked each opponent at No. 1 through No. 10. Teams received 10 points for each No. 1, nine for a Nos 2 etc... to get each team's poll points total.
After 100 seasons as a member of the MIAC and more than three decades competing as a Division III program, the Tommies make their Division I debut in all 21 sports in fall 2021.They are the only new FCS or FBS program competing in the 2021 college football season.
Coach Glenn Caruso's eight-game PFL schedule includes road games at the Nos. 1-2-3-9 teams in the preseason poll -- Davidson, San Diego, Drake and Stetson. The Purple's conference home games will come against Butler, Valparaiso, Marist and Presbyterian. They don't play Dayton or Morehead State in this season's schedule draw.
St. Thomas is set to open play with consecutive non-conference games Sept. 4 and 11 against NAIA's St. Francis (Ill.) (home) and Division II Michigan Tech (away). Their first FCS game will come on the road against Northern Iowa on Sept. 18.
Caruso is starting his 14th season here after enduring the program's longest offseason in more than 75 years.
The Tommies are among a handful of FCS programs that didn't play games last season. Covid protocols and restrictions along with trouble finding willing opponents left them with only a few scrimmages last spring. Their last game came Nov. 16, 2019 in their season finale, a 17-7 win over Bethel that clinched a share of the 2019 conference title.
St. Thomas will return five all-conference players from that final season of play in Division III in 2019: starting offensive linemen Eli Wawracz and Matt Weimann; kick-return specialist Tom Loeffler; DB Joe Hird; and QB Tommy Dolan.
Kolby Gartner, expected to compete for the starting punter job, pitched for the Tommies' NCAA runner-up baseball team last spring as a true freshman and made two impressive postseason starts.
The Purple's 110-man preseason roster is expected to include nearly 35 seniors. More than 60 players who joined the team over the last two seasons have yet to play in a college football game, although several will push for starting or two-deep roles. This year's signing class and transfers list includes 35 players from 11 different states.
2021 Pioneer Football League Preseason Coaches' Poll
Team Points
1. Davidson (8) 97
2. San Diego (3) 93
3. Drake 67
4. Dayton 62
5. Presbyterian 59
6. Valparaiso 55
7. Morehead State 51
8. St. Thomas 36
9. Marist 35
Stetson 35
11. Butler 15
