University of St. Thomas Athletics
Coach Glenn Caruso is starting his 15th season in 2022 (Dan Borgeson photo)
Gene's Blog: Is it too early for a Tommie FB tailgate?
8/19/2022 5:19:00 PM | Football, Gene's Blog
With 13 days until game one kicks off -- and 22 days until the O'Shaughnessy Stadium home opener -- this 2022 St. Thomas Football season is sneaking up on us.
Here are a dozen or so things that you may not know about the Tommies as they prepare for the school's 119th season of play.
Tough Tests
St. Thomas Football has a rare opportunity in 2022 to play two home games in the same month against returning conference co-champion teams.
Highlighting a six-game home schedule, the Toms are set to play the 2021 Pioneer Football co-champions Davidson (Oct. 8) and San Diego (Oct. 29) three weeks apart at O'Shaughnessy Stadium.
Davidson took the PFL's automatic bid into the NCAA playoffs in an 8-4 finish after it led all FCS and FBS teams in rushing at 336 yards a game.
San Diego averaged 235 passing yards a game to rank among the top third of 123 FCS teams.
TD Talk
St. Thomas did something last season that only two other D-I football programs can claim for 2021: record a .700 or better win percentage despite scoring under 25 ppg.
The Toms finished 7-3 while scoring 24.4 ppg and allowing just 17.8 ppg. Iowa in FBS did it (10-4 record, 23.4 ppg on offense), as did FCS's Columbia (7-3, 24.9 ppg).
The Toms' success was helped as it ranked 13th among all 123 FCS teams in fewest points allowed per game at 17.8. Only 18 of the opponents' 22 TDs in 2021 were scored on the Tommie defense, too, as four TDs came via special teams and defensive scores. The Purple ranked first among all FCS and FBS teams in takeaways per game at 2.7.
St. Thomas averaged scoring nearly six touchdowns a game in Caruso's 12-season D-III chapter (446 TDs in all). Last year's Tommies scored 33 TDs in 10 games in season one of D-I competition.
The Toms are on pace as early as this season to score the program's 900th touchdown of the Caruso era.
Geography Lesson
When St. Thomas opens its season on Sept. 1 at Southern Utah University, that trek to Cedar City, Utah will be the Toms' longest trip of the season at 1,492 miles.
Later trips are scheduled to New York to Marist College (1,213 miles); to South Carolina to Presbyterian College (1,151); and to Indiana to Valparaiso University (459 miles) and Butler University (583 miles).
Check the Calendar... and Your Watch
The Southern Utah game will be the earliest on the calendar in program history, on Sept. 1.
That Utah trip will also mark St. Thomas' first football game played in the Mountain time zone in the program's 119-year history.
Southern Utah won two Big Sky Conference titles in football as recently as 2015 and 2017. The Thunderbirds make their debut in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 2022.
Fresh Starts
Three Tommie opponents have new head coaches for 2022
Another PFL opponent, Stetson, also has a second-year head coach in Brian Young.
Wisdom
San Diego coach Dale Lindsey comes to campus with his San Diego Toreros on Oct. 29. Lindsey, who turns 80 years old next January, is a former NFL player, and has 40-plus years of coaching experience ranging from high school to FBS to FCS to the pros in the NFL, CFL and USFL.
His Torero teams are 75-25 over nine years and have won or shared the championship in the Pioneer League eight of his nine seasons. The exception was the spring 2021 season reduced by Covid.
Lindsey won't be the oldest legendary coach to work at O'Shaughnessy: Johnnie coach John Gagliardi was a few weeks shy of his 85th birthday in 2011 when he worked his last game on the St. Thomas campus.
QB Talk, Part 1
It's been 29 seasons since St. Thomas Football didn't feature a native Minnesotan or native NW Wisconsin athlete as its starting quarterback. The last Tommie starting QB whose hometown was 200 or more miles from campus was Tom Stallings (Chicago Heights, Ill.).
Stallings guided the Purple offense in 1991, sat all of 1992 with an injury, then returned in 1993 for his final year. Stallings had a "Mic Drop" performance on Senior Day in 1993 closing his playing career with a 602-yard passing day and six TD passes in leading a 42-41 victory over Bethel to cap an 8-2 season.
This summer, Coach Glenn Caruso started fall camp with only one Minnesotan among five QBs on his roster: fifth-year senior Cade Sexauer of South St. Paul, who shared the starting job in 2021 and played in all 10 games. The 6-4 Sexauer came into fall practice with the inside track to win the starting role for the Sept. 1 opener at Southern Utah.
Pushing for playing time is a 6-4 sophomore transfer who hails from Raleigh, N.C., former South Carolina Gamecock QB Connor Jordan. Two newcomers with promise are true freshmen: 6-5 Travis Plugge of Bakersfield, Calif., and 6-1 Amari Powell of Valencia, Calif.
Another talented athlete who played some QB last season, 6-3 sophomore Brandon Smith of Las Vegas, Nev., has been taking practice reps at wide receiver.
QB Talk, Part 2
Five of the Toms' eight conference opponents graduated their starting QB last spring, including 2021 league co-champs Davidson and San Diego, and 2022 road foes Marist, Presbyterian and Valparaiso.
The Purple's other six opponents will bring back a starter at QB that's either a redshirt junior, senior or graduate student -- Southern Utah, Michigan Tech, Lincoln (Calif.), Drake, Stetson and Butler.
PFL Trivia Time
Name two resume items that Marist's Jim Parady and St. Thomas' Glenn Caruso share...
One is easier: the pair have the longest tenure at their current school among current PFL head coaches -- Parady at 31 seasons, and Caruso starting year 15.
A Genius Level Q: both coaches led their programs directly from D-III into D-I FCS or I-AA football -- Caruso in 2021, and Parady in 1993 in just his second year at Marist.
Lefty Leaders
Move over Babe Ruth, Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Oprah Winfrey, Leonardo da Vinci, Barack Obama, Albert Einstein, Steve Young and Morten Andersen.
In the spirit of those famous lefthanders, note that if you come to a St. Thomas game this season, you could see a rare situation for the Toms with a lefty slinging the ball at QB... and a lefty taking placement kicks.
As mentioned above, Sexauer helped produce 1,000-plus yards and seven TDs as a passer and rusher last season, and brings a solid command of the team's offense.
The Toms also have a lefty who could contribute on special teams with true freshman left-footed kicker Stephen Shagen. The Park City, Utah native is pushing returning starter Louis Hyde for the No. 1 kicking spot. Hyde won't be easy to unseat: In the 2021 season opener, he kicked a tie-breaking 32-yard field goal with 59 seconds left to give the Toms a 12-9 win at Michigan Tech. Hyde converted 5-of-8 field goals and 25-of-26 PAT kicks on the season.
Shagen has one of the more interesting bios on the roster. A soccer player through his junior season, he's only played one year of high school football (2021). But the inexperience didn't show as he nailed all 30 PATs and 8-of-10 field-goal attempts last season. He's one of the first few -- if not the first -- Utah natives to compete for St. Thomas Football.
Time Flies
When Caruso worked his first college football game as a head coach in 2006, just down the street from here at Macalester College, Glenn could look into the stands and see his wife Rachael with their two-year-old daughter, Anna.
Fast forward 16 years to 2022: Anna Caruso is set as an incoming freshman softball player for St. Thomas.
Move over, Glenn. You've been replaced on campus as the most famous Caruso. You're now simply Anna Caruso's dad. I can't wait to see the "Caruso's Crew" student spirit group turning out to cheer on jersey No. 1 at softball games in 2023.
--
Here are a dozen or so things that you may not know about the Tommies as they prepare for the school's 119th season of play.
Tough Tests
St. Thomas Football has a rare opportunity in 2022 to play two home games in the same month against returning conference co-champion teams.
Highlighting a six-game home schedule, the Toms are set to play the 2021 Pioneer Football co-champions Davidson (Oct. 8) and San Diego (Oct. 29) three weeks apart at O'Shaughnessy Stadium.
Davidson took the PFL's automatic bid into the NCAA playoffs in an 8-4 finish after it led all FCS and FBS teams in rushing at 336 yards a game.
San Diego averaged 235 passing yards a game to rank among the top third of 123 FCS teams.
TD Talk
St. Thomas did something last season that only two other D-I football programs can claim for 2021: record a .700 or better win percentage despite scoring under 25 ppg.
The Toms finished 7-3 while scoring 24.4 ppg and allowing just 17.8 ppg. Iowa in FBS did it (10-4 record, 23.4 ppg on offense), as did FCS's Columbia (7-3, 24.9 ppg).
The Toms' success was helped as it ranked 13th among all 123 FCS teams in fewest points allowed per game at 17.8. Only 18 of the opponents' 22 TDs in 2021 were scored on the Tommie defense, too, as four TDs came via special teams and defensive scores. The Purple ranked first among all FCS and FBS teams in takeaways per game at 2.7.
St. Thomas averaged scoring nearly six touchdowns a game in Caruso's 12-season D-III chapter (446 TDs in all). Last year's Tommies scored 33 TDs in 10 games in season one of D-I competition.
The Toms are on pace as early as this season to score the program's 900th touchdown of the Caruso era.
Geography Lesson
When St. Thomas opens its season on Sept. 1 at Southern Utah University, that trek to Cedar City, Utah will be the Toms' longest trip of the season at 1,492 miles.
Later trips are scheduled to New York to Marist College (1,213 miles); to South Carolina to Presbyterian College (1,151); and to Indiana to Valparaiso University (459 miles) and Butler University (583 miles).
Check the Calendar... and Your Watch
The Southern Utah game will be the earliest on the calendar in program history, on Sept. 1.
That Utah trip will also mark St. Thomas' first football game played in the Mountain time zone in the program's 119-year history.
Southern Utah won two Big Sky Conference titles in football as recently as 2015 and 2017. The Thunderbirds make their debut in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 2022.
Fresh Starts
Three Tommie opponents have new head coaches for 2022
- Southern Utah hired DeLane Fitzgerald from the NCAA Division II ranks at Frostburg State
- Butler's 16th-year head coach Jeff Voris resigned and was replaced by Temple offensive coordinator Mike Uremovich.
- Presbyterian's first-year coach Kevin Kelley resigned and was replaced by former Florida Tech head coach Steve Engelhart.
Another PFL opponent, Stetson, also has a second-year head coach in Brian Young.
Wisdom
San Diego coach Dale Lindsey comes to campus with his San Diego Toreros on Oct. 29. Lindsey, who turns 80 years old next January, is a former NFL player, and has 40-plus years of coaching experience ranging from high school to FBS to FCS to the pros in the NFL, CFL and USFL.
His Torero teams are 75-25 over nine years and have won or shared the championship in the Pioneer League eight of his nine seasons. The exception was the spring 2021 season reduced by Covid.
Lindsey won't be the oldest legendary coach to work at O'Shaughnessy: Johnnie coach John Gagliardi was a few weeks shy of his 85th birthday in 2011 when he worked his last game on the St. Thomas campus.
QB Talk, Part 1
It's been 29 seasons since St. Thomas Football didn't feature a native Minnesotan or native NW Wisconsin athlete as its starting quarterback. The last Tommie starting QB whose hometown was 200 or more miles from campus was Tom Stallings (Chicago Heights, Ill.).
Stallings guided the Purple offense in 1991, sat all of 1992 with an injury, then returned in 1993 for his final year. Stallings had a "Mic Drop" performance on Senior Day in 1993 closing his playing career with a 602-yard passing day and six TD passes in leading a 42-41 victory over Bethel to cap an 8-2 season.
This summer, Coach Glenn Caruso started fall camp with only one Minnesotan among five QBs on his roster: fifth-year senior Cade Sexauer of South St. Paul, who shared the starting job in 2021 and played in all 10 games. The 6-4 Sexauer came into fall practice with the inside track to win the starting role for the Sept. 1 opener at Southern Utah.
Pushing for playing time is a 6-4 sophomore transfer who hails from Raleigh, N.C., former South Carolina Gamecock QB Connor Jordan. Two newcomers with promise are true freshmen: 6-5 Travis Plugge of Bakersfield, Calif., and 6-1 Amari Powell of Valencia, Calif.
Another talented athlete who played some QB last season, 6-3 sophomore Brandon Smith of Las Vegas, Nev., has been taking practice reps at wide receiver.
QB Talk, Part 2
Five of the Toms' eight conference opponents graduated their starting QB last spring, including 2021 league co-champs Davidson and San Diego, and 2022 road foes Marist, Presbyterian and Valparaiso.
The Purple's other six opponents will bring back a starter at QB that's either a redshirt junior, senior or graduate student -- Southern Utah, Michigan Tech, Lincoln (Calif.), Drake, Stetson and Butler.
PFL Trivia Time
Name two resume items that Marist's Jim Parady and St. Thomas' Glenn Caruso share...
One is easier: the pair have the longest tenure at their current school among current PFL head coaches -- Parady at 31 seasons, and Caruso starting year 15.
A Genius Level Q: both coaches led their programs directly from D-III into D-I FCS or I-AA football -- Caruso in 2021, and Parady in 1993 in just his second year at Marist.
Lefty Leaders
Move over Babe Ruth, Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Oprah Winfrey, Leonardo da Vinci, Barack Obama, Albert Einstein, Steve Young and Morten Andersen.
In the spirit of those famous lefthanders, note that if you come to a St. Thomas game this season, you could see a rare situation for the Toms with a lefty slinging the ball at QB... and a lefty taking placement kicks.
As mentioned above, Sexauer helped produce 1,000-plus yards and seven TDs as a passer and rusher last season, and brings a solid command of the team's offense.
The Toms also have a lefty who could contribute on special teams with true freshman left-footed kicker Stephen Shagen. The Park City, Utah native is pushing returning starter Louis Hyde for the No. 1 kicking spot. Hyde won't be easy to unseat: In the 2021 season opener, he kicked a tie-breaking 32-yard field goal with 59 seconds left to give the Toms a 12-9 win at Michigan Tech. Hyde converted 5-of-8 field goals and 25-of-26 PAT kicks on the season.
Shagen has one of the more interesting bios on the roster. A soccer player through his junior season, he's only played one year of high school football (2021). But the inexperience didn't show as he nailed all 30 PATs and 8-of-10 field-goal attempts last season. He's one of the first few -- if not the first -- Utah natives to compete for St. Thomas Football.
Time Flies
When Caruso worked his first college football game as a head coach in 2006, just down the street from here at Macalester College, Glenn could look into the stands and see his wife Rachael with their two-year-old daughter, Anna.
Fast forward 16 years to 2022: Anna Caruso is set as an incoming freshman softball player for St. Thomas.
Move over, Glenn. You've been replaced on campus as the most famous Caruso. You're now simply Anna Caruso's dad. I can't wait to see the "Caruso's Crew" student spirit group turning out to cheer on jersey No. 1 at softball games in 2023.
--
Gene's Blog is a sports column penned by Tommie sports information director Gene McGivern. Gene is starting his 29th season at St. Thomas and 35th overall working with Twin Cities college athletics teams. He blogs periodically on various topics regarding the Tommies and college sports.
If you have comments or questions, e-mail Gene at ejmcgivern@stthomas.edu
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