Sy Bean

Veteran Roster Looks to Make Big Jump in 2024

By Mark Albanese, Director of Sports Communication

Returning eight All-Conference players from a season ago and boasting a veteran lineup on both sides of the ball, the Pacific Lutheran University football team has high hopes as it begins the 2024 campaign on Saturday in California.

(The expectation) Is definitely higher than how we finished last year and it’s definitely higher than the league picked us to finish,

said Head Coach Brant McAdams who enters his seventh season at the helm.

2024 PLU Football Roster

Last fall, the Lutes got off to a sluggish start, dropping three of their first four games begore closing the season strong, tying for third place in the Northwest Conference standings after finishing with a 5-5 record and a 4-3 mark in league play.

The returning starters— the guys who come back with all-conference accolades— and even the guys who come back without them— they’ve been challenged quite a bit this August. So I’m excited to see how we respond. A big message has been to be the thermostat and not the thermometer where you wait to see if we’re going to catch a break. Just go play at the highest level you can and you do that, you tend to get some good breaks.

On offense, the Lutes return four All-Conference players including two up front on the offensive line in Second Team All-NWC guard Nico Skinner and Honorable Mention All-NWC guard Griffin Montana. Other projected starters is Josh Holder at center and Aron Daley and Thomas Ta’avili at the tackle spots.

The front five is probably as deep as it’s been since I’ve been here. You’ve got the two all-conference guys and then you’ve got Aron who’s started every game but one since his freshman year. You’ve got Josh who started in game one as a freshman against the #13 team in the country, Bethel, because an injury. Then you’ve got Thomas who’s really grown into a complete offensive lineman.

“We are on the edge of getting Aeryk Hatico back who is a multiple year starter and we’ve got Carson Piro who is kind of a swing guard for us who is good enough to start, we’ve just got some really good talent in front of him. Wyatt Davis is a kid who’s developed, he’s taken a lot of feedback throughout the years and worked his tail off to get in the mix. The cool thing is that this is the first time I haven't mentioned a freshman in the first eight o-linemen since I’ve gotten here. The depth is really filling out and guys are sticking around and developing.”

Under center, it will be Darius Chaffin again who was Honorable Mention All-Conference a season ago after throwing for 2,183 yards and 19 touchdowns while rushing for 340 more yards and seven touchdowns. Chaffin was efficient in 2023, completing 68.1 percent of his passes.

Also returning will be one of his top targets in Second Team All-Conference speedster Thor Stepina. Stepina missed the opening three games with an injury but didn’t miss a beat once conference play began, ending the season with a team-best 650 receiving yards while scoring three touchdowns. That includes a 95-yard catch and run in his debut on the road against Whitworth University.

Starting opposite Stepina will be Steele Swinton and Jase Ellamar who combined for 184 receiving yards and a touchdown last fall. Making the move from running back to receiver is Noah Palitz who combined for 271 yards on the ground and through the air last season.

“Noah has moved from the backfield to the slot receiver with the ability to play a lot of different positions and still be dynamic on special teams.”

New to the squad but looking to make an impact will be transfers Connor Meade and AJ Stepina.

“I’m excited about the receiving core. Conner and AJ, two brothers coming in from other college football programs, have given us some depth and weapons in the receiver room. Jase is a guy that's been an underdog under some really good receivers the past couple of years and I think he’s going to open some eyes. In the backfield, we were so deep that we almost kind of had to move Noah to slot receiver.”

On the ground, the Lutes return their top five rushers from a season ago. That includes Raysen Motoyama who ran for 403 yards and five touchdowns last fall and has rushed for 876 total yards over the past four seasons. Jacob Schuh averaged 4.8 yards per carry last fall, finishing the season with 310 yards and a trio of touchdowns. The Lutes also return the aforementioned Chaffin and Palitz along with Jonathan Tyrell-Smith.

“Jake’s coming back with good production, Raysen's very consistent in yards after contact, and Jonathan's a very good back that’s in a room with really good backs, so we have a good crew."

The Lute football team competes against Pacific University during Homecoming and Family Week, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, at PLU. PLU beat Pacific, 17-10. (PLU Photo / Sy Bean)

Last season the Lutes averaged 367.1 yards of total offense, including 125.2 yards on the ground and 241.9 yards through the air. McAdam’s expects a similar mix for Offensive Coordinator Spencer Crace’s unit during the 2024 campaign.

It’ll be similar to the past, so it's a lot of establishing the run. We definitely have the experience and the leadership in that group up front so we’re putting a lot on them to control the game. To protect the quarterback, give them the chance to make the reads, and make the throws. It’s a mix of run, run-pass option, quick game, and get the ball out of Darius’ hands quickly. We get teams to start packing the box then take some shots downfield.

Tight end Jake Wood and fullback Alex Ritter will both see a lot of action, depending on the formation being used by the Lutes.

PLU ranked 35th in all of NCAA Division III last fall in passing efficiency and was 12th nationally in third down conversion percentage, successfully converting 51.2 percent of the time.

While boasting a veteran offense, McAdam is quick to point out a few underclassmen who could see some reps this fall.

“Marcus came in and ran really well, he’s explosive, just kind of getting an understanding of where his eyes should be and where he should be patient and where he should go. He’s a kid that I think could be pretty special. Couple other young backs are Brock Kinch and Sir Hart. Both came in and ran really well and right now they’re just taking a little more time to pick up the offense but after those kids get it figured out we’ve got a really good running back crew for the next couple of years.”

Defense has been a hallmark for the Lutes over the past few seasons and this year looks to be no different, returning four All-Conference and one All-Region selections from a season ago for first-year defensive coordinator Ketner Kupp.

Defensively, the leaders on that side that do a great job. I think you’ll see the same defense, the same defensive energy brought to the team. We’ve got a lot of seniors on the field which is a good thing but then you can see we’ve got some young guys behind them and so this group of seniors, especially these fifth-years, have taken legacy to heart and they understand that it's their job to help bring these young guys along so that they're ready whenever their time is called.

Headlining the list of returners is D3football.com All-Region and First Team All-NWC defensive end Nico Golla. The senior was everywhere on the field last fall, leading the team in both tackles for loss (19) and sacks (11.5) while finishing third on the team in tackles with 54 takedowns, including 31 solo tackles.

“Nico continues to be underestimated just because of his size but he’s such a good football player and a great leader.”

Joining Golla up front will be Gavin Hawley along with Zachary Gable, George Sonko, and Kalaiakea Yap.

Hawley finished with five TFLs and 2.5 sacks last fall while Sonko netted two sacks during the 2023 campaign.

We obviously expect big things from Nico, but we’re really deep at defensive end. Sophomore Cole Becker, junior Zachary Gable, junior George Sonko, Kalai Yap, those are the guys that we’re going to be counting on to be leaders up front, to be producers up front, and it all starts up front so if there’s a crack in the foundation it makes everybody else’s job harder.

Anchoring the linebackers is returning First Team All-Conference pick Kalen Davis-White. Davis-White was the team’s leading tackler last fall with 68 on the season, including eight TFLs, 4.5 sacks and four quarterback hurries. Davis-White will be joined by Kawika Bacos and Micah Ragaza-Bourassa who combined for 43 tackles last year.

“Kawika and Micah had snaps last year and we’re giving them more opportunity to be in front of the defense. Micah has definitely been very vocal. Mason Taylor-Wells has developed from his freshman year and then we have two first years coming in— Avery Coleman and Ayden Metts— who have a tremendous upside. They are guys that hopefully you’ll see making plays in special teams.”

Arguably the most experienced area on defense will be the secondary that looks to start five seniors, including a pair of All-Conference cornerbacks in First Team All-Leaguer Colby Rhinelander and Honorable Mention All-Leaguer Kellen Meade.

Rhinelander led the team in solo tackles last fall with 46 and had 61 total tackles along with two interceptions and nine pass breakups. Both of Rhinelander’s interceptions were returned for touchdowns, including a 56-yard return against Linfield University. Meade led the team with four interceptions on the year while also netting five breakups and 34 tackles.

Layne DePeralta and Sam Morasch look to hold down the safety spots with Davyn Waters operating as a hybrid linebacker and safety.

“If you look at all five positions, we’ve got five seniors in the secondary and it's a really cool thing to have that. They’ve played a lot of football together and they communicate really well together. Next guy up is Aiden Yost, another senior in the secondary. So we’ve got some big expectations for what they’ll be able to do for our defense and for our team.”

PLU football competes against Lewis and Clark College, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, at Sparks Stadium. PLU beat Lewis and Clark, 47-21. (PLU Photo / Sy Bean)

Special teams will feature familiar faces with Andrew Comito as punter and Cole Sargent as kicker. Comito will double up as the holder while Morasch will continue his long snapping duties.

Last fall, Comito averaged 33.8 yards per kick, placing seven of his 27 boots inside the 20-yard line. Sargent is back as the team’s leading scorer after booting five field goals and 35 extra points.

“Some of our special teams units personnel will look pretty familiar. Jackson Hale as a backup nickel linebacker safety for us and he’s on all four special teams, Aiden Yost is on all four special teams, so there are guys who’ve played college snaps. We know how critical that phase of the game can be and so we’re excited to run out some veterans on those units too.”

This Saturday the Lutes suit up against Simpson University, a new opponent for the program as the Redhawks will be playing their inaugural season of varsity football.

The thing we’re focused on is coming out of camp a better football team than we came out of camp last year. We played a good opponent in week one and we let two close games get by us in the preseason and this year, with two of the three opponents from last preseason, we think we’re going to be able to come out of the preseason knowing if we’ve improved or not.

2024 Season Schedule