2021 Spring Roster  |  2021 Tentative Fall Schedule

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University football program will host its annual Green vs. White Spring Game this Friday night at 6 p.m. at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
 
SPECTATOR POLICY
Per the University's Covid-19 SPECTATOR POLICY this spring, the following rules will be in place Friday:
 
• No open admission.
• Pre-approved ticketed guests of SRU players may attend. Names must be submitted to athletic department by student-athletes in advance.
• Current SRU students and staff may attend with a valid current SRU ID.
• All fans will be temperature checked and screened at the gate.
• All fans will be required to wear masks the entire time in the stadium.
• NO TAILGATING ALLOWED.
• No concessions will be available.
• Failure to adhere to this policy will result in removal from the stadium.
 
FORMAT
The roster will be split into two teams with one squad wearing Green and the other wearing White. Quarterbacks, kickers and longsnappers will rotate between the two teams. The game will be played in four 10-minute quarters with a running clock in the second half. The clock will only stop for timeouts, changes of possession, field goal attempts and touchdowns. All punts will be fair caught and there will be no live kickoff returns.
 
WHAT TO EXPECT
Slippery Rock will be back on the field in front of a small number of fans for the first time since the 2019 national semifinals. The Rock went 13-1 in 2019 to post the best record in program history, winning the PSAC and NCAA Super Region One titles along the way. After the 2020 season was canceled by the pandemic, SRU didn't resume full team practices again until this spring.
 
Friday's game will be the final scrimmage of the spring season and will give the coaching staff one last chance to evaluate a number of players and positions entering offseason workouts to prepare for the fall season. It will also mark the first opportunity for many SRU players to suit up in uniform with the 2019 freshmen that redshirted and the 2020 true freshmen all getting to put on the Green and White for the first time.   
 
Many of The Rock's top returning players will dress for the game, but may play limited snaps, while some others that figure to be key players in 2021 will not play at all.
 
A brief look at each positional breakdown heading into the end of spring practices can be found below.
 
CAPTAINS
Slippery Rock's coaching staff announced its first two captains for 2021 with receiver Henry Litwin representing the offense and linebacker Tim Vernick representing the defense as coaches picks. The players will vote for two more captains and those picks will be announced Friday before kickoff.
 
QUARTERBACKS
The biggest question mark that has yet to be answered is who will be taking snaps in week one next fall as The Rock looks to replace 2019 Harlon Hill Trophy winner and National Player of the Year Roland Rivers III. Senior returner Andrew Koester, junior University of North Dakota transfer Noah Grover and freshman Brayden Long have been the top three on the depth chart this spring. SRU will also get a chance to evaluate two more freshmen quarterbacks in a game situation with Zaire Hart-Hawkins and Israel Reed expected to get snaps in the game.
 
RECEIVERS
There are no questions about the receivers heading into 2021. The Rock had the best receiving corps in the country in 2019 and all five players that figured into the starting lineup are back for 2021. All-American Henry Litwin leads the way after grabbing 103 passes for 1,509 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2019. Jermaine Wynn Jr. snagged 95 passes for 1,339 yards and 15 scores, while Cinque Sweeting pulled in 53 passes for 839 yards and nine touchdowns and Qaadir Dixon caught 34 passes for 421 yards and three scores. Those four combined for 285 catches, 4,108 yards and 48 touchdowns in 2019. SRU will also welcome back 6-5 target Victor Talley, who was the outside starter opposite Litwin, but was injured in the first game of 2019 and missed the rest of the season, opening a spot for Dixon to slide into the lineup.
 
RUNNING BACKS
Slippery Rock will enter the 2021 season with an entirely new stable of running backs from the 2019 roster, but the coaching staff has been impressed with the group this spring. Portland State senior transfer Evyn Holtz has emerged as the starter this spring, but will not play in the spring game. Fairmont State transfer Tim Smith has also looked good this spring and will take the first team reps to begin the spring game. Freshman Chris D'Or is likely to be the next man in the rotation and Chris Mohra and Isaiah Taylor will also get reps. The lineup could see a shakeup in the fall, as incoming freshman Xander McClure is likely to be in the mix.
 
OFFENSIVE LINE
Slippery Rock returns three of its starters from the offensive line in 2019 with the whole right side in tact in center Austin Wayt, right guard Matt Carr and right tackle Jake Tecak. Tecak has continued his development nicely over the last two years and looks poised to lead the unit and be an All-America candidate in 2021. The Rock moved Colton Rossi from tight end back to the line and will start him at the other guard position. University of Dayton transfer Jacob Brunson was expected to start at the left tackle position, but will sit out the spring game. Nick Stazer will slide into that role and Anthony Rebar is likely to be the sixth lineman into the rotation.
 
TIGHT END
One position the coaching staff is particularly excited about on the offensive side is tight end, with Max Maciejewski now fully healthy and leading the group. Maciejewski is expected to a play a hybrid role as a tight end and also line up in the slot, giving The Rock another 6-4 target in the passing game that is likely to create matchup problems. SRU will also use John Eakin in a number of packages. Eakin, who started most of 2019, may be the strongest overall player on the roster and could be used in multiple ways. He is also on the SRU track and field team and currently ranks first in the PSAC in the shot put.
 
KICKER/PUNTER
A big question coming into 2021 was who would replace SRU's all-time leading scorer after the graduation of Jake Chapla. Monmouth transfer Kyle Butts has stepped up and earned the job with a strong spring. Butts is likely to handle the placekicking and punting duties, similar to how Chapla did both in 2019.
 
DEFENSIVE LINE
The Rock returns three starters on the defensive line, including All-American defensive end Chad Kuhn, All-Region tackle Jeff Marx and defensive end Garrett de Bien. Kuhn and de Bien combined for 16 sacks and 25.5 tackles for loss in 2019, while Marx tallied 7.0 TFL and served as the primary run stuffer. The Rock will likely see Jevon Lang move into the fourth starting spot on the interior of the line as Lang has developed nicely since his freshman year. Another newcomer to keep an eye on is freshman Matt Wilwohl, who has made some noise this spring.
 
LINEBACKERS
SRU returns two starting linebackers in Trysten McDonald and team captain Tim Vernick. McDonald played in just four games in 2019 before missing the rest of the year with an injury, but is fully recovered now and has had an outstanding spring. Isaiah Manning is the top returner likely to vie for the third linebacker spot, but freshman Devyn Clair has looked really good this spring and will start in the spring game.
 
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Slippery Rock returns five players in the secondary that made starts in 2019, led by cornerback Khadir Roberts and safety Dalton Holt, along with Selvin Haynes, De'Vijan Franklin and Jalen Dangerfield. Dangerfield has looked good this spring, as has newcomer Hunter Merritt, the graduate transfer from Mercyhurst. Merritt, who was an All-PSAC selection for the Lakers, is likely to play a nickel role at SRU as a hybrid linebacker/safety. One other name to watch for is freshman Za-Ki Lindo, who has potential to break into the rotation.
 
COACHING STAFF
Most of the coaching staff from the 2019 run to the national semifinals remains intact, with National Coach of the Year Shawn Lutz set to return for his fifth season at the helm. Lutz, who owns a 39-11 record in four seasons, has taken the team to back-to-back PSAC West titles and trips to at least the NCAA quarterfinals. The lone newcomer on the staff this year is former Notre Dame standout and NFL cornerback Darrin Walls, who will coach defensive backs. Walls played in 54 NFL games for the Falcons, Jets and Lions after graduating from Notre Dame in 2010.
 
2021 SCHEDULE
Slippery Rock has announced its tentative 2021 schedule, which will see The Rock playing 11 regular season games and opening the year on the road at Wayne State in Detroit Thursday evening, Sept. 2. SRU will play home PSAC crossovers against East Stroudsburg and Lock Haven before opening the PSAC West schedule at Seton Hill Sept. 25. Homecoming against rival Indiana (Pa.) is set for Oct. 16.
 
SPRING GAME RECAP
A recap and statistics from the spring game will be posted to RockAthletics.com Friday evening at the conclusion of the game.



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