INDEPENDENCE, KS – Independence Community College's football team is set to begin another challenging and competitive season. The Pirates will face four teams (Butler, Dodge City, Hutchinson, and Coffeyville) during the regular season that are ranked in the preseason NJCAA top 20 (and a fifth receiving votes and landing just outside the top 20 is Ellsworth).
The Pirates begin the 2016 campaign with a duo of exhibitions at home. On Friday, August 19th, Indy football will take on No. 6 Iowa Western with a kickoff time of 5 p.m. (the game will be a live, game-situation scrimmage with a running clock during the second half). The Pirates will then face SIU Edwardsville in its final exhibition on Saturday, August 27th at 7 p.m.
"Obviously, Iowa Western will be a very good matchup and will provide our staff and our players a great opportunity to evaluate several areas, including how prepared we are as a team and as individuals for a high-level opponent. With our relative inexperience on both sides of the ball, we can watch for chemistry between players and groups. Even though the game itself is a scrimmage, the players will be playing with intensity, and the staff will get an idea of how each player will react in a pressure-packed situation, because we will be using this initial scrimmage to make determinations on our out-of-state players, to finalize the active roster as best we can and put together scout teams and identify players to potentially redshirt. When the lights are on, great players make great plays, and pressure bursts pipes," Indy head coach Jason Brown said.
Independence Community College looks to improve upon last season's 2-8 finish (2-5 in the conference). The Pirates will play 9 regular season games, including 5 at the friendly confines of Emmot Field in Independence. Indy will play several "special event" games this season, such as "Military Night" on August 27, "Pirate Day" on September 27, and "Homecoming" on October 1.
Quarterbacks
"We have several very talented quarterbacks with experience in a great competition for playing time this year. Alin [Eduoard], Jonathan [Banks], and Dominic [Webb] have the support of the entire team, and all possess the ability to lead us to success this season," Brown said.
Running Backs
"With several fullbacks and a host of backs with different running styles, we can be very flexible with our run-game. We will have a committee in the backfield, and we expect to see big things running the football behind our offensive line," Brown said.
Wide Receivers
"I think as a group, they're coming along very well. We have a lot of young guys in the receiving corps, and they're only just starting to learn the demands of being a college wideout. We have a ways to go, but we have several players that are very capable of big things this season," Brown said.
Offensive Line
"On the offensive line, we have several big-name recruits from out-of-state, and that talent combined with the mindset of our in-state linemen has helped make all of them better through competition," Brown said. "Making a decision on who will be playing at each position is still very much up for, sometimes heated, debate in our offensive staff meetings."
Defensive Line
"We have a lot of flexibility with the talent level across the board in this group," Defensive Coordinator Jason Martin said. "We can mix up packages, make substitutions individually or wholesale, and never expect to see any drop in production. We're getting after the quarterback this year, no doubt."
Linebackers
"We have a lot of good pieces, but we're fairly thin at the linebacker position this season. We had a lot of players realize over the summer that playing linebacker at the collegiate level just wasn't for them. The guys that are left, though? They have heart, and they're coming together as a group at the right time," said Martin.
Defensive Backs
"The competition for the starting defensive back positions is beyond fierce. We never have to worry about any of the guys in our top groups being ready to go at any time. There is a lot of athleticism and size in the secondary this season, we should be a ball-hawking defensive unit this season," said Martin.
Media Day Q&A
- How many starters are returning from the 2015 Season?
- Offense: 1 (Evan Speicher)
- Defense: None
- Total: 1
- How do you see the conference race this year?
- The conference has parity and is wide open! I feel Butler, Hutch and Coffeyville have the tradition, but Dodge City is coming off a great season… it should be interesting to say the least!
- How would you summarize your overall prospects this season as a team?
- We have a great group of young men, and our goal is to improve each and every day.
- What are the strengths of your team?
- Speed and athleticism.
- What are the weaknesses of your team?
- Our team is young and inexperienced, and we must learn how to W.I.N!
- Who are your Projected Top Players for 2016 Season?
- Jonathan Banks QB 6'3, 230 Houston, TX Trans: K-State
- Alin Eduoard QB 6'3, 190 Miami, FL Trans: Syracuse
- Sherrick Rodgers RB 6'0, 195 Pittsburg, KS Pittsburg HS
- Eric Graham RB 6'0, 220 Prattville, AL Trans: Iowa
- Jordan Stevenson RB 5'11, 215 Dallas, TX Trans: Nebraska
- Bronson Hill WR 6'4, 195 Junction City, KS Junction City HS
- Leondre James WR 6'0, 180 Donaldsonville, LA Trans: Tulane
- Calvin Jackson WR 5'11, 175 Coral Springs, FL Coral Springs HS
- JoJo Robinson WR 6'0, 190 Miami, FL Trans: Arkansas
- Evan Speicher OL 6'5, 290 Independence, KS Independence HS
- Hunter Shockley OL 6'5, 285 Wichita, KS Wichita North
- Tramonda Moore OL 6'5, 350 Oklahoma City, OK John Marshall HS
- Benjamin Knox OL 6'6, 320 Deland, FL Trans: So. Florida
- Emmit Gooden DL 6'5, 310 Brownsville, TN Haywood HS
- Cole Greenwood DL 6'1, 300 Lawrence, KS Lawrence HS
- Stephon Starks DL 6'6, 250 Junction City, KS Junction City HS
- Brandon Shook LB 6'0, 215 Wichita, KS Wichita Northwest
- Marcus Walker LB 6'2, 225 Junction City, KS Junction City HS
- Max Jones LB 6'1, 220 Independence, KS Independence HS
- Adrian Scroggins DB 6'0, 185 Pittsburg, KS Pittsburg HS
- Jaylon Lane DB 6'3, 195 Nacogdoches, TX Nacogdoches HS
- Marquise Johnson DB 5'11, 190 Independence, KS Independence HS