APPLETON, Wis. — Speed is something you can’t teach, and it is a valuable commodity on the football field.
When Lawrence University takes the field on Saturday for its season opener at Rockford University, the Vikings will attempt to parlay their added speed into big plays and more victories.
“The talent level is better than last year,” said Mike Barthelmess, who is entering his third season as the head coach and his fifth overall with the Vikings. “We have more playmakers on offense and more playmakers on defense and we have more speed than we had last year.”
Mixing newcomers like Cole Erickson, Donnel Haley and Dan Rothbauer on offense and Alic Riedel, Carl Olsen, Jackson Boeh and Jake Walker on defense in with the returning players gives the coaches reason to be hopeful. The newcomers also have a strong local flavor with Erickson, Rothbauer and Riedel all hailing from Appleton.
“We’ve got a lot of new speed,” Barthelmess said. “The freshmen are pretty good athletically, but we don’t have a whole lot of size. … On both sides of the ball, we are really, really pleased with the additions.”
It will be a returning player charged with triggering the Lawrence offense, which has been spectacular at times over the past few seasons. With the graduation loss of All-Midwest Conference quarterback Luke Barthelmess, sophomore and Appleton native Tanner Schuh steps in behind center.
At a strapping 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, Schuh is more of a pocket passer than Barthelmess, who was a prolific runner and passer. Schuh saw only limited action during his freshman season in 2013.
“Tanner will have to minimize the mistakes and take care of the football and utilize the weapons he is going to have,” Barthelmess said.
“His greatest asset is he’s very relaxed, very low-key, gets the ball out quick. Very accurate, strong arm. He’s also a decent runner. He’s not as fast (as Luke Barthelmess), but he brings a lot of payload.”
In addition to the new weapons, Schuh also has returning receivers Taylor Mandich, Trevor Spina and Tyler Lueck to go with running back Dalton Sendelbach.
“The more playmakers you have on the field, the better, especially the way our offense is designed,” said Barthelmess, noting that the players read the defense and adjust accordingly.
“When you run a spread, it’s tough to defend when you’ve got four or five guys who can make plays, and we’ve got them.”
The Vikings also have a solid core to protect Schuh in tackles Spencer Swick and Luke Zablocki and center Patrick Pierson.
The speed factor also plays into the defensive side of the ball. Lawrence’s linebackers and secondary are a quick, athletic group, and that means defensive coordinator Jeff Jansen has some options.
“We feel like we have enough experience coming back on defense where Jeff can do what he wants to do on defense,” Barthelmess said.
The Vikings return seven starters on defense, led by linebacker Brandon Taylor, and they get a boost from Isaac Barthelmess, who moves from running back to linebacker. The only new starter in the secondary is Riedel at cornerback, and the Vikings have proven standouts in Dan Taylor, Jake Lueck, Zach Eichhorst and Nick Ulloa.
Since the Vikings are limited by a small roster, the biggest question will be injuries.
“I think we are in a batter position this year than we were last year as a team,” Barthelmess said.
“We have to keep everyone healthy, and I think the schedule is going to help us, especially the first four or five games. If we can get some momentum going, who knows?”