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Nothing about the Malone University football team's 1-9 season in their inaugural year in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference was easy for head coach Eric Hehman and his coaching staff in 2012. However, now a year removed, Hehman feels a year wiser and will lean on the learning experiences from last year's struggles to produce better results this fall.

"Last year was a really good lesson on what it takes from a coaching and talent standpoint to win in this highly competitive conference," said Hehman. "We knew that we had to hit the recruiting trail hard and tailor some of our schemes to achieve better results within the GLIAC. We have made some of those adjustments and are excited to see some of the on-field progress that results from them."

The first thing Coach Hehman and his staff did at the end of last fall was address his team's need for toughness and depth on the interior. He realizes that if they want to compete with GLIAC powers such as Grand Valley State (MI) University and Saginaw Valley State (MI) University, they have to start to win the battles up front. Hehman feels this year's team is much more equipped to handle the physical and mental battles that come along with playing football in arguably the toughest conference in NCAA Division II football.

"We have created a lot more depth on the offensive and defensive lines," said Hehman. "Hopefully this keeps guys fresher and allows us to get more push up front on both sides of the ball."

Based strictly off experience, it would appear that junior Will Szpor has the early advantage in the quarterback competition. Szpor served as the signal caller in 10 games for Malone last season, completing 107 of 207 passes (51.69%) for 1,329 yards and nine scores to 10 interceptions. It will be up to freshman Cameron Mammen and junior community college transfer Brandyn Eckhart to make sure Spzor doesn't win the job easily. Mammen was a First Team All-State selection in the state of Illinois and finished his high-school career 13th all-time in the state record book for total yardage. Eckhart enjoyed two strong seasons in community college at Chabot College in California prior to his arrival at Malone. In 2011, at Chabot, he was a unanimous First Team All-Conference selection and the conference's Offensive Player of the Year. He followed that up by earning All-Conference and All-California First Team Offense in Region II in 2012.

Malone will return two starters on the offensive line from a unit that surrendered a disappointing 36 sacks last season in seniors Chris Davis and Chuck Lennon. Senior Tyler Mihalik also saw game action last year and figures to be a leading candidate to land a starting spot this season. Sophomores Brenson Ennis, Fred Clearman IIIand Nemo Stefanovic waited in the wings last year, but with a year of experience in college football under their belts, they should be ready to contribute. Don't sleep on freshmen Skip Garner and Chris Henke either. After enjoying illustrious high school careers, they may possess what it takes to be thrust into starting roles as freshmen.

Probably the deepest position group on the team is at the running back position. Entering preseason camp, there are at least five legitimate options at running back. Junior Malik Felton led the Pioneers in rushing in 2012 gaining 331 yards on 67 carries (4.9 avg.) while reaching pay dirt five times. Junior Steven Niewiedzial came on strong in the second half of the year to finish barely behind Felton with 325 rushing yards on 72 attempts (4.5 avg.) and a touchdown. Sophomore Reggie Terrell also saw extended time at the running back position as a freshman, gaining 241 yards on 69 rushes (3.5 yards per attempt) and a score. Perhaps the top two options at tailback are two athletes who did not see the field in 2012. Sophomore Justin Davis, a transfer from Grand Valley State, was forced to sit out the 2012 season because of NCAA transfer rules but has thoroughly impressed the coaching staff with his play in spring practices. Another viable option is junior transfer from American River Community College in California, Bryce Pratt. Regardless of who ends up as the primary tailback, Hehman feels very comfortable in his running back situation.

Gone from a year ago is Malone's top receiving threat in 2012 senior Justin McLean, but the receiving core does return the next four leading pass catchers. Senior AT Turner may inherit McLean's role as the go-to guy. He snagged 23 passes for 250 yards in 2012, both ranking second on the team. Juniors Josh McLaughlin and Tyler Billie will also be relied on to replace some of the production in McLean's absence. McLaughlin ranked second on the team in receiving touchdowns with two, tied for second on the squad in receptions with 23 and was third on the team with 239 receiving yards last season. Billie, a transfer from Liberty University, hauled in 14 catches for 124 yards in his first season as a Pioneer. The coaches have also praised sophomore wide receiver Jordan Phillips and freshman local standout from Jackson High School, Eian Elsass, and think both could be ready to make an impact in the passing game. Another primary target will be junior tight end Drew Bond. As a sophomore, Bond snared 16 catches for 198 yards. Freshman tight end Aaron Eckhoff could also emerge as a threat in the passing game as the season progresses.

Hehman is confident that the defensive side of the ball will be much improved from the unit that allowed 35.9 ppg in 2012.

"We went back after last season and watched the film and realized that many of our struggles were the result of missed assignments and mental errors," noted Hehman. "As a coaching staff, we decided to simplify our defensive schemes and verbiage to make sure that guys know their roles and responsibilities and are in the right position. We have a lot of guys that are a year older and a year more familiar with the defense and it should lead to fewer mistakes, improved execution and more big plays from our defense."

Their success will be largely contingent on their ability to get to the quarterback and stop the run. Junior Brock Lundeen will lead the charge up front. As a sophomore, he tallied 50 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss and a half sack. Joining Lundeen up front will be juniors Isaiah Smith, who notched 11 tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss and a half sack, Timothy Woods, and Darius Givens. Who will play over the nose remains a question mark. Sophomore Carl Grady saw some time there last year and could be called upon to play a larger role this season. Hehman is also eager to see what freshmen Austin Cary, Cristian Garcia and DeOntaye Cosby can bring to the table as well as local product Tyler Bowman (Northwest High School). The younger players will be critical in extending the depth up front and keeping guys fresh.

The linebacker position is the most inexperienced position group of the bunch but that doesn't mean it is lacking in talent. The Pioneers lose their third and fourth leading tacklers from a year ago in senior captain Antonio Scassa and James Benedix but they are excited about what some new faces will bring to the table. One of those new faces is sophomore Fred Baker Jr. Despite sitting out his freshman season, the coaching staff is confident that he has the explosiveness and instincts to make a lot of stops in the middle of the Pioneer defense. Senior Travis Howe, sophomore Dan Mower and freshman Nick Hendricks are three other leading candidates to fill the vacancies in the middle of the Malone defense.

The back end of the Pioneer defense should hold up strongly in 2013. Senior safety Brandon Commodore and junior safety Demarco Donaldson both return after enjoying breakout seasons in 2012. Donaldson finished second in the GLIAC averaging 11 tackles per game. For the season, he racked up 110 tackles, broke up seven passes and forced five fumbles, earning him the distinction of a Preseason NCAA Division II All-Ohio Team selection for 2013 by OhioCollegeFootball.com. Commodore showed off his versatility splitting time between safety and linebacker en route to a 50-tackle season. The cornerback rotation will consist of seniors Lepear Smith, Lloyd Phillips and junior Glen Raphael. Phillips led the group with two interceptions while Smith added one last season.

Junior Frank Dufour returns as the team's punter. He was selected to the 2013 Preseason NCAA Division II All-Ohio Team after averaging 38.79 yards per boot last fall including five of which traveled over 50 yards. He also dropped 17 kicks inside the opponent's 20. Sophomore Jacob Bishop will assume the place kicking duties in place of the graduated Jake Hardy. Hehman listed Justin Davis, Tyler Billie and Lepear Smith as the leading candidates to handle the kick and punt return duties.

As year two in the GLIAC approaches, Hehman is challenging his players to take the next step in all facets of their lives as student-athletes.

"As a team, we want to be the premier Christian football team in the nation," explained Hehman. "I want our kids to have a relentless pursuit of excellence in their spiritual lives, in their academics and in their athletic endeavors."

If they can find success in these areas, look for it to translate to more Pioneer wins in the GLIAC in 2013.

Malone is set to kickoff the season on September 7 with a 1:00 p.m. road contest at Notre Dame College.  Pioneer fans can catch all the action live on the Malone Sports Network throughout the year (On the radio at ESPN 990 AM and streaming live at http://www.espn990.com/).  Live, streaming video will also be available for each home game at www.malonepioneers.com/showcase