NCAA: Simon Fraser opens season today at Pacific University (VIDEO)

When the season kicks off against Pacific University this time, it will be SFU’s first as a full-fledged member of the NCAA, the first international university to hold that distinction.

After their tilt with Pacific, the Clan return home to take on Central Washington on Saturday, September 8 at Terry Fox Field at 2:00 p.m.

This year’s team team will look to take another step in its transition into the NCAA and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  After going winless in their first GNAC season the Clan grabbed three victories in 2011, including a thrilling triple overtime win against Dixie State and a win in their final game of the regular season, at home, against perennial GNAC contenders the Central Washington Wildcats.

Expectations are high this season, in large part thanks to a strong returning cast.

Trey Wheeler (Seattle, WA) returns to SFU for his sophomore season after a freshman year where he showed flashes of brilliance.  The Seattle, WA native started in all 10 games for SFU as a freshman, throwing for nine touchdowns with a completion percentage of 56.5 percent.

“Personal statistics don’t really matter to me,” said Wheeler on the upcoming season.  “As long as we can be efficient as an offence, move the ball well against the teams that we face and play to our potential both individually and as a unit.”

The backfield will be led by veteran Bo Palmer (North Vancouver, BC), who can now call himself a CFL draft pick, as he was selected by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the CFL Canadian Draft during the offseason.  Palmer enters 2012 after averaging 121.9 yards per game in 2011.  He finished second in the GNAC last year with 1219 total rushing yards and led the conference with an average of 5.6 yards per carry.

Leading receiver Bobby Pospischil (Coquitlam, BC) is back for his sophomore season,  Pospischil was Wheeler’s favourite target last season, as he had 45 receptions in 2011 and averaged 32.3 receiving yards per game.

Tore Corrado (Vancouver, BC) and German import Mathis Baumbach (Dusseldorf) return for their junior and senior seasons respectively, giving SFU a strong core of receivers.  Transfer Lemar Durant makes the Clan’s receivers a tough test for any opposition.

Durant, a Coquitlam, BC native, returns to the Lower Mainland after starting his NCAA career with the division I UNLV Rebels.  Durant starts his SFU career as a sophomore after a knee injury derailed his time with the Rebels but he is sure to be a strong addition to the Clan’s receiving corps.

The Clan’s offensive line has suffered some setbacks, particularly with the injury to CFL draft pick Brad Erdos (Coaldale, BC).  That means that junior Matthias Goossen (Richmond, BC), who was picked as a division II pre-season All-American by the Beyond Sports Network, will be looked to to anchor the offensive line this year.

Defensively, the Clan lost Justin Cappicciotti who is now an Edmonton Eskimo after wrapping up his Clan career last season.  Another CFL draft pick will lead the defensive backs though as Calgary Stampeders draft pick Adam Berger (Surrey, BC) will suit up for the Clan for his junior season.

The Clan defence also boasts the GNAC’s league leaders in tackles, as Casey Chin (Port Moody, BC) led the conference last year with 74 for an average of 8.2 per game and Kyle Miller (Cloverdale, BC) was second with 73, for an average of 8.1 per game.

“I finished just ahead of Kyle for most tackles in the conference and there’s definitely some friendly competition there,” said Chin.  “Having said that, we want to win.  Not only are we representing a great University but we are really representing a country.  This is Canada and we are the only Canadian team to play in the NCAA.  We’re proud of that.”

Helping the players put together a successful campaign is a re-organized Clan coaching staff.

Head coach Dave Johnson is back to lead the Clan for his sixth season.

“[Last season] we were the team that was committed to playing four quarters and playing together and overcoming adversity,” said Johnson.  “If we get those pillars built and our team is built on those principles, good things will happen.”

Johnson has put longtime Clan coach Dino Geremia in charge of the defence.  After sharing the duties last season Geremia was promoted to defensive coordinator in the offseason.

Coach Johnson has also brought in a new face to lead the offence.  Jason Beck joins the Clan and brings an impressive resume north of the border.

After playing quarterback at the division I level for the BYU Cougars, Beck took on a position as a graduate assistant coach at BYU, before moving on to coach at LSU in the Southeastern Conference.  Beck then took the role of quarterbacks coach at Weber State.  While at Weber, he helped Weber State quarterback Cameron Higgins become the Big Sky Conference all-time leader in touchdown passes and Weber State’s all-time leader in passing yards.

“Champions, Celebrate, Adversity. Bad things are going to happen and we are trying to build men, and better dads and better husbands and better sons. The quality of character is something we talk about all the time,” finished Johnson.

For tickets and all the latest information on the SFU football team, visit athletics.sfu.ca.

2012 SFU Football Schedule

Thursday, August 30 @ Pacific University at 7:00 p.m.       Forest Grove, OR
Saturday, September 8 vs. Central Washington at 2:00 p.m.   Terry Fox Field
Saturday, September 15 @ Humboldt State at 6:00 p.m.        Arcata, CA
Saturday, September 22 @ Western Oregon at 1:00 p.m.        Monmouth, OR
Saturday, September 29 vs. Dixie State at 6:00 p.m.         Terry Fox Field
Saturday, October 6 vs. Azusa Pacific at 2:00 p.m.          Terry Fox Field
Saturday, October 13 @ Central Washington at 1:00 p.m.      Ellensburg, WA
Saturday, October 20 vs. Western Oregon at 2:00 p.m.        Terry Fox Field
Saturday, October 27 @ Dixie State at 1:00 p.m.             St. George, UT
Saturday, November 3 vs. Humboldt State at 2:00 p.m.        Terry Fox Field
Saturday, November 10 @ Azusa Pacific at 6:00 p.m.          Azusa, CA