Young and hungry: GLIAC newcomers to watch for in 2009
It's just 35 days until the Hillsdale College football Chargers take on St. Josephs in their first game of the 2009 season and fans are starting to get antsy, me included. We all want to see if Troy Weatherhead can hold off Anthony Mifsud in the QB department, and freshman like Joe "The Show" Glendening are keeping the "hype-ometer" cranked high.
The truth is the GLIAC isn't getting any easier, with two preseason Top 10 teams, including the locked and re-loaded Grand Valley State Chargers.
Like any good athletics conference the GLIAC is run by mainly upperclassmen who have paid their dues, but there are always a couple of exceptions.
Here are some new faces to watch out for this season as the Chargers try to continue their success despite the infusion of talent the conference has been receiving.
Darris Sawtelle, Offensive Lineman, Grand Valley State
New Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin told Sawtelle he "lacked the explosiveness to play in UT's new offensive system" and the SEC's hand-me-down could now be a force in the GLIAC, with all four years of elgibility still remaining.
Sawtelle lines up at 6-6, 315 pounds and he was ranked the No. 14 overall offensive tackle prospect in the country by Rivals.com as a senior at Birmingham Brother Rice High School in 2007.
He is just a little over a year removed from surgery to both of his shoulders, but he will play right away and two years of practice in Knoxville should play to his advantage while in Allendale.
