Coming Up:
Monday – Defensive Preview
Tuesday – Special Teams Preview
Wednesday – Week 1 Preview

ASHLAND – Ken Fasnacht, Southern Oregon's sixth-year offensive coordinator, is preparing a unit that ranked eighth in the NAIA in total offense last year to redeem itself.

On most days, the connotations associated with a transition year didn't apply to the Raiders in 2015, except when compared to the impossibly high standards set by their most recent predecessors. The 2012 Raiders broke a collegiate record by averaging 642 yards per game. In 2013, they ranked first nationally in scoring and yardage for the second year in a row. They were second in both categories in 2014, but their national championship was a worthy consolation.

That's why the concept of redemption – for a team that managed to score 40 points per game while transitioning to life without the most statistically accomplished quarterback in NAIA history – doesn't seem so outrageous. In its three losses last year, SOU was held to 20 points or less for the first time since 2011. The possibility of a return to consistently cartoonish numbers is due to a quarterback, Tanner Trosin, who was already the most dangerous player on the field before getting a year in the system under his belt; a group of receivers that has added speed behind senior stalwart Matt Retzlaff; an offensive line that will again be anchored by veterans; and a wealth of running backs as multifaceted as ever.

"The leadership at every position gives us a chance to be as good as we've been if we can stay healthy," Fasnacht said. "It comes down to how hard we work, always. There a tendency this time of year to think you're already good enough, but it's nice to have guys who already know exactly how much work it takes to play into late December."

POSITION BY POSITION
QUARTERBACKS: At this time last year, Tanner Trosin was vying for a starting job and feeling out the offense while his coaches felt out how to maximize a dual-threat skillset they hadn't seen at SOU. When it was over, the transfer had set Raider quarterback records for rushing yards (866) and rushing touchdowns (12). He completed 64 percent of his passes, too, and got better as the season progressed: His three best games in terms of passing yardage were strung together consecutively in the first three rounds of the NAIA Championship Series – against 10^th-ranked Kansas Wesleyan (365 yards), at second-ranked Baker (261) and at top-ranked Morningside (391). It took until SOU's fourth game of the season to notch his first TD pass, but he finished with 16 TDs, eight interceptions and 203 passing yards per game.

"It's similar to Austin Dodge getting better and better leading up to winning the championship," Fasnacht said. "Having an opportunity to develop his QB skills mixed with his athleticism makes him a much bigger weapon. For a lot of last year, he just depended on athleticism."

Senior Jack Singler is a reliable, heady backup in his third year with the program. He only attempted 14 passes in 2015 exhibited his skills during SOU's spring game by going 14-of-18 for 210 yards and three TDs.

"He'd start for many teams in our conference and in the NAIA," Fasnacht said. "If we had to win with Jack, we'd be completely comfortable with that."

Holden Oglesbee, a redshirt-sophomore, is the third-stringer after making the move from receiver during the spring.

RUNNING BACKS: Once again, fans can expect a committee of Raiders to take handoffs in 2016. Last year they averaged 5.4 yards per carry and 214.5 per game – the team's highest marks since 2003 – and, including Trosin, five different players rushed at least 55 times, and four of them posted at least one 100-yard game. With Keegan Lawrence moved to safety and Melvin Mason out indefinitely, speedy junior Louis Macklin will move up the line to become a featured back after averaging a team-best 7.5 yards per try and scoring five TDs on 55 attempts as a sophomore.

"Louis might be the fastest player in the nation," Fasnacht said, "so we're excited to see what he can do with more touches. He's very dangerous when he gets to that second level."

Sean Tow, a slippery 5-foot-7 senior, should see increased action as well. Injuries sidelined him for six games last season, but the Raiders went to him for game-winning scores in both of their overtime wins, and he comes into the season fifth on SOU's career rushing TDs list (21) and seventh in average yards per carry (5.4).

Said Fasnacht: "He's still Sean, a classic change-up guy. You could put him in a phone booth and he'd still make you miss."

Filling Mason's role as the resident power back with speed is Rey Vega, a 5-10, 205-pound junior transfer from Portland State who is already wearing on defenders in practice. Austin May, a redshirt last year, has also helped himself in camp to emerge as SOU's fourth back.

"It's a little different, but we still feel like we're pretty loaded," Fasnacht said. "Opponents are going to have to defend four different backs, sometimes on four different drives."

OFFENSIVE LINE: Tasked with replacing three starters, the Raiders still have the size and experience to generate matchup problems up front.  That begins with Tylor King, a 6-6, 300-pound senior who will start at left tackle for the third year in a row after becoming an All-Frontier Conference performer last year.

"We think (King) should already be an All-American, so I'd be shocked if he wasn't this year," Fasnacht. "He's really matured and he's one of the best athletes in the conference."

The other starter back is Jose Sanchez, who formerly played center for the Raiders. He'll move over to right guard, his natural position, and make way for Christmas Aumua, a standout at Butte College (Calif.) who joined the team last spring. At the other tackle, senior Connor Astley, who Fasnacht calls SOU's most improved player in camp, will assume the starting spot after getting regular snaps the last two years. And at the other guard, the rangy Tyler Cox has made the move from the defensive line and earned a starting job.

Providing depth will be Cooper Early, a redshirt-freshman who is capable of playing all three positions, and junior transfers Dane Skriloff (San Diego Mesa College) and Masi Tunoa (De Anza College).

"We think this line has a lot of upside," Fasnacht said. "It's been the strength of our team, the reason we've been able to play as fast as we have in years past, and hopefully we can keep it that way."

RECEIVERS: One of the first areas Fasnacht points to when discussing the deficiencies of last year's team was the speed, and overall reliability, of a receiving corps that was often diminished by injuries. A byproduct of those factors was Matt Retzlaff's move to outside receiver.

SOU's additions have enabled Retzlaff, a three-time all-conference selection, to move back to the slot. The 5-10 senior, who also serves as an all-conference return specialist, now ranks second on SOU's career receptions list (166), third in receiving yards (2,403), third in receiving touchdowns (27), and fourth in total touchdowns (34). He's also been at his best in the clutch, totaling 692 receiving yards and six TDs in the postseason alone over the last two years.

"He looks like a senior," Fasnacht said. "He's an all-purpose player in this league all the time and he's going to touch the ball a lot."

The Raiders will go with three returning players in the other slot: redshirt-sophomores Chase Cole and Bronsen Ader, and redshirt-freshman Keegan Weiss. Ader (four receptions) and Cole (three) impressed in limited action last year – Ader with his physicality and Cole with his speed. Weiss was formerly a standout at Grants Pass High.

On the outside, senior Zack Davis is back and benefitting from acquired knowledge of the offense after making 19 catches for 309 yards and three TDs through injuries last year. Also back is senior Sean McShane, who was out for the entirety of 2015 with an injury but had several big moments for SOU's title squad, recording 32 catches for 500 yards and five TDs while posing a deep-ball threat. The Raiders are also hoping to mix in senior DJ Willingham, now in his second year with the team, and 6-6 redshirt-freshman Jordan Suell, whose length could be a useful tool in red-zone situations.

The key additions, junior Matt Boudreaux and true freshman Jason Shelley, are also out wide. Boudreaux registered 12 touchdowns in 11 games last year at L.A. Valley Community College, and Shelley has proven to be game-ready ahead of schedule. As a senior at Benicia High (Calif.), Shelley set school records with 71 catches for 1,223 yards and 17 TDs. This fall, Fasnacht said, "he's just kind of come in and beat all the other guys out. We knew he was fast, but we didn't know he'd be this mature already."

TIGHT ENDS: SOU has been, with few exceptions, devoid of tight ends in its lineup since the start of the 2013 season, but Fasnacht believes that is about to change. Ben Bachman, now a junior, has gotten stronger and proven himself in the passing game, and junior transfer Harry Kolone provides a short-yardage element that could be handy.

"Both of those guys could give us some looks we haven't had in a while," Fasnacht said.