Despite 2 Big Sky titles in 3 years, Southern Utah still out to prove doubters wrong

CEDAR CITY — Southern Utah has won two Big Sky football championships in the past three years.

But when the Big Sky media poll and STATS FCS national preseason poll were released this past month, the Thunderbirds didn’t make the cut.

Coming off a league co-title and FCS playoff appearance, the Thunderbirds were picked to finish sixth in the league — and received just 357 total votes in the national poll, unofficially coming in 28th in the Top 25.

By contrast, Weber State — which shared the Big Sky title a year ago and rallied to defeat the Thunderbirds in the second round of the playoffs in Cedar City — was picked No. 8 nationally, one spot better than Big Sky preseason favorite Eastern Washington.

The lack of respect is nothing new for the Thunderbirds and for head coach Demario Warren, who led SUU to the No. 8 national seed in last year's FCS playoffs.

"I feel like we are one of the most motivated teams in the country," Warren said. "We're going to work for what we get.

"We don't need the preseason rankings. But we’ve worked for what we've gotten, and we want to be known as one of the best teams in the Big Sky. At the FCS level, you’ve got to start high if you want to climb up the rankings."

The Thunderbirds have the talent to prove people wrong once again.

All five starters on the offensive line are back, including FCS All-American center Zach Larsen. SUU’s top two running backs — former Kearns High star James Felila and junior Jay Green — are also back.

Green ran for 655 yards and 14 touchdowns for SUU in 2017, a year after earning first-team All-American honors at Modesto (California) Junior College in his hometown.

Felila ran for 695 yards in just nine games as a sophomore, and the rushing duo accounted for every touchdown not scored by departing quarterback Patrick Tyler during their breakout 2017 season.

Top receivers like ex-Bingham High standouts Landen Measom and Logan Parker are also back after combining for 1,168 yards and nine touchdowns a year ago, and offensive coordinator Justin Walterscheid is back to lead them.

"I'm excited to see what he comes up with. He’s one of the best offensive coordinators in the country," Warren said.

But replacing Tyler won’t be easy. In two seasons in Cedar City, the Compton, California, native threw for 5,097 yards and 43 touchdowns with just 18 interceptions, and ran for eight more scores.

In the battle to replace him are Hawaii transfer Aaron Zwahlen, junior college transfer Chris Helbig, freshman Austin Ewing and former Roy High standout Tyler Skidmore.

"The way they are bouncing back has been awesome," Warren said. "We're all about responding. We’ve got a tough road this year, and there are going to be times we get punched in the mouth. It’s all about how we respond."

On defense, the Thunderbirds have more holes. Seven of the team’s top tacklers in 2017 are gone — including linebacker Mike Needham, who is currently with the Minnesota Vikings.

"We've still got some returners, like Kyle Hannemann and Jalen Russell," Warren said. "But there’s not as much depth as on offense.

"We'll still be really good on defense this year."

The Thunderbirds' biggest signing of the offseason was first-year video coordinator McKay Pett, who transferred to SUU after spending time with KSL TV as a video editor.

Through the success of the past three seasons, the Thunderbirds are still developing talent to send to the next level. Six former SUU players are currently on NFL rosters, and Warren can’t wait to discover who is next.

"Coach Lamb started it in 2008, and we wanted to get guys in here with good character who we could develop," Warren said. "We wanted to do the same thing when I took over in 2016.

"Guys have just worked hard. We've developed guys, and we get guys who we feel can be Sunday players. … It’s been awesome to see these guys fill out their potential."

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