PRE-GAME NOTES

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HOUSTON, Texas - As the McMurry University football team prepares to take the field for the first time in 2014 on Saturday at Houston Baptist University (7 p.m.), one thing is for certain: the season will be one of change for the War Hawks' team.  It is "change" precipitated by circumstances, but embraced by the War Hawks as a part of the team's maturation process this year.
 
McMurry, which went 3-8 in 2013, will battle the upstart Huskies, who are in just their season as an intercollegiate program. The two teams will be unveiling HBU's new home – Husky Stadium – on Saturday, as well. HBU went 3-4 in its inaugural campaign, scoring victories over Wayland Baptist (52-28, in the program's first victory), Oklahoma Baptist (34-3) and Texas College (49-7). The Huskies averaged 24.4 points and 327.1 total offensive yards per game. They gave up 37.1 p.p.g. and 388.6 y.p.g.
 
After starting out 2013 with losses to a pair of NCAA I FCS foes and to one LSC team, McMurry got its first win of the year with its 53-27 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State. McM then lost five-consecutive games, four to Lone Star Conference teams- a Homecoming loss to Angelo State, at No. 25 Midwestern State, at TAMU-Commerce, a home setback to No. 9/16 West Texas A&M. That was followed by a 47-43 loss to Incarnate Word in the final minute of the game. McM rebounded with two consecutive wins - 56-29 win at Wayland Baptist and 55-20 at home over Southern Nazarene - to close out the year.
 
Change occurred at the very top for McMurry entering this season, as nine-year veteran head coach Lance Hinson takes over the War Hawks' reins in 2014. Hinson joined McM in late May, after the departure of Mason Miller after one season at the McMurry helm. Hinson also had to replace some staff vacancies upon his arrival, adding Matt Kalb as the offensive coordinator and Adam Kirby as his offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. Kendall Roberson returns as McM's defensive coordinator.
 
Perhaps the biggest hurdle facing McM this season was the decision by the University to transition back to NCAA Division III, after two years in the process to become an NCAA II institution and with affiliate membership in the Lone Star  Conference. Because football schedules were already set for 2014 and could not be altered, the War Hawks will be playing this one year in the LSC for football with a hybrid of some holdovers from its 2013 roster and players recruited for the return to Division III.
 
"Everything that's happened in the past doesn't necessarily mean anything," Hinson said. "This is a new beginning for the entire football program. We have new coaches; lots of new players coming in here. What made things a little tough is not being able to go through spring (practice) and not having your own 'fingerprints' all over the new recruits that were coming in, as well. It is a little bit of a challenge, but it doesn't faze any of us."
 
Hinson and his staff have the chance to put their own stamp on what type of player they want for the War Hawks going forward.
 
"(The players) are all individuals," Hinson said when trying to describe his prototypical player. "But if you want to paint a broad picture, number one is character. It's somebody that you want to be around; somebody that you enjoy spending time with. Obviously, they're going to have to also fit into the University's academic goals, as well, and have a good background in the classroom. On the field, they are going to have to be able to play their position. As a staff, we are never going to ask our kids to do something they can't do.
 
"They are going to have to want to be here, as well."
 
Of the players that are in the fold in 2014, five each for offense and defense were starters last season. That brings up the question of how to best utilize the talent on either side of the ball.
 
"A huge reason Matt Kalb was hired (as offensive coordinator)  is because he is so 'multiple'," Hinson said. "The things that he
installs with his offense, he can take what he has and be successful. I look at that as being incredibly important.
 
"I've always believed in adjusting my defense to the skill set of the players. So, we have several different looks and defenses to optimize each man's talents."
 
Offensively, McMurry returns five of its top seven receivers, spearheaded by senior wide out Jeret Smith. Last year, Smith caught 61 balls for 846 yards (13.9 y.p.c.) and 10 touchdowns. David McHugh (27 catches/ 206 yards/3 Td) is also back in the receiving corps.
 
Matt McHugh – David's twin brother – has been tabbed as the opening day quarterback. Matt is playing his first season of collegiate ball.
 
Up front, linemen Rafael Gallo and Matt Newby return from 2013. Art Schoonover, a senior who missed all of last season due to an injury, is also back. Schoonover was slated to handle the center chores before being lost.
 
The running back positions may be the team's strong suit, as the top-four ground gainers are all back. Senior Chris Simpson heads the group, gaining 842 yards on 168 carries (5.0 y.p.c.), while junior Paxton Grayer posted 822 rushing yards on just 109 attempts (7.5 y.p.c.). Both players had seven rushing TDs and were among the team's top receivers as well (Simpson with 211 receiving yards and Grayer with 244).
 
On the defensive side, leading tackler Desmond Guy is back after a sterling 2013 campaign. Guy, a defensive back, had 96 total tackles (66 solo), five pass break-ups and an interception. Also returning to the secondary is senior Greg Pinckney (30 tackles) and sophomore Decorian Johnson (53 tackles). Junior Ryan Williams is also back after a season-ending injury early in the campaign.
 
Up front, starters Joshua Fisher – who had 44 tackles; 8 ½ tackles for loss – and Calvin Middlebrooks (40 tackles; 7.5 tackles for loss) are back for defensive coordinator Roberson. Fisher had a school-record 56-yard fumble return at Texas A&M-Commerce last year.
 
Newcomer Joey Silva is the front-runner to handle the kicking chores for Hinson and the War Hawks.
 
Despite what 2014 obstacles may be ahead for Hinson and his War Hawks, the new McMurry mentor is ready for the rigors.  Hinson is opting to use the changes and circumstances as a way to challenge his players.
 
"It's so exciting to be able to know that we are going to be up against storied programs; great programs," Hinson explained. "The Lone Star Conference is always among the top in the nation for quality teams. Every week is a new opportunity for us. I think it's going to teach our kids an incredibly-valuable lesson: that the less you focus on something else – and the more you focus on yourselves – the better you become.
 
"Going up against – and scheming up against – the long list of great coaches in this conference is exciting and is a challenge. If you go into it looking negatively, you're going to get negative results. You have to go in with a positive attitude. You have to go into every game with the idea that we aren't going to bow down to anybody. I don't care who put how many points on whom last year; it doesn't matter anymore. That has no effect on this team, this staff or this university anymore."
 
So what would define 2014 for Hinson and his team when all is said-and-done?
 
"One thing I'd love to be able to say to our fans and to our supporters is that you are going to have a team that never gives up," Hinson said. "You're going to have a team that's out there fighting and clawing, no matter what the score is. It's not going to matter. It's going to be that 'never-say-die' attitude. We're never going to quit.
 
"We're going to be very respectful on the football field. We're going to respect the game. It's a privilege to play football at McMurry University."