Scouting the Hampshire Whip-Purs
There is nowhere to go but up.
Hampshire last season endured its first winless campaign since football debuted at the school in 1963, but the program is beginning to trend in the right direction, according to second-year coach Jake Brosman.
The Whip-Purs enter the season with a 41-man varsity roster that includes just 11 seniors, but numbers in the program have risen overall to 105.
A lack of seniors doesn't necessarily translate to a lack of experience. Part of the reason the Whips were beaten soundly so often a year ago - they allowed 40 or more points in 7 of 9 games - was because the coaching staff was left with no alternative but to play several sophomores at key positions due to injuries and the small size of the then-junior class.
Those sophomores, now juniors, were exposed to the speed of varsity football early. Next season multiple members of the Class of 2021 will become third-year starters, making Hampshire one of the most experienced teams in the Fox Valley Conference.
Brosman, hired in May of 2018, has no intention of waiting that long for his first victory as a head coach.
"I think we're going to be much improved," he said. "We will be young across the board, but our guys have worked extremely hard because 0-9 is not something anybody in our program wants to experience again.
"We don't have many seniors but we have great seniors who have worked their tails off. So have the younger guys. The Fox Valley is a tough conference, but we hope we can make progress with the hard work we've put in."
Two senior quarterbacks have shared reps throughout the off-season: senior Jackson Milison (6-foot-3, 175 pounds) and Ben Curran (6-3, 152). Milison, also a basketball player, saw time at the position last year. Brosman described both as pocket passers, smart players and good throwers with similar skill sets.
The line returns one starter: Jake Rambo, a 5-foot-10, 240-pound senior entering his third varsity season. Junior Yaseen Harraz (5-10, 230) saw significant playing time late last season. He moves from center to tackle.
Senior receiver Shandon Suma (6-3, 170), a track sprinter, can stretch the field but will be featured more on defense at outside linebacker this season, his coach said. Junior John Brady Young (6-2, 185) returns after gaining experience as a slot receiver last fall. He switches to tight end.
Brosman's intention in his first season was to run power football out of the spread formation with two-back sets, but a slew of injuries negated that plan. The Whip-Purs switched to an H-back style spread. By the end of the year, they were running the old-school, single-wing.
"We've definitely made some tweaks offensively," Brosman said. "After a year like last year we have to play to the strengths of our kids. I've had time to learn our kids and learn what I think will work best for them. There will be similarities but the offense will be different. We might be able to instill some of the things we talked about last year."
Two-way playing Rambo will be a centerpiece of the defensive line. Fellow lineman William Pflederer (6-3, 190) started the first few games at defensive end last fall until his season was cut short by injury.
Junior Neil Sakolari (5-10, 210) became the starting middle linebacker in Week 4. Junior outside linebacker Jake Wilcox also saw significant playing time. Senior inside linebacker Evan Andresen got a taste of the action last year. Young played safety last year and had a productive off-season, his coach said.