The Saints slipped from 7-4 in 2008 to 3-8 in 2009 and head coach Mike Uremovich can count on just one hand the number of plays that - had they gone the other way - would have given the Saints their second straight winning season.

But, those last-minute plays in heartbreaking losses to Marian, St. Ambrose, McKendree and Quincy - four losses by a combined nine points and all in the final minute of play - happened and the 3-8 finish will remain in the books. Uremovich, though, is confident that his young 2010 team can make the necessary steps of improvement to win those tight games and put the rising program back on the track it was two years ago when it stayed in the NAIA national ratings for five weeks.

"We have a young football team this year - particularly at the skill positions - but we will not let our youth or inexperience ever be an excuse," says Uremovich. "We are confident that we can get back to where we were two years ago and compete in a very tough conference for a league championship."

The USF Offense

John Goolsby graduated with his second degree last winter - a Master's to go along with his Bachelor's degree - and left USF not only with a pair of diplomas but almost every passing mark in the school's record book. Also gone are the Saints' top two backups from a year ago, the graduated Derek Greenfield and Matt Ladd who suffered a career-ending injury. So, USF enters the season with a group of young quarterbacks - two freshmen, a redshirt freshman and a sophomore who played strictly at wide receiver last year - that will battle for the starting job. None of them have ever taken a collegiate snap.

The frontrunner midway through fall camp is freshman E.J. White. The St. Cloud, Fla., product was invited to walk on at South Florida last year after graduating from high school in the spring of 2009. But he did not attend the other USF and enrolled at St. Francis last spring.

"I like E.J.'s athleticism," says Uremovich, "He is an intelligent young man and everything that you want in a quarterback."

The other candidates include sophomore Desmond Page who played wide receiver as a true freshman and made a pair of receptions in the 62-20 win over Olivet Nazarene. Redshirt freshman Kevin Flack and true frosh Ryne Van Gennep from nearby Lincoln-Way East High School will also battle for playing time.

Sophomore tailback Connor Krisch, who didn't crack the starting lineup until an injury to Javon Stewart opened the door for him in game number five, returns to lead the Saints' running game after an outstanding freshman season. Despite the late start, Krisch cracked the 1,000-yard mark and came within 50 yards of matching the school's all-time single-season rushing record. Twice he carried for more than 200 yards in a single game, becoming the first Saint to ever do that not only in one season but in his career. He was a first-team All-MSFA/Midwest League selection and twice was named the league's Offensive Player of the Week.

"Krisch is a heckuva talent," says Uremovich. "He has lost some weight this year and looks even better than he did as a redshirt freshman."

Others who figure to see significant playing time in the Saints' backfield include sophomore Mychal Jackson, junior Garen Demery and redshirt freshman Anthony Hubert. Jackson had flashes of brilliance as a true frosh a year ago, topping the 100-yard mark on two different occasions. Demery has been dogged by injuries since transferring to USF from Grossmont (Calif.) College and will miss the first few weeks of this season with a hand injury suffered in the early part of fall camp. Hubert is a promising prospect with lots of speed.

"Tailback may be the deepest position we have on the offensive side of the ball," says Uremovich. "I'm excited about what we will see from those players."

Fifth-year senior Joe Marciano returns as the top fullback in 2010.

"Joe is a consistent player and may be the most unappreciated part of our entire offense because he seldom touches the ball," says Uremovich. "Our fullback is asked to block almost all of the time, with an occasional pass thrown his way. Joe is very unselfish and does a great job in making our offense click."

Backing up Marciano at fullback will be junior Wade Bethel and freshman Brandon Collofello.

Tight end is another position that will be filled by freshmen after the graduation of three-year starter Andy Zurales. Redshirt freshmen Dustin Greenwell and Luke Gundersen are in a battle for the starting spot with true freshman Eric Davis also impressing the coaches in fall camp.

"Greenwell and Gundersen are two of the better athletes I have ever coached at tight end," says Uremovich. "Both are big, strong and athletic players and can run with the ball after they catch it."

True frosh Shane Laga and Greg Nowak will also compete with the previously-mentioned trio for playing time.

Along with the tight ends, the wide receivers form the youngest part of the 2010 USF squad. Only Stewart, who moves to the slot this fall after being one of the Saints' top running backs the previous three years, is a senior. The only other upperclassman is junior Sean Hughes who played for USF in 2006 and '07. He transferred to University of Indianapolis but did not play in any games in 2008 and attended school on a part-time basis last season.

"We graduated our top five pass catchers from last year (including the school's all-time leading receiver Jason Fiske) and those guys caught all but 35 of our more than 200 completions," says Uremovich. "Needless to say, we will be young out there this season but very talented. It has been a great battle in camp among seven guys to see who will be our top guys when we open at Marian on August 28."

That group of seven is led by Stewart and Hughes. Stewart was lost for the season last year with an arm injury in the fourth game. He is a dangerous player with the ball in the open field and Uremovich hopes to utilize that talent by putting him in the slot this season. Hughes caught 37 balls in 2007 and finished the season with a three-touchdown, 13-catch performance in USF's stirring come-from-behind win over Olivet Nazarene.

Sophomore Darien Smith caught two balls as a freshman and has enjoyed a fine fall camp. Page will also see time at wide receiver in addition to the quarterback spot this season. Junior transfer Marcus Holmes will share time with Stewart in the slot. Redshirt freshman Elliot Allen, from nearby Minooka, and frosh Deonta Stevens are also expected to get significant playing time at wide receiver.

Others backing up this group include junior transfer Jason Campbell, sophomores Richard Highland and Eddie Ortiz and freshmen Trent Wiles, Corbin Orr and Armando Vargas. Redshirt freshman D.J. Purnell has been lost for the season due to a knee injury suffered in fall camp.

Four-year starter Nick Reicher and three-year starter Jim Jadron, both all-conference honorees the last two years, will anchor the Saints' offensive line. Reicher will line up at left tackle with Jadron next to him at left guard. Sophomore David Zanato, who shared playing time a year ago with graduated all-league center Marc Novak, will start at center in 2010. Sophomore Matt Lyday is the top candidate at right guard and a three-way battle among senior Ryan Ramos, junior J.C. Shoop and sophomore Dan Smith is being waged for the starting spot at right tackle. Ramos, a second-team all-conference pick at nose guard the past two years, was moved over to offense midway through this fall camp. Shoop has missed almost all of the last two years due to injuries and Smith played a fair amount of snaps last fall as a redshirt freshman.

Two other names to watch for in the offensive line are junior Kyle Sanders and redshirt freshman Dan Sears. Sanders just made the move from tight end and could alternate time between that position and the interior of the offensive line this season.

Other players fighting for backup roles upfront include sophomore Zack Smith, redshirt freshman Myleak Daniels, and freshmen Marcus Winston, Brandon Cotton, Kendall Robinson and Kyle Possedi.

The USF Defense

Six experienced defensive linemen return to lead the front line of attack for the Saints this fall.

Uremovich expects to start the trio of juniors Tim Plett, Sean Leslie and David Malone, with juniors Marco Mendoza, James Bowman and Navi Uhatafe all seeing significant playing time as well. Plett and Leslie each had 31 tackles a year ago and were regular starters. Malone was an offensive lineman last fall but certainly has the size (6-3, 260) to be an effective defensive lineman. Mendoza is an accomplished pass rusher and led the Saints in sacks with five last season. Bowman earned All-MSFA/Midwest League accolades as a freshman in 2008 and Uhatafe hopes to regain the form of his freshman season in 2007 when he paced the team with 7.5 tackles-for-loss.

One newcomer to watch in the defensive front is junior transfer Sam Liebman, who has impressed the coaching staff during fall camp.

Backups in the defensive line include sophomore Mike Smith, redshirt freshmen Kevin James and Antwione Smith and freshmen Ellis Gary, Bruce Taylor and Kyle Adermann.

The linebacking corps is, in the words of Uremovich, "the strength of our defense."

The crew is led by senior and soon-to-be four-year starter Brenton Valentine, a two-time honorable mention All-MSFA/Midwest League choice. Valentine is joined by returning starters Wade Ferm, a junior from nearby Lincoln-Way Central, and Drew Tondini, a Morris product that enjoyed a fine freshman season a year ago. Pushing those three for playing time will be junior Michael Barry, sophomores Martelle Prince and Josh Greenback and true freshman Fred Griggs.

"Benton (Valentine) is one of the best linebackers in our conference and Ferm and Tondini are both very solid," says Uremovich. "Prince, Barry and Greenback have had good camps and Griggs is an exceptional athlete that has opened our eyes with his play in camp."

Other names vying for playing time will be sophomores Stephen Pelaez, Adam Tondini, Brian Green and Luis Santana, redshirt freshmen Corey Gualandi and Josh Mander and freshman Kenneth Mason.

Another deep position for the Saints is safety. The group is very young, with most being either sophomores or freshmen, but the talent is there to put smiles on the faces of Uremovich and his defensive coaches.

Sophomore Pete Damiani, from Lincoln-Way Central, is a returning starter as is senior Guy Dragonetti. Damiani took over a starting position midway through the 2009 season while Dragonetti jumped right into the lineup in his first year at USF after transferring. Dragonetti was the fifth-leading tackler on the team with 38 stops and also had a pair of interceptions. Others coming back with experience and who will definitely see playing time are sophomores Stan Pheteau, Nathan Beatty, Willie McCalebb and Chris Pyzalski.

"All of these players are very versatile," says Uremovich, "and we have different packages that we run that will give us a chance to use all of them and keep our secondary fresh throughout the season."

Other players in the mix include sophomore Lavelle Riley, redshirt freshmen Christian Harney and Troy Granger and freshman Montreal Barnes and Brandon Mendoza.

The Saints return two-year starters at both cornerback slots. Juniors C.J. Santiago and Wayne Johnson both earned honorable mention All-MSFA/Midwest League recognition last season.

"C.J. and Wayne give us two solid, experienced guys at the corner," says Uremovich.

Top backups at those spots will be senior Michael Woodward, redshirt freshman Jeffrey Oscar and true frosh Toney Brown.

Other cornerbacks looking for playing time include redshirt freshman Jesse Groover and freshmen Anthony Binford and Thomas Hubbard.

USF Special Teams

Junior Michael Rogers and incoming freshman Alex Gallaher will split the kicking duties as the 2010 season opens. Rogers will handle the kickoffs and punts, while Gallaher will do the placekicking. Rogers split kickoff duties last season and two years ago as a freshman he made 2-of-3 field goals and converted 13-of-16 extra points.

"This is the first year that Rogers has been fully healthy," says Uremovich, "and that should make a big difference in his kicking for us. Gallaher is a fine prospect and I have full confidence in his ability to handle our extra points and field goals."

Kickoff return specialists will rotate among a group of Stewart, Holmes, Hubert and Allen. All four have the speed to break long runbacks but Stewart is the only one that has been used in that role here at USF, since Holmes is new to the program and Hubert and Allen redshirted last year as freshmen.

Stewart and Allen will also be at the top of the list for punt returns when the season kicks off.

The Schedule and the Conference

The 2010 schedule is nearly identical to the 2009 slate with the sites reversed. The only change is that MSFA crossover foe Taylor is not on the slate and has been replaced by Haskell Indian Nations University out of Lawrence, Kan., who will come to Joliet on Oct. 16. The Saints will return the trip to Lawrence in 2011.

"I like the fact that we were able to get Haskell Indian Nations on the schedule after the Taylor date opened up," says Uremovich. "It gives us a sixth home game this year and will give us a nice, longer trip next season to a place that our guys haven't been to before."

Uremovich knows the schedule will always be tough but likes the way it is arranged this year.

"We open up on the road which is something that I always like. It gives us a chance to break camp but go right into our travel routine and keep everyone focused for that first game with no home game distractions. Marian will not be an easy opener as they are a team that came up here and beat us in our home opener last year.

"Of course, we then go into a short week and play the fourth-ranked team in the country (Saint Xavier) just five days later on the road. But, the good part about opening with two road games is that we get six of our next eight at home before we finish the regular season at William Penn.

"McKendree is again the team to beat in our league. They are the defending champions and have to be the favorites until they get knocked off. St. Ambrose is always tough and had a nice, long string of conference titles until McKendree grabbed it away last year. Grand View came within one game of winning the league last year in just its second year of football. William Penn is always tough and is a team that we have never beaten. And Quincy always seems to be very competitive in our league.

"I am convinced that we play in one of the most competitive leagues in all of the NAIA. Any one of at least six teams seems to be good enough to battle for the league title each year. There are no ‘gimmies' and you have to be ready to play each and every week.

"It doesn't get much easier in non-conference play, either, because most of our non-league games are crossovers against teams from the MSFA/Mideast. Opening with non-conference games like Marian and Saint Xavier is not a sign of an easy non-conference schedule."