Heidelberg kicks off 2024 season at home Thursday

There's always a first time for everything.Starting the regular season on Thursday was once a rare occasion, but more and more across all levels of college football, it's happening more often.Heidelberg did it last year, but this year will get to start on a Thursday night at home as the Student Princes host Hiram at Hoernemann Stadium, the first time Heidelberg has opened its home slate on a Thursday.Kickoff is set for 7 p.m."I think it's really cool," Heidelberg coach Scott Donaldson said. "We did it last year at Hiram and it was (Hiram) coach Jack Mrozinki's idea and it was a blast. It was an absolute blast. It was something different, but because it's Week 1, it doesn't throw off your internal clock. Once you get into the season and you're playing on Saturday afternoon every single week, you really get into a routine. Week 1, there's no routine set yet."The Student Princes were 6-4 last year and opened the season with a 68-14 shellacking of Hiram. Some will say it was a bit of a down year for Heidelberg after winning seven games in 2022 and going 8-2 in 2021. In the 2020 shortened season that was actually played in the spring of 2021, the Student Princes were 4-1, losing in the Ohio Athletic Conference championship game to Mount Union."Camp and preseason is a long, grueling process of learning and beating each other up every single day of practice," Donaldson said. "The guys are obviously chomping at the bit to finally get after somebody wearing a different color helmet. But when you have great upperclassmen leadership like we have, camp can be really enjoyable. There's a lot of competition every single day."The Student Princes had a run through quarterbacks last year with Drew Sims, Lance Rickle, Gavin Reineke, and Brady Berezowsky all seeing time in the backfield. Sims was hurt midway through the season and graduated.Rickle, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound sophomore, will likely get the start Thursday against Hiram. Last year, he completed 41-of-79 passes for 618 yards and five touchdowns.Rickle graduated from nearby Carey High School."You're going to see one, if not two other quarterbacks on the field," Donaldson said. "We're still working through that. We have four phenomenal quarterbacks on this roster. What they do well is all very different. You might see a little different Heidelberg offense this year with those quarterbacks."Heidelberg has a ton of production to replace at running back after Montavious Yearby graduated. He finished with 1,118 yards rushing on 226 carries with 11 touchdowns.Donaldson pointed to Mark Wilder (5-8, 175) and Drew Miller (5-7, 165) as the two that will get a majority of the carries."They are two sophomores that got carries last year as true freshmen," Donaldson said. "Mark is a young man from Miami that is a slasher and great back. He can do a little bit of everything. Drew is a tiny little thing, but man he can go. He's a wrestler and a phenomenal, tough athlete."Donaldson is super excited about the receiving group this year. The top two receivers - Oliver Kelleher (43 receptions, 586 yards, 3 touchdowns) and running back TJ Rhamy (26-269-2) - graduated, but names like Ithan Cholewa (16-205-2), Matthew Drdul (16-202-2), and Cole Poorman (12-170) are all back."Where I think you're going to see the biggest improvement from last year is the receiving core," Donaldson said. "That receiving core right now is dynamic. That's one thing the last couple years we haven't had is multiple take the top off threats - guys the defense has to worry about going vertical every single play. If not, they're going to do it. We have multiple guys that can take the top off the defense. When I say multiple, I mean like six or seven."The Student Princes have a lot of big names back on defense despite the graduation of two-time all-American Griffin Pendry. Back to lead Heidelberg include corners Keyshawn Cunningham and Joe Norris. Cunningham was an all-American after six interceptions and 44 tackles while Norris had 37 tackles and four interceptions."Our defense is very, very experienced," Donaldson said. "Our starting back five are fifth-year seniors and three of their backups are fifth-year seniors. We're very experienced and very talented. I firmly believe the two best Division III cornerbacks in the nation both play for us in Keyshawn Cunningham and Joe Norris. I'd be hard pressed to find two better corners in Division III football."Heidelberg allowed an average of 24.1 points per game, but hopes players like Easton St. Clair, Trey Farris, and Isaiah Kammer help bring that number down. St. Clair led the Student Princes with 69 tackles in just nine games last year. Farris was second with 53 tackles and Kammer was fourth with 50 tackles.Heidelberg must replace a key part of the defensive line in Tyler Turek."Losing Tyler hurts," Donaldson said. "He was a five-year starter and really good. We're going to be younger and a little less experienced, but very talented. Kane Mears, a Columbian grad, will start at defensive end. Nolan Flanagan is back for his fifth year. He was injured last year, but would've been a starter. We are deeper than we have been, but it is going to be a little bit inexperienced."Hiram was just 1-9 last year, allowing 40 or more points seven times."We have to be able to execute," Donaldson said. "If we execute at the level we should or our potential expects, we can hang with anyone. We're going into this week completely blind. The head coach is the same and he's a great coach. No matter who they put out there, they're going to be well-coached. They have a new offensive coordinator and a new special teams coach. There's not many starters returning from last year's team. You see a lot of youth in that 2-deep."After facing Hiram, Heidelberg will have 16 days before it plays again. The Student Princes will be back in action Sept. 21 at home against Ohio Northern."The biggest thing, No. 1, is building depth," said Donaldson of the impending break. "I think our starters on either side of the ball can compete with anybody in the country. We play in the OAC and its college football. You have to have depth. Your 2s have to be just as good as your 1s to win those type of games. We're going to have to develop that here in the first few weeks."Heidelberg strives to be consistently at the top of the conference with teams like Mount Union, John Carroll, and Baldwin Wallace. The Student Princes lost to each last year along with a loss to Marietta.Heidelberg was picked fifth in the conference in the preseason poll."I tell the guys every year you're going to see two things out of Heidelberg football every single year as long as I'm alive," Donaldson said. "We're going to play harder than every single team we face. That is non-negotiable. We're going to have more fun than every team we face. Come down to The Castle on Thursday night. It's going to be a blast. When you get down there, you're going to see a team that really cares about each other."