Season Outlook Part 1: Millersville football growing up and making gains
8/15/2022 8:00:00 AM | Football
This is part one of a two-part season outlook story on Millersville football. Today's story focuses primarily on the offense.Â
MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - For the first time in a long time, the Millersville Marauders field a veteran roster with plenty of playing experience. J.C. Morgan's squad returns 19 total starters. Those first recruits that arrived in August of 2019 are now seniors and fourth-year juniors. After taking their lumps 18 and 19-year-olds in the ultra-competitive and ultra-physical PSAC, the players are developing in a way that Morgan and his staff had hoped when they arrived at Millersville. They've grown up.
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"We have a lot of experience, a lot more than last year," said Morgan. "It's exciting to see them develop."
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Stepping onto a college campus for the first time can be overwhelming enough. Learning the complexities of the game while playing fast, instinctively, and physical enough to compete with fifth-year seniors is a near-impossibility. It takes reps—on the field, in practice, in the film room and in the weight room.  Morgan is hopeful that the strides made in all areas pushes the team another step forward in 2022.
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"We've developed in a lot of ways," said Morgan. "We've spent a lot of time in the film room, taking any opportunity to teach the game of football and teach our schemes, help them understand how to handle as many situations as possible. We've developed in the weight room. We always say you have to be very good in that department. We have a very good program. Coach (Kyle) Regensburg has done a great job leading that charge. The young men have really bought into what he's asked them to do. They have a great approach each and every day. We've developed on the football field. We had a tremendous spring. The guys competed hard every day, got after each other, brought competition amongst themselves. Ultimately, we are looking for that to pay off in the fall. That's when it counts."
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Part of the development is learning from mistakes. Young rosters understandably struggle to compete in the PSAC, and a culprit is often mistakes from inexperience. For Millersville in 2021, those mistakes weren't glaring. Millersville was penalized the third-fewest times in the PSAC and finished the season only minus-4 in turnover margin. What really cost the Marauders—and what they've focused on correcting in the offseason—are the missed details that cut offensive drives short and extend drives when the defense is on the field.
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Last season, Millersville ranked 161st out of 163 Division II teams in time of possession. That's because those mistakes kept showing up on third down—when the team needs to make the right play at the right time. Millersville ranked 159th nationally in third down conversions and 134th in third down defense. While there were bright spots, the inability to play complimentary football for a full 60 minutes ultimately cost the team wins.
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"It's minute details that needed to be corrected," said Morgan. "The common theme was, 'imagine if we did this a little different.' Let's be better on third downs because if we close out a drive, it affects the field position, it saves you some snaps, and if we hold the ball longer on offense, the defense doesn't have to be back on the field so quickly. That has to get better for us to be better."
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Morgan did see moments of the resiliency and mental toughness that comes with experience. There was the win over Lock Haven in which the Marauders trailed by nine at the half, rallied to take a lead but then fell behind after a critical fumble late in the fourth. Millersville answered back with a 68-yard touchdown drive and two defensive stops. Morgan also pointed specifically to a fourth-down conversion in the closing minutes against Bloomsburg that showed him the team had begun to mature.
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"The one thing I look at is how teams overcome adversity," said Morgan. "There was a moment in that Bloomsburg game where we had a fourth-and-medium and converted a first down. There was a questionable penalty that nullified that first down. We had to come back and convert a fourth-and-long. We get knocked back, but we came back and made a bigger play. That's a moment where you see that the guys are starting to get it and have that mental toughness that we may not have had at times. That's when it gets exciting."
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Morgan has seen significant strides made with the offensive line, which is arguably the toughest position for young players to make an immediate impact. There, the Marauders return three starters in tackle Tyler Lacey, center Michael Bennett and guard Logan Fleegal as well as sophomore tackle Lex Rivera, who played eight games as a true freshman. There isn't a senior in the bunch, but it is a group of players who has impressed Morgan in the offseason.
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"Last year we had a lot of first- and second-year guys playing together," said Morgan. "It's good to see them getting that experience together. Our offensive line group is one of the top performing groups in our program as far as what they are doing in the classroom and weight room. They do things the right way. I'm excited to see them take the next step. When you put a bunch of 18 and 19-year-olds in the PSAC, you are going to see some struggles. We are getting past that. For the first time in a long time, we have a group that's been together and are experienced. We knew they were talented coming in, and now that they've gone through that fire, they've made strides and we are looking forward to seeing that happen.
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Bennett is entering his third season as a starter and his second at the center position. When trying to find an example of the type of player that Morgan and his staff want to build the program around, look no further than Bennett. He's a PSAC Scholar-Athlete and Dean's List student as a pre-med major, loading up with 18 credits a semester. He loves the game, puts in the work in weight room and with 22 games of starting experience already, he's emerged as a team leader.
"Michael had a strong season last year, and he took another step in the spring," said Morgan. "He's becoming a leader not just in the offensive line room and not just on the offense but within the program. A lot of guys respect his approach and his work ethic."
What stands out about Bennett on the field is his athleticism. He's 6-5 and nearly 300 pounds but runs runs well and uses athleticism to get to the defense's second level. His positional versatility helps the Marauders get the best five lineman on the field.
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After a redshirt year in 2019, a canceled season in 2020, Lacey started all 11 games as a tackle in 2022. Morgan noted Lacey's improvement with his technique. Rivera has benefited from matching up against Millersville's star defensive lineman Tyler Tate every day in practice. He won't see many (if any) better in the PSAC this season.
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Fleegal is another high-achieving student-athlete, earning PSAC Scholar-Athlete status as an accounting major. He's been among the standouts early in the camp according to offensive coordinator Jeff Tomasetti, and he'll be joined by redshirt freshman Zac Shelley at guard.
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"I'm very excited about our two guards, Logan Fleegal and Zac Shelley," said Morgan. "Logan played every snap last year as a redshirt freshman and went through those growing pains. There are moments where you go back and look at the film, and you see why we are excited about him. Zac redshirted last year, and I think he's going to be very good in this conference. He had an outstanding spring. He does things the right way. He performs at a high level in all phases. He comes from a great program right down the road in Lampeter-Strasburg. It's nice to see a guy like that come in, and he's going to play a lot of football for this program of the next few years."
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The Marauders have loaded up on offensive lineman in recruiting the last couple of seasons, so numbers are not an issue. Behind the starters, though, experience is somewhat lacking. Eleven of those 17 are either true or redshirt freshmen.
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Improved offensive line play would go a long way toward boosting the production of a unit that averaged just 15 points per game in 2021. The staff is looking for the line to create more push for a running game that ranked last in the PSAC and also keep the quarterback clean. Last season, the Marauders gave up more than four sacks per game. Consistency and play-making from the quarterback position is just as, if not more important to the improvement of the offense. Millersville used four different starting quarterbacks in 2021, but they found something when the ball was put in the hands of Jack Stagaard in the second half at Shippensburg.
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Now a redshirt junior, Stagaard came to Millersville as part of Morgan's first crop of signees, and he's seen plenty of adversity already in his young career. But he's weathered it, and when his opportunity came, he exhibited the tools that made Morgan and offensive coordinator Jeff Tomasetti so high on him as a high school star at Phillipsburg in New Jersey. In his collegiate debut, he completed 5-of-8 passes for 100 yards and threw for a touchdown. His first career start came against the eventual PSAC champs in Kutztown, but he bounced back three interceptions by throwing for 300 yards and four touchdowns the next week against Bloomsburg. In his final two starts, Stagaard accounted for eight touchdowns, more than 530 passing yards and 133 rushing yards.
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"You have to have great quarterback play," said Morgan. "Last season, we went through a few guys, but at the end of the season, Jack Stagaard was the guy who moved the football and was able to make plays with his arms and legs. He'll get the first crack at leading this offense, and if he starts the season like he finished last season I think we will be excited about the offense as a whole."
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Those three starts and a spring taking snaps as the first-team quarterback has helped Stagaard know just what he is capable of on the field.
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"The biggest thing with Jack coming out of the spring was his confidence," said Morgan. "Those last few weeks showed him that he can be a very good quarterback in the PSAC. There is now an expectation within himself that 'I can lead this team, and I need to perform well to give our team a chance to be great.' I think he's right on schedule. Anytime you bring a young man in, you expect and hope he'll be that all-conference player, especially when you look at that quarterback and say, 'can you be the one who can lead us where we want to go?' (Jack) understands everything that it takes to be that guy now. As a coach, it's very exciting to see that process."
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Helping Stagaard is the bevy of familiar weapons surrounding him. He's got his top two tight ends, top three wide receivers and three running backs returning.
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Tight ends Eli Workinger and Brian Richardson, both redshirt juniors have both played in all 22 games of their Millersville careers and both are versatile—big enough to hold up as blockers and athletic enough to make a difference in the passing game. Stagaard and Workinger developed an immediate connection. Workinger caught just two passes in the first seven games of 2021 but connected with Stagaard nine times over the final four games. Workinger caught a touchdown pass in week 11 and Richardson made a TD grab in week 10. Morgan fully believes that late-season production was just the start.
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"We are very excited about the tight end group," said Morgan. "They've played a lot of football since they were true freshmen. Eli and Brian have played a lot of snaps and are fourth-year guys. I've always believed that you have to have good tight end play to be a successful offense, and we feel really strongly about those two young men."
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On the outside, Millersville returns a trio of capable wide receivers. Hakim Melvin led the team with 409 yards as a redshirt freshman. Christan Drayton III totaled four touchdown grabs, and Mekhi Alexander led the team with 31 catches. Additionally, Cliff Harris made 15 catches.
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"Hakim Melvin showed at times that he can be a big-play threat," said Morgan. "Mekhi Alexander has been as steady as they come. He's improved, and it's nice to see him become a productive and premier playmaker in the PSAC. Drayton has played a lot of football. He's great around the football. When the ball is in the air, there's a good chance he will come down with it. We have a good group of guys who have played and a few more who have a little experience looking to get more. We are looking for Cliff Harris to put it all together and make that jump. He's worked very hard to do that."
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Morgan likes the depth at wide receiver. Redshirt freshmen Jalen Carter and Kameron Taylor are also looking to crack the rotation and make an impact. True freshman Rohjhii Atkinson out of Imhotep Charter has also impressed early in camp.Â
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"You always want to see how the second-year guys perform now that they have that spring under their belt and understand more," said Morgan. "We have two guys who I think can give us some quality snaps and make some plays in Jalen Carter and Kam Taylor. Both have good size and are hard-working guys. They are gaining strength and getting their bodies ready. Offenses in this conference, you have to have depth at the receive position. We are counting on them to give us some snaps."
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Millersville has a trio of young running backs who will get touches in 2022: redshirt sophomore Jaheim Morris and sophomores Matt Frauen and Jaiden Abrams. Morris, who led the team in rushing last season, has continued to get better according to Morgan, and is expected to take the majority of the carries.
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Frauen (6-1, 205 pounds) and Abrams (5-11, 210 pounds) are bigger backs that offer some added physicality.
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"Jaheim Morris has taken the next step toward being a featured back in the conference," said Morgan. "He played well in spurts last year. He worked hard in the spring to focus on correcting his mistakes to be a more complete back. Jaiden Abrams came in as a walk-on and was one of the first freshmen to get on the field. He's a very physical back and he's growing into his own. Matt Frauen is a bigger back. You can put a lot on that frame still. He finished his spring strong, finishing runs. To have those physical presences will complement our backfield."
An interesting addition to the backfield is graduate transfer Marcus Pierce Jr. Pierce started his career at the Division III level but walked on at Tennessee and ended up playing in six games in 2021, rushing for 45 yards and 11 carries with a touchdown against Missouri. The staff will see where Pierce fits during camp, but with a young stable, Morgan says that Pierce's maturity and experience playing at a high level is good for the running back room.
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MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - For the first time in a long time, the Millersville Marauders field a veteran roster with plenty of playing experience. J.C. Morgan's squad returns 19 total starters. Those first recruits that arrived in August of 2019 are now seniors and fourth-year juniors. After taking their lumps 18 and 19-year-olds in the ultra-competitive and ultra-physical PSAC, the players are developing in a way that Morgan and his staff had hoped when they arrived at Millersville. They've grown up.
Â
"We have a lot of experience, a lot more than last year," said Morgan. "It's exciting to see them develop."
Â
Stepping onto a college campus for the first time can be overwhelming enough. Learning the complexities of the game while playing fast, instinctively, and physical enough to compete with fifth-year seniors is a near-impossibility. It takes reps—on the field, in practice, in the film room and in the weight room.  Morgan is hopeful that the strides made in all areas pushes the team another step forward in 2022.
Â
"We've developed in a lot of ways," said Morgan. "We've spent a lot of time in the film room, taking any opportunity to teach the game of football and teach our schemes, help them understand how to handle as many situations as possible. We've developed in the weight room. We always say you have to be very good in that department. We have a very good program. Coach (Kyle) Regensburg has done a great job leading that charge. The young men have really bought into what he's asked them to do. They have a great approach each and every day. We've developed on the football field. We had a tremendous spring. The guys competed hard every day, got after each other, brought competition amongst themselves. Ultimately, we are looking for that to pay off in the fall. That's when it counts."
Â
Part of the development is learning from mistakes. Young rosters understandably struggle to compete in the PSAC, and a culprit is often mistakes from inexperience. For Millersville in 2021, those mistakes weren't glaring. Millersville was penalized the third-fewest times in the PSAC and finished the season only minus-4 in turnover margin. What really cost the Marauders—and what they've focused on correcting in the offseason—are the missed details that cut offensive drives short and extend drives when the defense is on the field.
Â
Last season, Millersville ranked 161st out of 163 Division II teams in time of possession. That's because those mistakes kept showing up on third down—when the team needs to make the right play at the right time. Millersville ranked 159th nationally in third down conversions and 134th in third down defense. While there were bright spots, the inability to play complimentary football for a full 60 minutes ultimately cost the team wins.
Â
"It's minute details that needed to be corrected," said Morgan. "The common theme was, 'imagine if we did this a little different.' Let's be better on third downs because if we close out a drive, it affects the field position, it saves you some snaps, and if we hold the ball longer on offense, the defense doesn't have to be back on the field so quickly. That has to get better for us to be better."
Â
Morgan did see moments of the resiliency and mental toughness that comes with experience. There was the win over Lock Haven in which the Marauders trailed by nine at the half, rallied to take a lead but then fell behind after a critical fumble late in the fourth. Millersville answered back with a 68-yard touchdown drive and two defensive stops. Morgan also pointed specifically to a fourth-down conversion in the closing minutes against Bloomsburg that showed him the team had begun to mature.
Â
"The one thing I look at is how teams overcome adversity," said Morgan. "There was a moment in that Bloomsburg game where we had a fourth-and-medium and converted a first down. There was a questionable penalty that nullified that first down. We had to come back and convert a fourth-and-long. We get knocked back, but we came back and made a bigger play. That's a moment where you see that the guys are starting to get it and have that mental toughness that we may not have had at times. That's when it gets exciting."
Â
Morgan has seen significant strides made with the offensive line, which is arguably the toughest position for young players to make an immediate impact. There, the Marauders return three starters in tackle Tyler Lacey, center Michael Bennett and guard Logan Fleegal as well as sophomore tackle Lex Rivera, who played eight games as a true freshman. There isn't a senior in the bunch, but it is a group of players who has impressed Morgan in the offseason.
Â
"Last year we had a lot of first- and second-year guys playing together," said Morgan. "It's good to see them getting that experience together. Our offensive line group is one of the top performing groups in our program as far as what they are doing in the classroom and weight room. They do things the right way. I'm excited to see them take the next step. When you put a bunch of 18 and 19-year-olds in the PSAC, you are going to see some struggles. We are getting past that. For the first time in a long time, we have a group that's been together and are experienced. We knew they were talented coming in, and now that they've gone through that fire, they've made strides and we are looking forward to seeing that happen.
Â
Bennett is entering his third season as a starter and his second at the center position. When trying to find an example of the type of player that Morgan and his staff want to build the program around, look no further than Bennett. He's a PSAC Scholar-Athlete and Dean's List student as a pre-med major, loading up with 18 credits a semester. He loves the game, puts in the work in weight room and with 22 games of starting experience already, he's emerged as a team leader.
"Michael had a strong season last year, and he took another step in the spring," said Morgan. "He's becoming a leader not just in the offensive line room and not just on the offense but within the program. A lot of guys respect his approach and his work ethic."
What stands out about Bennett on the field is his athleticism. He's 6-5 and nearly 300 pounds but runs runs well and uses athleticism to get to the defense's second level. His positional versatility helps the Marauders get the best five lineman on the field.
Â
After a redshirt year in 2019, a canceled season in 2020, Lacey started all 11 games as a tackle in 2022. Morgan noted Lacey's improvement with his technique. Rivera has benefited from matching up against Millersville's star defensive lineman Tyler Tate every day in practice. He won't see many (if any) better in the PSAC this season.
Â
Fleegal is another high-achieving student-athlete, earning PSAC Scholar-Athlete status as an accounting major. He's been among the standouts early in the camp according to offensive coordinator Jeff Tomasetti, and he'll be joined by redshirt freshman Zac Shelley at guard.
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"I'm very excited about our two guards, Logan Fleegal and Zac Shelley," said Morgan. "Logan played every snap last year as a redshirt freshman and went through those growing pains. There are moments where you go back and look at the film, and you see why we are excited about him. Zac redshirted last year, and I think he's going to be very good in this conference. He had an outstanding spring. He does things the right way. He performs at a high level in all phases. He comes from a great program right down the road in Lampeter-Strasburg. It's nice to see a guy like that come in, and he's going to play a lot of football for this program of the next few years."
Â
The Marauders have loaded up on offensive lineman in recruiting the last couple of seasons, so numbers are not an issue. Behind the starters, though, experience is somewhat lacking. Eleven of those 17 are either true or redshirt freshmen.
Â
Improved offensive line play would go a long way toward boosting the production of a unit that averaged just 15 points per game in 2021. The staff is looking for the line to create more push for a running game that ranked last in the PSAC and also keep the quarterback clean. Last season, the Marauders gave up more than four sacks per game. Consistency and play-making from the quarterback position is just as, if not more important to the improvement of the offense. Millersville used four different starting quarterbacks in 2021, but they found something when the ball was put in the hands of Jack Stagaard in the second half at Shippensburg.
Â
Now a redshirt junior, Stagaard came to Millersville as part of Morgan's first crop of signees, and he's seen plenty of adversity already in his young career. But he's weathered it, and when his opportunity came, he exhibited the tools that made Morgan and offensive coordinator Jeff Tomasetti so high on him as a high school star at Phillipsburg in New Jersey. In his collegiate debut, he completed 5-of-8 passes for 100 yards and threw for a touchdown. His first career start came against the eventual PSAC champs in Kutztown, but he bounced back three interceptions by throwing for 300 yards and four touchdowns the next week against Bloomsburg. In his final two starts, Stagaard accounted for eight touchdowns, more than 530 passing yards and 133 rushing yards.
Â
"You have to have great quarterback play," said Morgan. "Last season, we went through a few guys, but at the end of the season, Jack Stagaard was the guy who moved the football and was able to make plays with his arms and legs. He'll get the first crack at leading this offense, and if he starts the season like he finished last season I think we will be excited about the offense as a whole."
Â
Those three starts and a spring taking snaps as the first-team quarterback has helped Stagaard know just what he is capable of on the field.
Â
"The biggest thing with Jack coming out of the spring was his confidence," said Morgan. "Those last few weeks showed him that he can be a very good quarterback in the PSAC. There is now an expectation within himself that 'I can lead this team, and I need to perform well to give our team a chance to be great.' I think he's right on schedule. Anytime you bring a young man in, you expect and hope he'll be that all-conference player, especially when you look at that quarterback and say, 'can you be the one who can lead us where we want to go?' (Jack) understands everything that it takes to be that guy now. As a coach, it's very exciting to see that process."
Â
Helping Stagaard is the bevy of familiar weapons surrounding him. He's got his top two tight ends, top three wide receivers and three running backs returning.
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Tight ends Eli Workinger and Brian Richardson, both redshirt juniors have both played in all 22 games of their Millersville careers and both are versatile—big enough to hold up as blockers and athletic enough to make a difference in the passing game. Stagaard and Workinger developed an immediate connection. Workinger caught just two passes in the first seven games of 2021 but connected with Stagaard nine times over the final four games. Workinger caught a touchdown pass in week 11 and Richardson made a TD grab in week 10. Morgan fully believes that late-season production was just the start.
Â
"We are very excited about the tight end group," said Morgan. "They've played a lot of football since they were true freshmen. Eli and Brian have played a lot of snaps and are fourth-year guys. I've always believed that you have to have good tight end play to be a successful offense, and we feel really strongly about those two young men."
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On the outside, Millersville returns a trio of capable wide receivers. Hakim Melvin led the team with 409 yards as a redshirt freshman. Christan Drayton III totaled four touchdown grabs, and Mekhi Alexander led the team with 31 catches. Additionally, Cliff Harris made 15 catches.
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"Hakim Melvin showed at times that he can be a big-play threat," said Morgan. "Mekhi Alexander has been as steady as they come. He's improved, and it's nice to see him become a productive and premier playmaker in the PSAC. Drayton has played a lot of football. He's great around the football. When the ball is in the air, there's a good chance he will come down with it. We have a good group of guys who have played and a few more who have a little experience looking to get more. We are looking for Cliff Harris to put it all together and make that jump. He's worked very hard to do that."
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Morgan likes the depth at wide receiver. Redshirt freshmen Jalen Carter and Kameron Taylor are also looking to crack the rotation and make an impact. True freshman Rohjhii Atkinson out of Imhotep Charter has also impressed early in camp.Â
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"You always want to see how the second-year guys perform now that they have that spring under their belt and understand more," said Morgan. "We have two guys who I think can give us some quality snaps and make some plays in Jalen Carter and Kam Taylor. Both have good size and are hard-working guys. They are gaining strength and getting their bodies ready. Offenses in this conference, you have to have depth at the receive position. We are counting on them to give us some snaps."
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Millersville has a trio of young running backs who will get touches in 2022: redshirt sophomore Jaheim Morris and sophomores Matt Frauen and Jaiden Abrams. Morris, who led the team in rushing last season, has continued to get better according to Morgan, and is expected to take the majority of the carries.
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Frauen (6-1, 205 pounds) and Abrams (5-11, 210 pounds) are bigger backs that offer some added physicality.
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"Jaheim Morris has taken the next step toward being a featured back in the conference," said Morgan. "He played well in spurts last year. He worked hard in the spring to focus on correcting his mistakes to be a more complete back. Jaiden Abrams came in as a walk-on and was one of the first freshmen to get on the field. He's a very physical back and he's growing into his own. Matt Frauen is a bigger back. You can put a lot on that frame still. He finished his spring strong, finishing runs. To have those physical presences will complement our backfield."
An interesting addition to the backfield is graduate transfer Marcus Pierce Jr. Pierce started his career at the Division III level but walked on at Tennessee and ended up playing in six games in 2021, rushing for 45 yards and 11 carries with a touchdown against Missouri. The staff will see where Pierce fits during camp, but with a young stable, Morgan says that Pierce's maturity and experience playing at a high level is good for the running back room.
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