STORM LAKE, Iowa (Aug. 25, 2023) - The Buena Vista football team has a great deal of positive energy amongst the roster as it eagerly prepares for its first season under new head coach Austin Dickinson.

BVU is expected to return a total of 10 starters this fall and will look to fill some key positions as it heads into the regular season. Despite still being a relatively young roster, made up of only 13 seniors and a large number of underclassmen, the Beavers gained a great deal of experience in 2022 and is looking to build off that while hoping to stay healthy in 2023.

Offensively, junior quarterbacks Zach Herrera and Austin Smith will look to lead the signal callers. Herrera played in all 10 games last season, completing over 51 percent of his pass attempts for 1,892 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was hindered at times by throwing 19 interceptions. Smith has yet to appear in a game under center for BVU.

Dickinson will have a number of options for his quarterbacks to hand the ball off to. Junior running backs Mason Griffith and Eman Alaniz carried most of that load a year ago for a team that averaged 124.0 rushing yards per contest. Griffith led the way with 454 yards and a touchdown while Alaniz added 384 yards and three scores. Michael Odom was also in the mix with 376 yards and three touchdowns. Keaton Huebner, who missed most of last season due to injury, is back in uniform this season. The senior rushed for over 500 yards and found the endzone eight times in 2021.

Isaiah Morones is the team's top returning wideout from last season. The senior hauled in 19 catches for 259 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore Dolan Pospichal played in all 10 games and ranked fourth on the squad with 21 catches which totaled 181 yards and one score. BVU did get alot of production catching the ball out of the backfield as both Odom and Griffith combined for 24 catches and four touchdowns.

Defensively, the Beavers are looking to do a better job of getting off the field and limiting the big plays. In 2022, the team allowed over 501 yards of total offense per game and more than 43.0 points per contest. Two of the team's top-3 tacklers from a season ago are back to help lead the way. Junior Jeremy Woodward led the team in total stops last season with 65 while fellow junior Nick Moorshead was third with 40. Graduate student Landon Weber will anchor a defensive line after ranking among the team lead with five sacks to go along with 34 tackles. Senior Trey Ortman will help quarterback the secondary after he intercepted a team-leading three passes last season and has five in his career.

BVU has been able to get a great deal of positive production out of its special teams over the last handful of years. Matthew Beisswenger handled all of the punting duties last season. He averaged nearly 36.0 yards per attempt, including a long of 52 yards and landed nearly a quarter of his 68 total attempts inside the 20-yard line.

Newcomer Daniel Ramirez will add depth to the position alongside Beisswenger and will look to take over for senior place kicker Ramon Garcia. Pospichal was among the group of kick returners for BVU last season. He returned a team-leading four punts for 62 yards and brought back six kickoffs for 86 yards. Michael Odom also saw time in the return game.

Buena Vista will kickoff its season on Saturday, Sept. 2 on the road at Gustavus Adolphus at 1 p.m. The home opener is a week later (Sept. 9) under the lights at 6 p.m. against Lakeland University (Wis.). The Beavers will begin American Rivers Conference play on Saturday, Sept. 16, on the road at defending champion, Wartburg College.

BVU is set to host Simpson College (Sept. 30) for Family Weekend and Luther College (Oct. 14) for Homecoming/Hall of Fame. The team will also play home games against Loras College (Oct. 28) and Nebraska Wesleyan (Nov. 11).