ASU Football Week 1 Preview: NAU Lumberjacks

NAU’s featured attraction is running back Zach Bauman, a Walter Payton Award candidate. His skills are complimented by senior quarterback Cary Grossart. They will rely on an offensive line with all-conference experience and a receiver corp that came into its own a year ago.

NAU Head Coach Jerome Souers is optimistic about the 2012 campaign. “Last year was a really difficult year to assess,” said Souers. “Our win-loss record was nowhere near where we felt it could or should have been. We worked very hard to identify the deficiencies in our performance to improve our outlook for the coming year.”

According to Defensive Coordinator Andy Thompson, the ‘Jacks defensive unit should have a greater impact in the 2012 season. “We are more athletic and have more speed,” said Thompson, “and the guys up front that came in are physical and are going to be active. Overall, we are more athletic than a year ago. We want to make sure the guys we want to see develop are developing. We have certain competition at each spot and want to see the guys out ahead prove their position.”

Senior cornerback Devin Willis made some spectacular plays during Fall practice, and sophomore cornerback Blake Bailey emerged as a key weapon in the secondary. Junior running back Daniel Pipkin also impressed the coaching staff.