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Five Year History
2014: 6-5
2013: 7-4
2012: 11-2 (PSAC East Champions, NCAA Playoffs - 2nd round)
2011: 7-4
2010: 5-6

Head Coach: Mark Maciejewski (31-15, 5th year as head coach, 15th year at Shippensburg)
Offensive Coordinator: J.C. Morgan (1st year as OC, 11th year at Shippensburg)
Defensive Coordinator: Mike Burket (11th year as DC, 14th year at Shippensburg)



Shippensburg head coach Mark Maciejewksi invited a pair of juniors to join him in representing the 2015 Red Raiders at the PSAC's annual media day. While its not uncommon for juniors to be involved in media day, most of the player representatives are team captains and most are seniors. In Maciejewksi's case, he didn't have many seniors to choose from. The 2015 Raiders will have only seven seniors on the roster. The Raiders do have fairly large sophomore and junior classes, but with half the roster being made up of redshirt freshmen and true freshmen, establishing a depth chart will take some time.

The Raiders are in a position that is nearly the polar opposite of last year. Heading into the 2014 season, the offense was well established but the defense was a total rebuild aside from the linebacker position. Following last season, the offense was hit hard by graduation but the defense was left in very good shape. The offense will be breaking in several new starters and will also be under the leadership of first year offensive coordinator J.C. Morgan, who replaces Joe Davis. Morgan has been with the Red Raider program for more than 10 years, primarily serving as running backs coach, recruiting coordinator and academic coordinator. Morgan is well qualified, but has a huge job in front of him. Since Maciejewski's tenure as head coach began in 2011, Ship has been among the national leaders in total offense, scoring and passing every year.

Davis's departure for FCS Northern Iowa also left a coaching vacancy at the quarterback position which is less than ideal because quarterback mentoring will be essential this season. That responsibility will be entrusted to new QB coach and former Raider Jeff Tomasetti. The Raiders offense successfully moved on from the Zach Zulli era last year with Chris Lawshe ascending to the starting role. Lawshe played well throughout most of the season, however, he will not be back with the team this season. This leaves a huge hole to fill at the most important position and it will leave uncertainty in the depth chart as well. Sophomore Ryan Zapoticky stood in for Lawshe at times last year, throwing for 426 yards and rushing for 136. He will be Ship's only QB with game experience, however, Redshirt freshman Ryan Martin took most of the reps in Spring practice and was the only QB to participate in the spring game. The battle for the starting spot could come down to the last week of camp, but the Raiders will need both to step up in a big way and be game ready by week 1. If an injury would occur to either one they'll have to look to true freshmen to provide depth so it is critical that Martin and Zapoticky are both up to the task.

Senior WR Sheldon Mayer is coming off an outstanding season (72 catches, 1099 yards, 11TD) and will easily assume the role of number receiver, which had held down by Trevor Harman for the past three years. Mayer was one of only four PSAC players to eclipse 1,000 yards receiving in 2014. Receiving statistics from last year take a huge drop off after Harman and Mayer, but Jordan Harro played well as a third receiving option and should be ready for more reps in 2015. Quran Kent is back with the team after missing 2014, as is Shannon Maura who was changed position from running back to receiver. Several redshirt freshmen looked promising in the spring game as well. The receiving corps may not have the name recognition of past years, but it may turn out to be a very productive group. The top two rushers from last year have to be replaced and standout kick returner Andrew Smith could be the guy to step into the primary role. Smith had only 70 carries last year but averaged 5.8 yards per carry. He has the speed to be a game changer and could be very dangerous as a receiving threat coming out of the backfield. The Raider offense has used the quarterback very heavily in the run game as well and even with depth being a potential concern, I don't expect the approach to change.

The defense has lost veteran leaders Brian Sourber and James Brennan (both substantial losses) but they bring back a fair amount of talent. They will still have two very solid anchors at linebacker with Cortlin Dell (49 total tackles, 6.5 TFL) and Allen Hollman (52 total tackles, 4.5 TFL). Dell has played in all but two games since his freshman season and will be one the PSAC's most experienced linebackers heading into 2015. Watch for him to be a contender for defensive player of the year in the east division. Up front, the returning starters are DE Joe Dolan (36 total tackles. 6 TFL) and DT Kurt Walker. Sophomore Austin Rosenberry should step into the other starting position at DE after playing in every game and contributing 17 total tackles in an impressive freshman season. The secondary was very young last year but nearly everyone who played will be back in 2015 and some of them could be breakout performers this season. Chavez Cheatham stepped in as starter in week four last year and went on to finish third on the team in total tackles (68) and led the team with 9 pass breakups and 2 interceptions. Will Hudson also impressed as a freshman, starting every game at strong safety and chipping in 45 tackles. Dywan Blanding (yet another who played substantially as a freshman) could compete for a starting spot along with a host of other young players. Jr. D.J. Burkey is the veteran of the group, having played in every game his first two seasons and starting all 11 at free safety last year.

The Final Word
Of all 16 teams in the PSAC, Shippensburg is the one I'm having the hardest time getting a read on. The roster is very young but they do have a fair amount of experience coming back. Youth gets exposed as the season goes on and injuries become a factor, but if the Raiders can have good luck with health, they could surprise people. There will be a lot of "newness" to the offense and there is so much talent to replace. Its hard to say what their ceiling is this year but a fifth straight winning season is a safe bet, and the future looks very promising.