2007 Football
Season Preview

What a difference a year makes. Last August the talk around Chapman University football training camp revolved around change and uncertainty. One year later, the talk is about a program on the verge of turning the proverbial ‘corner’ under second year head coach Bob Owens.

“Last year we really didn’t know what to expect out of each other, much less our opponent,” said Owens, who in his first season at Chapman doubled the team’s win total (four) from its previous season (2-7 in 2005). “This year I feel good, optimistic that we’re on the right track.”

The Panthers posted a 4-5 record in 2006 and were “in” just about every game, which was a great improvement overall. It’s hard to imagine then, that some people within the program were a little disappointed; feeling that the team may very well have gone 6-3 or even 7-2 with the right breaks.

“We had some breaks last season that went the other way,” said Owens, “but the way we see it, good teams make their own breaks.”

Will this be a team that creates its own good breaks in 2007? Having adapted to a new offense last season, the Panthers are fully loaded with a deep receiving corps that includes a healthy Harrison Dull (19 catches, 459 yards in two-plus games before a season-ending knee injury), Brandon Koller (37 catches, 481 yards, five TDs, all team-highs), Nick Pierson (31 catches, 393 yards) and Lance Carter (14 catches, two TDs, Academic All-District selection). Owens makes no secrets that, as a proponent of the West Coast offense, the Panthers will throw the ball often.

“It’s an exceptional group,” said Owens of his returning receivers. “We are an offense that likes to spread the wealth. All five of those guys could catch 50 passes each. You have to be excited about the possibilities we have.”

Who will be throwing to that talented group of receivers is a question that won’t be answered until the first week of the season. Senior Luke Robinson (54-for-88, 728 yards, seven TDs) and junior Eric Marty (70-for-118, 1,019 yards, eight TDs) have had an extremely professional and fierce competition for the job that Owens says will, “go down to the wire.” However, don’t look for a game of musical quarterbacks, as Owens is looking for consistency from the position starting from Game 1.

“All good athletic programs need strong competition from within. It builds strong team depth.” said Owens of his quarterback situation, “One of those guys is going to take the opportunity and run with it and both are handling the competition very well.”

Defensively, the Panthers may be even more improved than last season when they held opponents to the fewest number of points of any Chapman team since 1998. In addition, the Panthers posted their first positive turnover ratio (20:17) since 2001.

“We have a very sound defensive unit and will be much improved over last year,” said Owens. “To be competitive you have to have a strong defense and I believe that up front (on the defensive line) we are bigger and will be much more imposing.”

That line will be led by Chip Lewis (three sacks, eight tackles for loss) and has been bolstered by the increased presence of sophomore Bob Burton, who at 6 feet, 7 inches will be hard to guard.

According to Owens, the strength of the defense will be his linebackers who are bigger and more aggressive than last season. The trio of Wes Pinkston, Nick Gaitan and Will Hopkins combined for 22 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and eight sacks. All return, as well as juniors Rob Miller and Daniel Hartigan, who will anchor the middle.

In the secondary, the Panthers return junior Chris Shiramizu to the corner position, where he led the team with 39 solo tackles in 2006 and added 13 pass breakups and two fumble recoveries. He is the only returning starter in a young backfield that got valuable experience off the bench last season.

The Panthers open the season at home on Sept. 8 against a Menlo team that, like Chapman, finished the season on a high note in 2006. The Oaks, which edged the Panthers 27-24 a year ago in Atherton, may have a tough assignment coming to Wilson Field, where Chapman was 3-1 last year.