Northwestern College Orange City

Northwestern's national hopes riding on Smith's capable legs

LAST SEASON: 8-2 (8-2 GPAC)

HEAD COACH: Kyle Achterhoff (3rd season, 15-5 school/career record)

KEEP AN EYE ON: RB Brandon Smith, C Travis Hofmeyer, OL Nathan Nieuwendorp, DL Paul Lundgren, DL Jordan Carlson, DE Stanley Fleming III, LB Ben Aguilera, LB Aaron Jansen, S Steven Norman

INSTANT IMPACT: Six-foot-4 Eli Groenendyk might have played Northwestern basketball for two years, but the former all-state receiver from Pella Christian's true calling might be on the gridiron - "It took him four or five spring practices to get his football feet underneath him," Achterhoff said, "But he's got great size and I don't think there's a drill around that can teach some of the things he can do."

7 - Number of 100-yard rushing games Brandon Smith had last year.

QUOTABLE: "Yeah, it's going to be an important game, but we also know we can't put all our eggs in that basket because somebody else is going to break one." - Head coach Kyle Achterhoff on Northwestern's Week 2 matchup against GPAC favorite Morningside.

ORANGE CITY, Iowa - Two-a-days should be a cinch for Northwestern's Brandon Smith.

After all, he spent all summer working out with NFL stars.

Northwestern's running back sprinted, lunged and conditioned four days a week until his legs "felt like rubber," part of the training sessions sponsored by All-Pro Larry Fitzgerald at the University of Minnesota.

"I survived, but that's probably the closest I've been to puking from a workout," said Smith, who St. Louis Rams safety Craig Dahl - Smith's friend and a fellow Mankato native - invited into the group.

Smith will likely need all that extra endurance, now that he's not sharing carries with All-American Taylor Malm in the Red Raider backfield.

The close friends combined for more than 2,300 yards on the ground and spearheaded the best rushing attack in the Great Plains Athletic Conference last season - one that ended with Northwestern's disappointing exclusion from the NAIA national tournament.

This year, the preseason No. 14-ranked Red Raiders' path got a little easier because GPAC champion Sioux Falls bolted for NCAA Division II. That left Morningside at Northwestern at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in the preseason conference poll.

They'll meet on Sept. 10.

"Everyone's saying the game against Morningside is going to decide the conference," Smith said. "I don't really buy into that. The GPAC's too well balanced.

Raiders 2011 Season Preview, , Northwestern College Red Raiders

2011 Season Preview:

Tradition, excellence, family…the Raider Way…just a few of the attributes that make the Northwestern College football team an annual contender for postseason play and a fixture among the top teams within the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC). In 2010, under the direction of second-year head coach Kyle Achterhoff, in his 14 -ranked Midland in the final game of the season. Despite its high ranking and its only two losses to teams ranked in the top five, Northwestern missed out on postseason play. The Raiders have now finished with a winning record in each of the last 20 seasons and ended the year ranked in the top 25 eight straight years.

“We had another solid season in 2010,” commented Achterhoff.  “Our conference is very tough, with two teams (USF and Morningside) ranked in the top five all season, and we held the lead late in both of those games. We finished ranked in the final poll and although we were disappointed that we did not qualify for the postseason, our season was still a success.”

With 10 starters and 31 letter winners returning, many of whom have seen substantial game time on the field, optimism heading into the 2011 season remains very high. Heading into the preseason, Northwestern is ranked seventh in the Victory Sports Network (VSN) preseason poll. Joining the list of veterans returning are over 50 newcomers, including incoming freshmen and a few transfers. With over 100 players coming into camp, beginning Aug. 15, this will be one of the deepest teams the Raiders have put on the field in years. “We feel great about the depth on our team heading into the preseason and are confident that the competition for spots on our two deep will push our players both in our preseason and regular season practices,” commented Achterhoff.

The Raiders bring back 16 letter winners on the offensive side of the ball, including five starters off a 2010 unit that ranked third in the GPAC in scoring, averaging 30 points per game. Offensive coordinator Joel Penner, in his third year guiding the Raiders’ offense, must account for the loss of NAIA All-American Taylor Malm ( Thousand Oaks, Calif. ), who ranks among the program’s best in several statistical categories, and three multiple-year starters along the offensive line. However, Coach Penner has plenty of experience returning and several newcomers who are primed for a more prominent role in this year’s offense.

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