The roster that led the 2024 Bulldogs to an 8-2 record and final NAIA national ranking of No. 18 was laden with talented seniors. More than 40 seniors (including fourth-, fifth- and sixth-year players) helped the Concordia University, Nebraska Football program to its best season since 2001. This spring, Head Coach Patrick Daberkow and his staff have gone to work on retooling and remaking a new edition of Bulldog Football. But no one is thinking about rebuilding.
The 2025 season will say a lot about Concordia’s staying power from a national perspective. The Bulldogs are yearning for an NAIA playoff appearance, something they fell narrowly, agonizingly short of in 2024. Daberkow has turned the page. Right now is all about doing “the next right thing.” After all, no one can qualify for a playoff berth in April.
“I think momentum does carry over,” Daberkow said of following up the ’24 season. “It’s fun to see the excitement of the guys who know what it looks like to have a team that can win big games. You know that you have what it takes. You just have to execute. I think there’s a lot of confidence that comes with the season we had last year – that’s throughout the whole building. We’re a very hungry group. I’m excited to see how we continue to prepare and how we treat the summer and how we treat fall camp. Do the next right thing. That’s something that we talk about. That’s where our focus is.”
This spring has been about bringing up to speed offensive and defensive lines that will are undergoing a makeover. Meanwhile, at quarterback, DJ McGarvie passes the baton to Gideon Stark. If the pieces come along in those areas, perhaps the Bulldogs will position themselves for another special season. In 2024, Concordia outscored its opponents by a combined total of 385-184 and completely outmatched its in-state rivals (45-10 over Doane, 42-6 over Hastings and 45-13 over Midland).
On April 25, the Bulldogs opened the doors to fans for an early look at the 2025 squad. As part of the spring scrimmage, the program welcomed a large group of high school recruits for its junior day. As the prospective Bulldogs looked on, Concordia began answering the question marks left behind by an accomplished senior class. A lot of work is yet to come before the ’25 season is kicked off.
Spring position-by-position glance:
Quarterback – The graduation of DJ McGarvie, the most prolific passer in program history, leaves a void at signal caller. McGarvie set program career passing standards for yards (9,045), touchdowns (82), completions (761) and attempts (1,318). While McGarvie’s loss will be felt, the coaching staff believes 6-foot-7 Gideon Stark of Magnolia, Texas, is more than ready to step into a starting role. Stark has bided his time for three years inside the program. When given the opportunity, Stark has flashed a big arm. The quarterback crew also includes senior-to-be Collin Reetz, a 6-foot-6 native of Estes Park, Colo.
Running Back – The 1-2 punch of Mark Arp and Carlos Collazo combined for 1,755 rushing yards in 2024. Following a First Team All-GPAC season, Arp will graduate and move on. That leaves Collazo as the primary back. The Marquette, Neb., native used a bruising style to average 6.7 yards per carry as a sophomore. Collazo has shed weight since the fall and has enjoyed a strong spring as the No. 1 tailback. A senior-to-be, Jesse Herndon also looks to take on an increased role in the backfield. Tyler Douglass is another back that saw action last season. Concordia averaged a terrific 5.3 yards per carry as a team in 2024.
Receiver – You can’t just replace an Austin Jablonski, a two-time NAIA First Team All-American. A pro football hopeful, Jablonski leaves a legacy as one of the best to ever play for the Bulldogs. Fortunately, Concordia brings back the bulk of its two deep with Adam Van Cleave headlining the group. Van Cleave broke out in 2024 as he reeled in 57 receptions for 652 yards and six touchdowns. He’ll be backed by the likes of Max Bartels, Braylen Muhle and Jonny Puelz. Daberkow and company expect the passing game to continue to be featured thanks to the arm talent of Stark and an up-and-coming receiver crew. Dabekow has high praise for how Bartels has come along. One other name to watch is Ian Medeck, who transitioned to football from the Concordia Men’s Basketball program.
Tight End – The top two tight ends, John Goodwin and Daylan Russell, combined to catch 10 touchdown passes from McGarvie last season. Both have used up their eligibility. After putting behind a scary situation in the fall of 2023 (colon tumor), Maddox Rickertsen returned to the field in 2024 and could become the team’s No. 1 option at tight end. The group also includes Dusty Kapke and Noah Brumm, among others.
Offensive Line – The top unit will have a completely different look with all five starters from 2024 having exhausted their eligibility (including All-American right tackle Blake Schlegel). Position coach Grady Koch and company are confident the next wave can keep this unit at a high level. Among returners, Brevin Damrow started at center in last season’s win at Doane and the likes of Derek Campbell, Kadence Velde, Seth Moore and Jeremiah Vasquez possess varsity experience. Carter Meier and Layne Bugarske also got their feet wet in 2024. Year after year, Daberkow and his staff place a heavy emphasis on offensive line recruiting. The ’24 line surrendered a grand total of four sacks.
Defensive Line – Star nose guard Carson Fehlhafer will draw plenty of attention following a First Team All-GPAC season in 2024. Fehlhafer earned NAIA National Player of the Week honors after he recorded three sacks in the win at No. 2 Northwestern. Fehlhafer has spent much of the spring semester throwing for the track & field team (and won a GPAC indoor title in the shot put), but the Bulldogs know what they’ll get from him in the fall. There will be new starters around him as fellow all-conference first teamers Devon Polley and Kyle Sterup will graduate. So too will Stephen Hughes and Tal Solo. That opens the door for many others. Terry Sebek is one player with high potential. Carson Adams, AJ Frazey, Lukas Lafler and Brock Ostdiek have also earned plenty of spring reps.
Linebacker – Grant Huss returns to lead this unit after he paced the team with 87 tackles in 2024. The leadership of Huss will be a key as the Bulldogs replace starters Michael Grindey and Nick Leader. Concordia also returns Deegan Barnes and Drake Trent as potential starters. Barnes made 34 stops last season. The group was one of the keys to the ’24 defense allowing only 109.1 rushing yards per game.
Defensive Back – This unit is stocked with the most returning experience on coordinator Corby Osten’s defense. Safety Daylon Henson emerged as a standout playmaker in 2024 as he plucked six interceptions (with one going for a touchdown) and was named an All-American by the Associated Press. Henson has been sidelined in the spring but will be back in time for August camp. Others with big-time experience include corner Will Potratz and safeties Luke Penrod and Jaden Seier. Blake Mosenteen also earned starting time opposite of Potratz last year. The secondary hopes to make another leap forward as it did from 2023 to 2024. As a reverse from the past couple of seasons, the secondary is the group that is most battle tested.
Specialists – Concordia returns kicker Peyton Atwood (school record 44 PATs in 2024) and punter Braxtyn Koch (37.7 punting average as a freshman). In the return game, Adam Van Cleave is a prime candidate to again fill the role. He averaged 21.9 yards per kick return last season. Calvin Sassaman also has experience returning kicks. Long snapper Max Wurdeman is also back in the fold. An employee in Concordia’s business office, Harrison Martin has been working with the specialists after Mr. Concordia Coach Courtney Meyer stepped away from coaching duties.
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Additional Comments from Coach Daberkow:
Program player development – We’ve coached together as a staff for a while and we’ve learned lessons from graduating players in the past. The way we’ve been able to retain our roster has helped us to develop players so we’re not bandaging things every year. We have a steady structure of younger players coming up through the ranks. We feel really good about that. We’ve had guys who have been putting in the work for a long time. It will be exciting to see them seize this opportunity. They are guys who are selfless teammates and now have an opportunity to step into larger on-field roles. On the offensive line, we’re excited about the development we’ve had there. We’ve had a ton of competition there this spring. That’s a really good thing to have.
Quarterback – Gideon is more than prepared for what’s ahead this season. He knows the offense and has an incredibly strong arm. We’ve seen a lot of development from him over the years, especially this offseason as he steps into a QB1 role. We’ve seen that whole room follow suit as far as stepping up their level of play. We expect big things out of Gideon.
Perspective on putting behind 2024 – You can’t really talk about playoffs until you talk about having a good practice this afternoon. You can’t talk about having a good practice until you prepare for that practice. Part of that is having a meeting where everybody is locked in. I recently had a conversation with a mentor who really drove that home. The term process is so over-utilized, but if you don’t do the simple things at a high level, you don’t have a shot at doing anything of significance. We’re focused on doing the simple things at a really high level and taking things one play at a time. It sounds like a lot of coach speak, but that’s the recipe.