PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo will make its 2023 season debut here Saturday evening as the ThunderWolves play the first of 11 regular season games against Midwestern State University at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl. Kickoff is set for 6:02 p.m. in its annual Red Out Game.

The Pack will be led onto the field by first-year head coach Philip Vigil, who replaced former longtime head coach John Wristen following his retirement after 13 years at the helm of the CSU Pueblo football program in late December following the conclusion of the 2022 season. Vigil will be just the fifth head coach in CSU Pueblo's four-year school era and just the second head coach since the program restarted prior to the 2008 season.

"This is an extremely special place, and you don't really realize how special it is until you're involved with it, and you see how much this place means to the players, the faculty, the administration, and the Pueblo community. It is unique," said Vigil when asked about what it would be like to run out of that tunnel on Saturday as the Pack's football coach. "I'm excited to get out there on Saturday night and give it our best shot. It is not about me; it is about the players."

Saturday's opener will mark the second consecutive season that the Pack have opened the season against Midwestern State as the Pack opened the 2021 campaign with an impressive 59-27 win on MSU's home field in Wichita Falls, Texas.

"I know the team's excited to finally see somebody that they haven't seen and is not wearing a Pack jersey. I know we'll be ready to go on Saturday night," Vigil added. "I'm excited to watch our players go out and do what they love to do."

Saturday's opponent, Midwestern State, comes into the season looking to improve on last season's 6-5 campaign that finished tied for third in LSC with a 5-4 record. The 2023 Mustangs return 10 starters and 39 lettermen from last season and are coached by Bill Maskill, who is entering his 22nd season with the Mustangs and is the longest tenured coach in the LSC.

"We have our hands full on Saturday. Midwestern State is coming in here and they're coached by Bill Maskill. I have a ton of respect for what Coach Maskill has been able to do in his career and every single year, they're one of the best programs in the Lone Star Conference," said Vigil said about Saturday's opening game opponent. "We must make sure we are doing everything we can and control what we can control so we can put our best foot forward when it comes to Midwestern State. We have got to play smart football on Saturday, because our opponent is well coached and they're going to be ready to play, so we've got to be ready as well."

Vigil, who played collegiate football at Colorado Mesa from 2005-08 and is a native of Denver, Colo., comes to CSU Pueblo after spending the previous two seasons as the head coach at Western New Mexico State University, which is a member of the Lone Star Conference. Prior to becoming a head coach, Vigil spent 13 seasons as an assistant coach at five different schools, including fellow Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schools, Mines and Colorado Mesa.

Since restarting the football program in 2008, the Pack are 12-2 in season openers, including being 7-1 in season openers at home with the lone loss coming in the 2021 season opener against Texas A&M-Commerce. Additionally, Pack's first year head coaches in the four-year school era are 2-2 in season openers as Joe C. Prater lost his debut 21-20 to Emporia State in the school's first season as a four-year school in 1963, while Gary Richardson lost his opener in 1984 to Central Oklahoma (48-7). Mike Friedman won his debut as the Pack's coach in 1974 with a 24-7 victory over Western Colorado and Wristen won his debut in 2008 against Oklahoma Panhandle State (24-13).

Vigil says one of the most important things he's liked about his first Pack team has been their buy-in and competitiveness of his players.

"Practices have been good. I've been very pleased with our buy-in. Now that we've had a spring under our belt and a summer are really understanding the scheme and doing a good job of doing their job," added Vigil. "The biggest thing I've seen with this team is their ability to practice. We talk about iron sharpens iron and competitors making better competitors and these guys compete every single day."

The Pack prepared the season by hosting two fall scrimmages and Vigil said he learned a lot about his team from those scrimmages.

"We have playmakers on both sides of the ball. I think we saw guys making plays both offensively and defensively and even in special teams and that was good to see," the Pack coach said. "We were able to watch our players fly around in those two scrimmages and the players on both sides of the ball make plays and that was encouraging."

A total of 17 starters and 52 lettermen return from last year's 8-4 CSU Pueblo squad that tied for second in the RMAC with a 7-2 record. The Pack opened the season losing three of its first four games, before reeling off seven straight wins and advancing to the NCAA Playoffs for the eighth time since 2011. Six of those starters return on offense, while eight return on defense and three others are back on special teams.

Some of the key returning offensive starters for the Pack are redshirt junior receiver Andrew Cook (Tucson, Ariz./Ironwood Prep), redshirt junior quarterback Steven Croell (Broomfield, Colo./Broomfield), junior tight end Curtis Luckadoo (Reno, Nev./Bishop Manogue Catholic), senior offensive lineman Cade Chapman (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Rock Canyon) and senior offensive lineman Tristan Rael (Chandler, Ariz./LA Harbor).

Cook was second on the team in receptions with 42 for 642 yards and had a single-season school record 12 touchdown receptions and was named a Second-Team All-RMAC performer and the NFF Colorado Chapter Special Teams Player of the Year after averaging 17.4 yards per punt return, which was tops in the RMAC and third in Division II. In last season's season opener against MSU, Cook caught six passes for 140 yards and had touchdown receptions of 70 and 34 yards. 

Croell started the first six games of the season and was 75-for-125 passing for 849 yards and had three interceptions and seven touchdown passes, including tossing a school record 396 yards and adding five touchdown passes in the Pack's season opener at Midwestern State.

"Cook is a very, very dynamic football player. And when you couple that with his leadership ability, he was voted a single digit for a reason," said Vigil. "I'm excited to see his progress and see how this offense fits him."

Chapman has been a three-year starter at right tackle, but this season is listed as the No. 1 left tackle, while Rael started six games at left guard in 2022 and is listed as the starter at that position on this year's preseason depth chart. 

Meanwhile, on defense, some of the key returning starters are redshirt junior defensive back Daniel Bone III (Colorado Springs, Colo./Pine Creek), senior defensive back Cory McLellan (Monument, Colo./Palmer Ridge), redshirt sophomore defensive back Keith Mckaney (Avondale, Ariz./Desert Edge), redshirt junior defensive lineman Cody Ramming (Littleton, Colo./Columbine), redshirt junior linebacker Jon Nuschy (La Junta, Colo./Northern Colorado) and junior defensive lineman Makeah Scippio (Colorado Springs, Colo./Harrison).

Bone, who was a First-Team All-RMAC and First-Team D2CCA All-American last season,  was tabbed Preseason Lindy's Football Division II All-American and named to the D2Football.com Preseason First-Team Elite 100 Watch List after recording 68 tackles, six interceptions and three tackles for a loss a season ago. McLellan is the other returning All-RMAC performer on defense from last season as he earned second-team accolades after recording 58 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions and two pass break-ups and enters the season with 143 career tackles in 36 games.

Entering Saturday's opener, one of the biggest battles in preseason camp came at the quarterback position as three players are listed as starters on the depth chart. Those three players are senior Fort Hays State transfer Chance Fuller (Arlington, Texas/Lamar), Croell and redshirt junior Stephen F. Austin transfer Blake Short (Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound).

"The quarterback position has been a battle heading into the season. We have three guys that can play the position and are all listed atop the two-deep," added Vigil. "We've got a guy in Chance (Fuller), who's had a ton of success in college in the MIAA with Fort Hays State. He's thrown 70 career touchdowns. You're got a guy in Steven (Croell) who has started in meaningful games here and has had a lot of success and had a great game last season against Midwestern State. And then you have a Division I transfer in Blake (Short), who came from Stephen F. Austin. You have three guys in that room that are battling every single game to be the guy.

"That's the hard thing about football, you only have one quarterback that can play, so it's really been a healthy competition and the best player is going to play."

The offensive line is one area on offense that looks to be young and inexperienced this season, according to Vigil. The two-deep roster lists six newcomers, including two true freshmen and three transfers, among the top two at each offensive line position.

"I think everything offensively starts with the offensive line. You know, it doesn't matter how good your quarterback is, how good your running backs are, how good your receivers are. If you can't protect, if you can't block, if you can't do the things that we need to do up front, then it doesn't matter," the coach said. "We do have a lot of guys in that room that are young and inexperienced, but they've made some tremendous strides from spring to fall. And again, I think it's a comfortability with our offense, our staff, the verbiage, and how we want things done. I've been pleased with their growth at that position and again, there's no substitute for game experience."

One thing Vigil likes about his offense is the ability to let his playmakers make plays.

"We're going to put our playmakers in space and let them do their thing and make plays," stated the Pack coach.

One of the biggest keys for success this season according to Vigil is his team's ability to take care of the football on offense and on defense, it is to create turnovers and limit explosives and make teams drive the entire field.

"Offensively, we want to control the ball and put our playmakers in space and protect the ball, while on defense, we want to keep everything in front of us and go get the football," said Vigil. "So realistically, if you do those things in a season, you're going to have a good year. There's going to be mistakes, especially in the first week, and we've got to be able to get back to our game plan and adjust and go from there."

While the offense lacks a lot of returning starters and experienced players, the Pack defensive unit appears to be strong once again this season.

"Defense is a unit that has carried this place for a long time. When you think about CSU Pueblo, you think about CSU Pueblo defense. They understand the standard is high on that side of the football," said Vigil. "There's a couple of guys on that side that have just been extremely impressive. Watching Cory (McLellan) and Daniel (Bone) practice is a sight to see. I mean, they are flying around, and they know what they are doing and are making about every play that you think they can make."

The Pack has a new defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in Caid Faske and defensive backs coach in Mac Alexander this season, while Herman Smith remains on the staff as the defensive line coach.

"We've got a new coordinator in that room and you're going to have new terminology and new things that they want to do. But overall, I've been very pleased with the progression on that side of the ball, specifically from spring to fall," Vigil added. "Our defense is playing fast right now, and I'm pleased with that heading into the season."

Another area that Vigil is excited about this season is special teams, which is coached by Alexander, who also serves as the Pack's associate head coach.

The Pack returns its top kicker from last season in sophomore Sullivan Moon (Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mountain), who was 10-for-15 on field goals and 50-for-51 on extra points and led the team with 80 points in 2022 and two of its top returners in Cook on punts and junior running back Kiahn Martinez (Denver, Colo./University of Idaho) on kickoffs.

"Coach Mac does an unbelieveable job with our special teams. He finds a way and guys want to be a part of it. I been places in the past where special teams has always been an afterthought, but for us, it's going to be the punch that they never see coming," the Pack coach added. "We're going to emphasize special teams and you just can't say that, you have to do it. We're putting a lot of time in practice towards our special teams and making it a priority with our players, so much so, that we've got starters on every single special team unit."

Vigil says one way for a player to stand out on a roster of 145-plus players is to find a way to stand out on special teams.

"We can only travel so many guys on the road, so the fastest way to get on the bus and see the field is through special teams," the coach said. "We've got a lot of veteran senior leaders that are pushing guys out of special teams so they can play on special teams, which is something you don't see a lot."

The Pack players got a head start to the 2023 season over the summer as almost 100 players were on campus participating in voluntary workouts and those summer workouts helped the players come into preseason camp in much better shape than usual.

"Usually in fall camp you're going to have a dozen or so soft tissue injuries, but we had five total and of the guys that stayed here this summer, there were only two guys that had soft tissue injuries," added Vigil. "Coach (Rashad) Harris has done an unbelievable job with these guys over the summer. The players were doing seven-on-seven throughout the entire summer on their own and we saw players that gained an advantage athletically by being here over the summer. Instead of trying to get our guys in shape once practice began, we were able to learn the schemes and be the best football team we can be."

Vigil says that games are won in the fourth quarter and by the time the players show up in fall camp, 60 percent of the season's already been told by the work that the players have put in during the summer months.

"Having 100-plus guys here all summer, it doesn't guarantee anything, but it puts you in the running and that's the biggest thing that we've been talking to our guys about," added the coach. "You can work your butt off. You can be here every single day. Winning is not fair, so we've got to come to work every single day with the same attitude and same mentality and to get one percent better each day and focus on being intentional and let the results take care of themselves."

Saturday's game will be the first of 11 regular season games for the Pack, including nine games in the RMAC. Six of those games will be played at home in the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.

Following Saturday's season opener at home with Midwestern State, CSU Pueblo will hit the road for a game at Division II powerhouse and preseason No. 3 ranked Grand Valley State for a 7 p.m. Eastern non-conference game on Sept. 9 in Allendale, Mich.

ABOUT MIDWESTERN STATE
The Mustangs are entering its 46th season of playing intercollegiate football in 2023 and has amassed a 263-201-5 record. Last season, MSU went 6-5 overall and tied for third in the LSC. In the Preseason LSC Coaches' Poll, Midwestern State was tabbed to finish fourth in the league.
 
Maskill, who has led the program to eight NCAA playoff appearances, five LSC titles and has earned five LSC Coach of the Year honors, has won 156 games as Midwestern State's coach and is the all-time winningest coach in MSU history.
 
Among the key returners for the Mustangs are senior cornerback Dylon Davis and sophomore running back Jalen March. Both of those players were named to the LSC's 2023 Players to Watch List.
 
Davis, who was a Second-Team All-LSC selection last season, has returned four of his six career interceptions for touchdowns, while March, who was the LSC Freshman of the Year in 2021, accounted for a then-freshman record rushing record of 635 yards and scored six touchdowns. Both players suffered season ending injuries that cut short their 2022 seasons.
 
"They (MSU) will be a well-coached, very talented football team and that is just an MO of Bill Maskell. He's done an unbelievable job and is arguably one of the best Division II coaches ever," Vigil said about Midwestern State. "We're going to focus on us. We're going to game plan and going to do what we need to do to try and scheme them up, but at the end of the day, it's about the Pack. It's about taking care of us."
 
Vigil says there will be some high emotions in this game as two guys on Vigil's staff this season were on Midwestern State's staff last year, including co-Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach Garrett Graf and receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Josh Atkinson and one of the Pack's receivers, senior JaMarzeyea Arvie (Mesquite, Texas/Midwestern State), played for the Mustangs in 2022.
 
"We (CSU Pueblo) beat them in the season opener last season and my 2022 team at Western New Mexico defeated them in overtime at home," said Vigil. "So, there's some emotions that are going into this game that are a bit different than just your normal first game hype."
 
In last season's game, the Mustangs gained 308 yards of offense as they passed for 253 yards and rushed for 55 yards on 21 carries, while the Pack gained 576 yards, including passing for a single-game school record 396 yards and rushing for 180 yards on 43 carries.
 
Saturday's game with Midwestern State will be just the third-ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron as the two teams first met in the second round of the NCAA Playoffs in Wichita Falls, Texas, as the Pack won that game, 26-17 and then the Pack collected a 59-27 win in last year's season opener on Midwestern's home field.
 
PACK FOOTBALL NOTES

• The first Philip Vigil Show of the 2023 football season is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 31 at the ThunderZone, which is located across the street from the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.
• In the Preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll, the Pack were tabbed to finish second as they received 71 points to sit nine points in front of third place Western Colorado, who earned 62 points and a first-place vote and 10 points behind first place Mines, who earned 81 points and nine first place votes.
• The first Pack Club Luncheon of the 2023 football season will be held on Friday, Sept. 15 from 12-1 p.m. in the ThunderBowl Pack House.
• Saturday's night's Red Out Game is being sponsored by InBank as students who show their student ID are going to receive red t-shirts courtesy of SunWest Credit Union.
• Three new NCAA football rule changes in 2023 – 1) The game clock will not stop on first downs except when it's under two minutes in each half, and teams are no longer able to call consecutive timeouts; 2) Adoption of instant replay for officials' reviews in Division II without having a booth replay official as all reviews will take place on the field by the referee; 3) True freshman in Division II will be allowed to play in up to three games while maintaining their redshirt season.
• All Pack football games will be broadcast once again this season on Fox Sports Pueblo (1350 AM) with Jim Brooks and Joe Cervi on the call. The broadcast will begin with a pregame show starting at 5:30 p.m.
• SOCO CW KXTU-TV/Fox 21 KXRM-TV in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Xfinity Channels 657 and 1020 in Pueblo) will show Saturday's game live on television.
• The Hospitality Tailgate (formerly known as the Alumni Tailgate) will once again be held on the Leomiti Warrior Center Rooftop, starting two hours before kickoff and conclude at the start of the games. This space is reserved for Pack Club members, corporate sponsors and special guests.
• During halftime of Saturday's game, Pack Athletics will have a retirement celebration for Denise Cordova, Chris Smith and Mike Riggio. These three individuals invested 88 years at CSU Pueblo and are a big part of Pack Football game day.