GLVC coaches pick QU football team to finish sixth in preseason poll

LEBANON, Ill. — There is excitement bubbling around the prospects of the Quincy University football team trotting out an offense that could challenge some of the single-season records the Hawks established last season.

At the same time, there is concern about a defense that was one of the worst in the nation in NCAA Division II.

That is why the Hawks were picked to finish sixth in the seven-team Great Lakes Valley Conference, according to a preseason poll of the coaches released by the league Friday during its annual kickoff celebration at McKendree University.

QU coach Gary Bass, whose team went 4-7 last season and 2-5 in the GLVC, thinks his team might surprise some people and rise above that preseason ranking.

“It’s the best football team we’ve had in the 10 years I’ve been here all in all,” said Bass, who is entering his sixth season as head coach after serving six seasons as an assistant. “We had a ton of kids who sacrificed this summer and stayed over for us to get better in the weight room and everything else.

“We have a lot of returning starters coming back. Our guys had a great spring and a ton of leadership in the right places both in coaching and with players. I’m really, really excited about this football season and can’t wait for it to get going.”

Indianapolis, which has won seven of the nine league titles since the GLVC introduced football, was the unanimous choice as the league favorite. The Greyhounds received six first-place votes. Truman State, which was picked second, received the other first-place vote.

Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team.