College notebook: QU’s Dollard earns All-American honor, Truman State drops interim tag from Nesbitt’s title

QUINCY — Cleaning out the notebook as 2025 begins to take shape …

QU’s Dollard receives All-American honor

Quincy University running back Teon Dollard became the program’s third player in the past five years to be named a Don Hansen NCAA Division II honorable mention All-American.

Dollard, a 6-foot, 205-pound graduate student who transferred to QU from Akron, was a first-team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference selection who Hawks coach Jason Killday called “a physical, tough runner whose effort and hard work result in success.”

Dollard rushed for 961 yards and 14 touchdowns in eight games last fall, guiding the Hawks to a 6-4 overall record and a 5-3 mark in the Great Lakes Valley Conference — the first time in program history QU has finished above .500 in league play.

Although he dealt with some midseason injuries, Dollard was as good as any running back in the nation down the stretch. He rushed for 160 yards and three touchdowns in a 24-20 victory over Wiliam Jewell in Week 9 and 236 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-25 victory at Southwest Baptist in Week 10.

Dollard finished with five 100-yard rushing games and averaged 6.2 yards per carry. He ranked in the top in Division II in rushing yards per game, yards per carry and rushing touchdowns. Overall, Dollard and the Hawks rushed for 181 yards per game and led the GLVC in yards per carry at 5.4.

Former QU linebacker Peyten Chappel (2020) and offensive lineman B.J. Wilson (2022) also were named honorable mention All-Americans.

Hawks’ discipline on full display

The Quincy University football team ranked among the most disciplined teams in NCAA Division II last fall, finishing as the least penalized team in the nation according to a list of team statistical champions compiled by D2Football.com.

The Hawks committed only 36 penalties for 334 total yards — both of which ranked No. 1 in the nation in Jason Killday’s first season as head coach. It’s a critical reason Quincy finished 6-4 overall and 5-3 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, its best in-league record ever.

How does that compare to QU teams of the past? In 2023, the Hawks committed 64 penalties for 656 yards. Over the previous 10 seasons, the Hawks averaged 68.8 penalties and 622.8 penalty yards. The high-water mark came in 2021 as Quincy committed 90 penalties for 867 yards during a 4-7 campaign. The previous low was 56 penalties for 438 yards in 2014.

Coincidentally, the 2014 team went 6-5 with a 4-4 conference record — the best record prior to this season. That team featured Killday as the offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator.

Nesbitt given full reins at Truman State

After spending last fall as the interim head football coach at Truman State, Kellen Nesbitt has the official title now.

The son of former Truman State coach Gregg Nesbitt, Kellen Nesbitt was named the interim coach last February and proceeded to lead the Bulldogs to an 8-4 season in which they won eight of their last nine games, including a 29-10 win in the America’s Crossroads Bowl in December. 

It’s the Bulldogs’ fifth consecutive season with eight or more victories, the longest such stretch in program history. The Bulldogs ranked first or second in the GLVC in 18 different statistical metrics and finished second in NCAA Division II in punt returns and fourth down conversion percentage. 

Nesbitt spent the previous 14 seasons as the defensive coordinator at Truman State.

Truman State finds new athletic director

Truman State found a new athletic director with ties to its current conference home and its past partnerships.

Signe Coombs, currently the senior associate director of athletics and senior woman administrator at Georgia Southwestern State University, was named the Bulldogs’ next AD on December 31 and will begin her new job February 1.

Coombs, a graduate of the University of Iowa where she played volleyball, served as an assistant volleyball coach at Great Lakes Valley Conference member Missouri S&T in 2012 before joining the staff at Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association member Missouri Western in 2013. She began her administrative career at Missouri Western in 2016

“My family and I are thrilled to be joining the Truman family and back in the remarkable GLVC,” Coombs said in a press release. “Truman’s reputation as a premier public institution devoted to student opportunities, experiences and achievements is not only reinforced through the Department of Athletics, but also aligned with my values. I am eager to engage with our student-athletes, coaches, staff, faculty, campus and community partners, alumni, and fans to build upon the tradition of excellence and prioritize providing a transformational student-athlete experience.”