MARQUETTE, Mich. - Under a completely new coaching staff led by first-year head coach
Shane Richardson, week one of the regular season has arrived for the Northern Michigan football team, as they'll travel to the land of 10,000 lakes for a contest under the lights at Minnesota Duluth. Kickoff will take place at 7 p.m. ET at James S. Malosky Stadium.
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Follow @NMU_Football and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly know as Twitter) for updates leading up to and during the game.
Thursday, August 31 - at Minnesota Duluth at 7 p.m. ET
Watch on the NSIC Network |
Live Stats |
Listen Live on 100.3 The Point
Wildcats to Watch
On the offensive side of the ball, returning TE
Charlie Gerhard (25 catches for 281 yards in 2022) and FB/TE
Kyle Sahr (17 catches for 140 yards) will both play an important role through the air. Fifth year senior
Tyquan Cox will look to head the ground attack for the Wildcats, coming off of a season where he paced the GLIAC in kickoff return yards (764).
Northern Michigan will look to Division I graduate transfer QB
Mariano Valenti (Temple) to guide the offense this season. Out wide for Valenti, two more transfers in
Zach Person (Toledo), and
Tyree O'Neil (University at Buffalo) will look to fill in for what was lost and help lead the offensive attack.
On defense,
Jason Coulter,
Hunter Soletski,
Darryl Obasuyi, and
Caleb Wright all return along the defensive line after each recording at least one sack last season. They'll be joined by the linebacker pair of
Justin Peake and
Mitch Larkin both back as well.
Tim Shannon Jr.,
Kade Manzo, and
Bo Bell all return as upperclassmen in the defensive back field, accompanied by transfer
Ricky Lancaster (Sacred Heart).
Notes on Minnesota Duluth
UMD will present an instant challenge for the 'Cats, as they finished 8-3 a season ago. The Bulldogs have established excellence on the offensive line and in the ground game. In 2022, they ranked 13th in the nation with a rushing offense that accrued 220.2 yards a game on the ground. UMD ran in 25 touchdowns and had a total of 2,422 yards racked up.
UMD returns NSIC All-Conference First Team selections and graduate seniors Arik Johnson and captain Treyvon Cahalan on the offensive line, along with redshirt senior Aiden Williams, an NSIC All-Second Team honoree. Redshirt senior tight end Sam Pitz earned an all-second team nod last fall as well.
Shane Richardson and Company
Shane Richardson was named the 23rd head football coach at NMU right before the calendar flipped to 2023. Coming from UNC-Pembroke, Richardson brings with him
Billy Lindquist (Associate Head Coach / Offensive Coordinator) and
Jeff Fantuzzi (Offensive Line Coach).
Mike DuFrane (Defensive Coordinator) joins the staff after serving as the head coach at Finlandia.
Michael Kaiser (Defensive Line),
DeAndre Riddick (Wide Receivers),
Ezekiel Combs (Cornerbacks),
Ahmed Saleh (Safeties), and
Brett Sylve (Running Backs and Tight Ends) round out the new-look staff.
Shane Richardson Weekly Press Conference
GLIAC Preseason Poll
1. Ferris State, 34 (5)
2. Grand Valley State, 31 (1)
3. Davenport, 27 (1)
4. Saginaw Valley State, 21
5. Michigan Tech, 16
6. Wayne State, 10
7. Northern Michigan, 8
