After an 11-0 regular season and the school’s first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) title, one could presume it’s a rosy picture for Ashland University as it enters the 2013 campaign. The stout Eagle defense of a year ago returns the league’s reigning Defensive Lineman of the Year in Jamie Meder, as well as leading tackler Cody Bloom at linebacker. And if that weren’t enough, nine of the offense’s eleven starters will also be back, including the ground-churning 1-2 punch of Anthony Taylor and Jordan McCune. The tandem combined for more than 2,100 rushing yards last year, and each found the end zone 14 times.
While a returning bevy of production like that would be the envy of most (and it appears that it is, given that the Eagles are picked to win the South Division), Coach Lee Owens knows that the few losses he suffered due to graduation are indeed key ones. GLIAC Defensive Back of the Year Kevin Gamble has tot be replaced, as does GLIAC Player of the Year Taylor Housewright. Housewright ran the Eagle offense for the last three years, and he may well have been the heart and soul of one of the best teams in school history. Add in the loss of Housewright’s top target in Anthony Capasso, and there are some big shoes to fill in key spots as Ashland works to defend its GLIAC crown.
Coach O should know how the shoes are being filled early in the season, as road tests at GLVC Champ University of Indianapolis and 2011 National Runner-Up Wayne State University face the Eagles right out of the chute. Home dates with Ferris State University in week three and Ohio Dominican University in week six round out a test-laden first half of the season.