GAME NOTES (PDF)

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - It is finally game week for the Northern Arizona football team. Five weeks of preseason practice and preparation leads to Tucson on Saturday for the 2017 season opener versus the Arizona Wildcats. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

The Lumberjacks are coming off a 5-6 campaign with a 4-4 record in the Big Sky, but were picked third in the preseason conference polls. Boosted by the return of sophomore quarterback Case Cookus, who only appeared in four games in 2016 before suffering a season-ending injury, the optimism and energy is high despite their finishing in a tie for sixth in the conference a year ago.

Cookus will have his top target for one more season in senior wide receiver Emmanuel Butler among a variety of weapons to his disposal on the offensive side of the ball. The Lumberjacks' attack also returns senior wide receiver Elijah Marks and sophomore running back Joe Logan. Defensively, NAU will be rebuilt with just two returning starters but have the talent to make a big impact to get the 'Jacks back into the national FCS picture.

NAU will square off with Arizona in the 15th all-time meeting between the in-state foes. Arizona owns a 13-1 lead in the series and posted a 77-13 victory over NAU the last time these two teams met in 2015 in Tucson.

The pregame show with Mitch Strohman, Kevin Stephens and Matt Howdeshell on the Lumberjack Radio Network will start at 7 p.m.

'Jacks-'Cats Connections: A number of NAU players have connections with the Arizona football program. Freshman Max Michalczik is the son of current Arizona offensive line coach Jim Michalczik. Junior Jake Casteel's father, Jeff Casteel, was Arizona's defensive coordinator from 2012-15. Byron Evans, the father of NAU senior Byron Evans, was the 1986 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year at Arizona and was a fourth-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles. He would go on to play eight years with the Eagles in the NFL. Overall, NAU has eight players from Tucson on its roster including Casteel, Michalczik, senior Nick Davis, juniors Cole Sterns and Markquise Simmons, sophomore Taylor Powell, and freshmen Jonas Leader and Connor Leavens. Also of note, offensive line coach Tim Davis was a graduate assistant at Arizona during the 1987 season.

Season Opener History: Under head coach Jerome Souers, the Lumberjacks own a 9-10 record in season openers. This Saturday's 2017 season opener will be the 10th time in 20 years that NAU has kicked off the season with either Arizona or Arizona State.

NAU vs. the FBS: The Lumberjacks are 8-51 all-time versus FBS/I-A opponents since 1957 and have lost four straight since defeating UNLV, 17-14, on Sept. 8, 2012 in Las Vegas.

Year 20: Jerome Souers enters his 20th season as the head coach of the Northern Arizona football team. He is the longest tenured head coach in the Big Sky Conference by a wide margin as Cal Poly's Tim Walsh is the next closest as he is beginning his ninth season. In all of the FCS, he is tied for the seventh-longest tenured head coach.
Last season, Souers earned career win No. 112 and became the winningest coach in conference history on Nov. 5 in the process when the Lumberjacks defeated Weber State on the road, 33-20. In his first 19 years, NAU has made three FCS/I-AA playoff appearances and has a total of 12 winning seasons.

New Staff: The NAU coaching staff has three new faces on the staff this season, including a pair who arrived in Flagstaff very familiar with each other. New offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brian Sheppard and special teams coordinator Gary Hyman served on the same staff last season at Indiana State. Vernon Smith is NAU's third new addition to the staff, and previously spent two seasons at fellow Big Sky member Portland State before becoming the Lumberjacks' new defensive secondary coach.

Watch Me Now: A total of 11 Lumberjacks were recognized with preseason accolades and spots on national watch lists leading into the 2017 season. Cookus and Butler headline the list as both were named to the Walter Payton Award Watch List, awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the FCS. Cookus was also named to the CFPA FCS National Performer of the Year Watch List - an award he won as a freshman in 2015 - and Butler was named a preseason All-American by both FCS STATS and College Sports Madness. Butler, senior Tyler Shank and sophomore Griffin Roehler were all selected to the All-Big Sky Preseason Team. All three also garnered Preseason Big Sky First Team honors along with Marks. Among the 11 players who were awarded preseason Big Sky distinction by College Sports Madness was freshman Chancellor Brewington, who is predicted to be the Big Sky Freshman of the Year.

About Arizona: Like NAU, Arizona heads into the 2017 season hoping to put last season's disappointments behind them. The Wildcats were winless in eight Pac-12 games while posting just a 3-9 overall record. Arizona is led by head coach Rich Rodriguez, who begins his sixth season with the Wildcats. Rodriguez owns a 36-28 record during his time in Tucson. The Wildcats were picked sixth out of six teams in the Pac-12 South Division accoring to the conference media. They bring back 45 letterwinners, but also have 61 freshmen - including redshirts - on their roster. Under center, redshirt junior quarterback Brandon Dawkins returns but has not been announced as Arizona's starter as of yet. Dawkins, a dual threat, threw for 1,348 yards and eight touchdowns and rushed for 944 yards and another 10 scores. Arizona's other candidate to start at quarterback is sophomore Khalil Tate, who compiled 243 passing yards and 237 rushing yards in seven games a true freshman last season. Whoever gets the season-opening call on Saturday, they will be protected by a pair of offensive linemen who were named to preseason watch lists. Senior Jacob Alsadek is a preseason candidate for the Wuerffel Trophy, while sophomore Nathan Eldridge was named to the Rimington Trophy Watch list.