FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (August 24, 2022) – Thrown into his first career game against the Arizona Wildcats, quarterback
RJ Martinez impressed throughout his debut season for the Lumberjacks in the fall.
Named the Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year and finishing sixth in the voting for the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman in all of the FCS, Martinez started seven games while passing for 1,714 yards, completing 61.8 percent of his passes for 14 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Adding five touchdowns on the ground with 187 rushing yards, Martinez proved to be a capable dual threat at the helm of Northern Arizona's offense. Finishing with 369 passing yards, 57 rushing yards and four total touchdowns, Martinez earned Big Sky Conference Player of the Week for his performance against Idaho State. Martinez was also named an honorable mention for CFPA FCS National Performer of the Week after finishing with 417 passing yards, 65 rushing yards and seven total touchdowns against Southern Utah.
Jeff Widener and
Niko Haen return to the Lumberjacks having both started last fall, while the Lumberjacks added the 4A Conference Player of the Year,
Angel Flores of Casa Grande, in their recruiting class after the freshman threw for 2,671 yards last fall and added 1,292 rushing yards in his high school career.
Pairing with Martinez in the backfield, running back
Kevin Daniels leads a strong group of backs after earning All-Big Sky Second Team honors and Freshman All-American honors for his 1,146 rushing yards, 6.2 yards per carry and seven touchdowns.
George Robinson and
Draycen Hall offer Northern Arizona two other capable rushing threats, with Hall also at 341 career receiving yards in his 16 games for the Lumberjacks.
Tyson Grubbs also carried the ball for Northern Arizona last fall, scoring his first career touchdown against Montana. Daniels enters the fall with his most recent game standing as one of the best in program history having rushed for 280 yards and five touchdowns in the season finale against Cal Poly.
Balancing Northern Arizona's offense and offering Martinez the targets needed to continue the impressive start to his career,
Coleman Owen and
Hendrix Johnson lead a deep crop of receivers. Finishing with 43 catches, 713 yards and six touchdowns, Owen earned Freshman All-American honors and All-Big Sky Honorable Mention while ranking among the Top 10 of the conference for receiving yards and touchdowns. Johnson, also an All-Big Sky Honorable Mention, finished with 28 catches for 509 yards and five touchdowns, with his 18.2 yards per catch second in the Big Sky and 27th in the FCS.
Stacy Chukwumezie returns for his final season as a Lumberjack after going down with a knee injury last fall while
Jamal Glaspie also produced a dominant performance against Idaho State with 11 catches, 167 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson and Chukwumezie enter the season at 20th and 21st on Northern Arizona's all-time receiving list while Owen is just 53 yards away from becoming the 33rd receiver in program history with 1,000 career receiving yards.
With returners
Terrell Hayward,
Elijah Taylor,
David Haen,
Ethen Cluff and
Jorim Powell adding existing depth, the Lumberjacks also added a trio of receivers,
Caiaphas Ardoin,
Koda Bridges and
BJ Fleming, in their 2022 recruiting class while
Keison Evans transfers in from Idaho.
Seeking to replace longtime Lumberjack
Matthew Kempton at tight end, Northern Arizona added
Isaiah Gerena from Morgan State. An early enrollee who spent the spring with the Lumberjacks, Gerena was named All-MEAC Second Team as a freshman in 2021, catching 22 passes for 188 yards.
Alishawuan Taylor is poised to take on a larger role at tight end after playing in eight games during the spring and fall 2021 seasons with
Xander Werner remaining a unique threat within the offense while spending time at tight end. In addition to Gerena, Northern Arizona added
Braden Kramer in its recruiting class.
Blocking upfront for Martinez, Daniels and the rest of Northern Arizona's offense, the Lumberjacks' offensive line will be led by a pair of seniors, a handful of underclassmen with significant playing experience and a wide range of new arrivals.
Having spent time at both right guard and right tackle during his Northern Arizona career,
Jonas Leader enters his senior season with 35 career games played and 27 consecutive starts dating back to the 2019 season. An All-Big Sky Second Team selection in the spring and a Third Team pick in the fall, Leader helped lead the way to the 36th-ranked total offense and the 29th-ranked rushing attack in the FCS and was named to the Big Sky Preseason All-Conference Team. Immediately slotting into a key role on the offensive line upon his arrival last fall,
PJ Poutasi started all 11 games at left guard for the Lumberjacks in the fall with Daniels producing the first 1,000-yard rushing season by a Lumberjack since the 2015 season.
The two seniors will hold down positions on the offensive line while seven other Lumberjacks have starting experience over the past three seasons. The versatile
Jalen Hooper started 10 games in the fall, with six games coming at center and another four at right guard while
Noah Barta started seven games at right guard following three at the position during the spring. Stepping in as a true freshman,
Blake Gamez started four games at center while battling injuries during the fall, with
Caiden Miles,
Maxwell Flores,
Angel Flores, and
Eriq Williams also starting games during their careers. The wide range of additions on the offensive line include
Michael Flood from UTEP with
Kaden Hicks,
Cash Koepke,
CJ McMillan and
Alexis Sanchez joining the program from their high schools.
Northern Arizona will also need to replace former All-American kicker
Luis Aguilar, who served as the program's primary kicker since the 2018 season.
Collin Robbins and
Clay Gross return to the Lumberjacks while freshman
Marcus Lye joins the Lumberjacks with the trio battling for the job.
Kickoff for the season opener at Sun Devil Stadium is set for 7 p.m. MST, with the game on Pac-12 Network in Arizona. Tickets for Northern Arizona's five home games including North Dakota (Running of the Freshmen), Idaho (Hall of Fame Game), Cal Poly (Family Weekend), Montana State (Homecoming/Military Appreciation) and Weber State (Senior Day/Native American Heritage Day) are available online at NAUAthletics.com/BuyNow. For questions regarding tickets call 928 (523-0639) or contact the office at
LumberjackTicketOffice@nau.edu.
