As the dog days of summer come to a close and football season creeps ever so close, there is a buzz in the air around Leslie Frazier Field.  This new excitement on the campus of Trinity International University comes from the infusion of talent not seen in the program for almost a decade.  Sixty seven fresh new faces invaded the football fields back on August 11th as more than 90 young men battled for positions, learned the offense and came together as a team through the August heat.  With the first game less than a week away the Trojans look forward to a season of rejuvenation. 

The Trojans Schedule, as it does every year, has many landmines along the way.  There are four different teams on the schedule that have a pre-season top 25 ranking as the Trojans make the change from the Midwest to the Mideast League.  The Four ranked teams on the schedule include, #4 St. Francis (IN), #13 St. Ambrose, #18 St. Xavier, and #25 Malone.

Head Coach Mike Gims returns in his second season as Head Coach and has implemented more discipline and brought excitement back to the campus.  After stepping in as defensive coordinator last season he will make the change back to the offensive side of the ball and coach QB's.  With his first season of recruiting under his belt the Trojans brought in 67 new football players.  After a disappointing first season this is one of the up and coming programs in the Mid-States Conference.   

The offense will feature many brand new faces.  The Trojans lost four seniors from an offensive line that allowed only fourteen sacks in eleven games last season.  Cole Bamberger returns to the Trojans backfield as one of the few returning starters.  An infusion of talent from all over the country in places like Alabama, Florida, California and Illinois will help improve an offense that struggled at times last season.  Coach Kirk Wherritt continues in his second year as offensive coordinator as the Trojans will run the exciting style of the spread offense. 

The defense returns most of their talent from last year as eight starters return from last years defense that at times was very strong.  Outside linebacker Tyler Boblit and free safety Peter Miller are returning all conference players who will lead the defense in 2009.  Coach Dewey Daniel joins the coaching staff as the defensive coordinator, after 18 seasons of coaching Ohio High School at the highest level.     

The special teams will feature a great deal of change as well as Mr. Everything, Mark Wilcox, graduated and moved on leaving wholes at Kicker and Punter.  However the depth of team speed that was brought in gives the staff a reason to be excited.  Coach Robbie Schomaker expects to see marked improvement in this area in 2009.

The Trojans kick off the season this Saturday as they travel to Mount Pleasant, IA to take on Iowa Wesleyan.  Kick off is set for 7 PM CST.