SUU football preview: Thunderbirds hope to forge ahead

On the front cover of Southern Utah's football media guide, an SUU logo is shown with hot metal being poured into the Thunderbird cutout with the words "Forging Success" along the bottom guide.

Anyone familiar with forging steel knows it's a process that strengthens the metal through intense heat and pressure. And it's exactly the same process SUU players have been going through in the offseason to erase the stain of a winless 2007 campaign.

The Thunderbird football program started anew in December, when former BYU linebacker Ed Lamb was hired as the head coach. From there, he changed the attitude of the program, starting with offseason workouts.

"I just ask my players to compete in everything they do," Lamb said. "We always make sure they're competing, and we hold them accountable for what they do. Everyone's watching them; their numbers get posted on the board. Always trying to get better every day has helped our kids.

Pumping iron should help SUU out this year. Reports out of Cedar City say most players have put on an average of 15 pounds of muscle through the offseason.

Something else that makes iron stronger is when you mix the melted steel with a little bit of ash. For the Thunderbirds, years of losing have burned the program to the ground, but the negativity and mess of the past has only helped Lamb develop stronger attitudes in his athletes.

"It's easy to disassociate yourself from a bad season when you're not the one who coached them," Lamb said. "We understand we're not the favorite in the conference, and that's fine. Kids at this level tend to think of the better teams and D-I programs, 'That's out of my league, it's out of my reach'.

"It's absurd to think that. My athletes are just as good a s anyone else's, and we'll show that by outworking people."

Offense

The base of any good offense in college football always starts at the offensive line, and that's where SUU is strongest, returning three of the five big men on the line. Senior center Jeremy Vilardo (6-1, 265) and junior guard Stephen Boyer (6-3, 280) both started for SUU in 2007, while senior tackle Jeff Janes (6-2, 240) has played in every game the last two years.

Junior quarterback Cody Stone comes back to lead the offense after finishing last season's campaign as the starter. Stone completed 53.4 percent of his passes last year for 1,262 yards.The glaring negative on Stone can be that he tries to do too much with the ball, as he threw twice as many interceptions (15) as touchdowns (7).