Seniors Justin Haddix, Jon Hedges, Dennis Mitchell and Lerron Moore also addressed reporters as interviews lasted more than an hour after lunch.
“There is a definite level of excitement as there always is at this time of year,” Elson said. “For me, the word that has been in my head as we’ve started this camp has been consistency. We’ve been very fortunate to keep our staff together with the exception of one loss — and it was one that you accept, as Eric Ravellette left for a full-time position at Southeast Missouri. That means a lot, it helps in preparation during the offseason.
“Everyone was a part of what happened last season, so we can all continue to learn from those lessons and make sure we don’t make the same mistakes again.”
The Hilltoppers recorded their 10th consecutive winning campaign last fall, but missed the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs for the first time since 2000 after posting a final mark of 6-5.
Elson expects a senior class that has almost double the amount of individuals who finished their eligibility last fall to make a difference.
“Last year we had nine seniors, only three who were with us for their entire career since high school,” he stated. “This fall, we have 17, including 13 who are fifth-year seniors and four who have been here for four years. That is a huge difference when it comes to the chemistry of your team. I’ve been very proud of the way those guys have handled themselves during the offseason, the way they began to take ownership of this football team.”
Two of those seniors will lead the Topper offense in 2006, as both Haddix and Moore have been starters since their freshman season. The former completed 57 percent of his pass attempts for 1,892 yards and a career-best 15 scores a year ago, while the latter rushed for 1,037 yards and 10 touchdowns. Their efforts helped WKU average 30.8 points per contest.
“Justin has come a long way since his freshman year,” said Taggart. “He knows our offense and feels very comfortable running it. We look to him as a coach on the field and are trying to give Justin that leeway to go out and help us by leading the rest of the guys. He’s watched a lot more film, I think he has started to realize that this is his last go-around.
“He wants to go out a winner, make everybody better and make the offense go.”
“We want to try and improve our scoring in the red zone and scoring at critical times when we need points,” Weist added. “Late in the game, when we need to score, we need to turn it on and use our weapons to be effective from that standpoint.”
Defensively, the Toppers return four starters including three in the secondary. Junior Marion Rumph led the team with 93 total stops a year ago, while junior inside linebacker Andre Lewis added 84 tackles in his first season as a starter. Mitchell, Hedges and senior Sam Sexton also posted at least 30 stops last fall.
WKU’s special teams feature a preseason All-America selection in junior Chris James — who converted 15-of-17 field-goal attempts in 2005 — as well as Mitchell, who ranked sixth in the country with an average of 16.1 yards per punt return. Also coming back is junior punter Tanner Siewert, who averaged 37.4 yards per kick in his first year handling the chore.
“We feel very fortunate that we have both our kicker and our punter coming back,” Dietzel said. “Chris has a strong leg and has been real consistent, he’s a mentally tough person. We’re looking forward to seeing him have another great year. Tanner gained a lot of experience last fall, we’d like to see him improve on that performance and become an effective weapon.
“It’s obvious for anyone who has seen Dennis what a threat he can be, he’s scored a number of touchdowns on returns over his career. We believe that our special teams can be a big asset, a big part of this season.”
Still, Elson realizes that the excitement and anticipation of the upcoming season doesn’t translate to guaranteed success on the field in the fall. “I realize that we have only had one practice in 2006 and haven’t done anything yet,” he said while concluding his opening statement.
