Football: 2023 NCAA Division I
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As in the past, I will be reporting on all three divisions of the NCAA. That means every Missouri and Kansas athlete competing in the NCAA. At Playing On Sports, we pride ourselves with expansive data that is as complete and accurate as possible. However, at this early date in the season, not all schools have released their rosters. The missing data is largely in Divisions II and III. We are only waiting on a small handful of DI rosters. The number is small enough that we will get started and the additional data will be added to the database when available.
Here is what the football numbers look like for DI:
There are 582 area athletes who are on a 2023 DI football roster. These athletes come from all over both states and play all over the nation. And they play every conceivable position.
By Class
As would be expected, given the inevitable attrition that occurs in college sports, there are more true freshmen than any other class. There are 126 athletes who are experiencing the collegiate football experience for the first time. Another 94 are redshirt freshmen looking to get into action after practicing for a year. Despite the ever present attrition, there are 56 seniors and 14 redshirt seniors. Additionally, there are 19 graduate students and three in their Fifth Year of competition. It should be noted here that this is the last season where an athlete can play the extra year granted by the NCAA due to the Covid pandemic. Every player on a roster in 2020 was granted an additional year of eligibility regardless of any playing time that season. Those players affected will show up as graduate students if they have received their under-graduate degree. Or, they will appear as a Fifth Year player.
By Position
Everything starts in the line, right? Yes, it does. There are 90 defensive linemen and 89 offensive linemen in the database. There are 69 linebackers and 91 defensive backs. And for when there is a defensive stop, there are 12 punters.
There are lots of players who will have the ball in their hands. There are 24 quarterbacks and 50 running backs. Catching the ball will be 57 tight ends and 79 wide receivers. Also scoring will be 20 kickers.
Who is returning from last year? Brady Cook (Chaminade/Univ. of Missouri) returns for his junior year after passing for 2,724 yards as a sophomore, the 11th most in Missouri history. Paxton DeLaurent (Camdenton/Southeast Missouri State Univ.) is also back for his junior year. Last year Paxton threw for 2,684 yards and 19 touchdowns even though he missed two games to an injury. Graham Mertz (Blue Valley North/Univ. of Florida) is a redshirt junior this year for the Gators. That is after leaving the Univ. of Wisconsin where he passed for 2,136 yards and 19 TD’s last year.
The top three running backs from last year are all back to gain more yardage. Devon Neal (Lawrence/Univ. of Kansas) is back for his junior campaign. As a sophomore, he rushed for 1,090 yards and nine touchdowns. Isaiah Davis (Joplin/South Dakota State Univ.) is returning for his senior year after his outstanding junior season. Not only did he rush for 1,451 yards and 15 TD’s, he led the Jackrabbits to the DI Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) National Title. There are seven other area athletes on that roster working for a natty repeat.
There is also a lot of receiving production returning. Darius Cooper (Hazelwood West/Tarleton State Univ.) returns for his junior year after his First Team All-WAC sophomore year, Darius caught 54 balls for 1,063 yards. After two seasons and two letters earned, junior Jaylin Noel (Park Hill/Iowa State Univ.) is back to build upon his 60 receptions and 572 yards from a year ago. Back for his Covid year, as explained above, is Phillip Brooks (Lee’s Summit West/Kansas State Univ.).Last year he caught 45 balls for 587 yards for the Big 12 Conference Champion Wildcats.
By Conference
These 582 athletes have fanned out all over the country and play in 28 conferences. All Power 5 conferences are well represented. Our athletes also hit the books. In conferences known for their academics, there are 15 local athletes competing in the Ivy League and 11 in the Patriot League. And speaking of patriots, there are four playing at Army, three at Navy, and two at the Air Force Academy.
By High School
These football players come from every corner of these two states. Big schools. Small schools. Urban. Suburban. Rural. They come from public schools and private schools. Where ever they come from, the go to play football. And we will observe what they do.
There are eight high schools with ten or more graduates on a DI football roster. Christian Brothers and DeSmet lead the way with 19 each. Trinity Catholic-MO, which is no longer open, has 12, just ahead of Lee’s Summit North with 11. With ten each, are Rockhurst, Francis Howell, Chaminade, and Bishop Miege.
I noted nine stars returning for another year of DI football. There are many more. And which freshmen will get on the field? Which players will step up and have 2023 as their coming out year? There are many questions to be answered. Will Cooper Beebe (Piper/Kansas State Univ.) repeat as Big 12 Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year? And as an All-American repeat? What will DJ Giddons (Junction City/Kansas State Univ.) do as the heir apparent for All-American Deuce Vaugh? Will Bryce Norman (Jackson/Southeast Missouri State Univ.) repeat as the Ohio Valley Conference tackler? Lots of questions to be answered. And a lot of new questions to be asked. That is why we play the season!
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