By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com
(Cedar Falls) — The UNI Football team was tabbed to finish second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference in this year’s truncated spring football season.
Defending FCS National Champion North Dakota State was pegged to finish first.
Sophomore quarterback Will McElvain, who was coached by New London AD Ben Fry in his time at Des Moines Lincoln, leads the way as the only signal caller on the preseason list. McElvain tossed 20 touchdowns while throwing just seven interceptions in 15 games during the 2019 season.
He set the conference freshman passing record before it was broken by NDSU’s Trey Lance on his final completion of the national championship game. McElvain also rushed for 372 yards and another touchdown.
Defensively, the Panthers return 2019 Phil Steele Freshman Defensive Player of the Year Omar Brown who tallied 77 tackles, including four tackles for loss. He recovered three fumbles and forced a team-high six interceptions. He led the MVFC in interceptions during the regular season.
The Panthers are scheduled to open the season on Feb. 19 at home against South Dakota State.