CALIFORNIA (Aug. 27) – The California University of Pennsylvania football team opens the 2018 season with three-consecutive road games before beginning divisional play. The Vulcans will feature several new starters this year following the graduation of seven All-PSAC West selections that helped the program reach the NCAA Playoffs in back-to-back years.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Freshmen – 33
Redshirt Freshmen – 12
Sophomores – 21
Juniors – 12
Seniors – 12

QUARTERBACKS
The Vulcans are slated to feature a freshman starting quarterback for the first time since 2004. Last fall, Noah Mitchell posted over 2,400 passing yards and 27 passing touchdowns while leading Milford Academy (N.Y.) to a 10-2 record. He previously was a first-team all-state honoree as a senior in Ohio while playing three sports at Euclid. Sophomore Brian Alsobrooks returns as the primary backup after attempting just seven passes last year.

RUNNING BACKS
Cal U features experienced depth at running back in senior Jalen Bell and junior transfer Nelson Brown. Bell has totaled nearly 800 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns while splitting time over the last two seasons. He also has proven to be a reliable option out of the backfield, as he is the team's second-leading returning receiver with 27 catches last year. A native of Maryland, Brown joins the program after being an All-SAC selection in each of the last two years while at Lenoir-Rhyne. In 2017, he finished second in the league with 1,071 rushing yards and tied for third in the SAC with 10 rushing touchdowns. Brown boasts three games of at least 200 rushing yards in his college career, while also totaling at least 30 carries six times. In addition to the two veterans, redshirt freshman Chuck Carr is also expected to see significant time following a standout scholastic career. He was a two-time all-state honoree at Hickory while finishing with over 6,800 rushing yards and 100 touchdowns in his career.

WIDE RECEIVERS
The Vulcans return a pair of veterans at wide receiver in redshirt junior Jordan Dandridge and junior Chad Livingston. Dandridge was on pace for a breakout campaign in 2017 before suffering a season-ending injury in Week 3. He totaled 15 receptions with one touchdown catch in three-straight games before the injury. Livingston became the team's third wide receiver following the injury to Dandridge and finished with over 400 receiving yards and 30-plus catches. Senior Craig Thompson and sophomore Tyson Hill provide depth to position with Hill boasting big-play ability, as he averaged over 21 yards per reception last season.

TIGHT ENDS/H-BACKS
Sophomores Dylan Stallings and Jack Vyborny will continue to have expanded roles in the offense after each made their college debuts last year. Listed at 6-foot-5, Stallings was an all-state selection at defensive end at the scholastic level in Virginia before originally enrolling at James Madison. Vyborny, whose father and uncle both played at Cal U, posted impressive numbers in the last week of the regular season.

OFFENSIVE LINE
Cal U will feature a new look on the offensive line in 2018 due to graduation and reshuffling of positions. A two-time All-PSAC West honoree, junior Craig McCorkle shifts to left tackle after making virtually all of his 20 career starts at right tackle. He started the opening seven games last year at right tackle before missing three weeks due to injury. Sophomore Brenden Badstibner returns at left guard after starting every game at the position in 2017, while junior Christian DiGalbo looks to start at center after appearing in over 20 games the previous two years. Senior Ben Pevarnik took over at right tackle after the injury to McCorkle last season, but will shift to right guard this year. Sophomore Eric Hudanick looks to transition from left tackle to right tackle after making 10 starts as a true freshman in 2017. The Vulcans feature experienced depth along the interior of the line in senior transfers Sean Jennings and Steven Jennings, plus sophomore Anthony LeDonne.

DEFENSIVE LINE
Senior Malik Akins will anchor the defensive front for the Vulcans this year. He set career highs in every category last season while being an All-PSAC West Second-Team selection. Akins is the team's second-leading returning tackler with 57 stops last year, plus 7.5 TFL and 3.5 sacks. The defensive ends figure to be a combination of sophomores, redshirt freshmen and freshmen. Sophomore Stephon Brown made three starts last year after being an all-state honoree at the scholastic level.

LINEBACKERS
The Vulcans graduated all four starting linebackers from last year yet the group figures to be experienced again this season with juniors and seniors. Senior transfer Julian Cox and senior Brendan Blair are expected to start in the middle in 2018. A native of New Castle, Cox played the last three seasons at Albany and was the CAA Co-Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2015 after leading the team in tackles. Blair has displayed big-play ability while playing as a reserve, totaling 9.5 TFL, 4.0 sacks and an interception return for a touchdown during his career. On the outside, redshirt junior Breon Coke and junior transfer London Cloud provide additional experience. Coke played two seasons in California at Riverside City after being a three-sport athlete at Mechanicsburg. A transfer from Lackawanna, Cloud was an all-state linebacker at the scholastic level in Ohio.

CORNERBACKS
Senior Brendan Edwards is the lone experienced cornerback for Cal U in 2018. He finished second on the team last year with a career-high four interceptions after making one interception in three-straight games. Redshirt freshman Darrell Jackson looks to start at the other cornerback position after earning all-state honors in Ohio while at Cardinal Mooney.

SAFETIES
Juniors Aaron Brown and Lamont McPhatter II provides the defense with a pair of playmaking safeties. A preseason All-American, McPhatter is the team's top-returning tackler with 76 stops and also ranked fifth in the league last year with a team-leading five interceptions. He was a consensus all-region honoree and an All-PSAC West First-Team selection in his first year with the program. Brown, whose brother played safety at Cal U and is currently in the NFL, has started nearly a dozen games at cornerback in his career before making the shift to safety in 2018. Senior Chad Garnett and redshirt sophomore Jimmy Pierce provide experienced depth to the safety position. Garnett has played in nearly 25 games during his career and made a pair of starts last season, while Pierce played significantly on special teams as a true freshman in 2016.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Cal U features experience at return specialist in the trio of Jalen Bell, Chad Livingston and DiAngelo Mitchell. Last year, Mitchell led the team in punt returns while also averaging nearly 24 yards per kickoff return. Bell has handled return duties in limited action in each of the past two years, while Livingston posted an average of over 15 yards on five punt returns in 2017. However, Cal U will look to the combination of several players to handle kicking and punting duties this season with Brian Alsobrooks, the backup quarterback, a possibility at both positions.

HEAD COACH
A former four-year starter for the Vulcans, Gary Dunn enters his third season as head coach at Cal U. He has led the program to a 20-4 overall record and back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Playoffs. The Vulcans captured the PSAC Championship in 2016 while leading NCAA Division II in scoring offense at 49.6 points per game.

THE SCHEDULE
The Vulcans start the year with three-straight road games for the first time since 1980 before opening divisional play in late September. Cal U begins the 2018 campaign at preseason GMAC favorite and defending-GMAC Champion Ohio Dominican, which closed last year on a seven-game winning streak. The Vulcans then travel to face Shippensburg and Kutztown in back-to-back weeks during league crossover action. Cal U will face three teams that posted a combined 22-10 record last year before the start of divisional play.

Cal U begins PSAC West competition on Sept. 22 when it hosts Edinboro before hosting defending-NCAA Super Region One Champion IUP in the 10th-annual Coal Bowl on Sept. 29. The Vulcans will then alternate home-away dates for the remainder of divisional play.

The Vulcans are set to close the regular season by hosting preseason PSAC East favorite West Chester on Nov. 10. The top team in the PSAC West standings this fall will host the PSAC Championship.