St. Thomas football team picked preseason favorite to win Pioneer League
University of St. Thomas football coach Glenn Caruso announced his 2023 class on Wednesday, which features 29 players and 12 from Minnesota.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Coming off its first conference title in just its second season in Division I, the University of St. Thomas football team is favored to repeat as Pioneer League champions in 2023.
In the league’s Preseason Coaches Poll, the Tommies received 98 out of a possible 100 votes, and eight of 10 first place votes. Davidson and San Diego earned the other first place votes, and coaches are not allowed to vote on their own team to win the conference.
St. Thomas went 10-1 last year, including an 8-0 mark in the Pioneer Football League to win its first conference title in FCS play. The Tommies won 10 straight games after dropping their season-opener, 44-13, to Southern Utah.
St. Thomas out-scored opponents by a combined 358-159 last season, and only one of their 10 straight wins was by fewer than double digits. The St. Thomas defense also collected more than 700 tackles in Pioneer League play.
The Tommies are likely favored to win the Pioneer League because nine of their 16 all-league players from last season are back. That includes First-Team All-Conference wide receiver Andrew McElroy, who had 45 catches for 717 yards and seven touchdowns last season. Also back is junior linebacker and First-Team All-Conference pick Jonathan Bunce, who had 57 tackles, including 10.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.
In 15 seasons at St. Thomas, Glenn Caruso is 143-25, including a 14-3 mark over the program's first two seasons in Pioneer Football League play.
St. Thomas is in fall camp and opens the 2023 season on Saturday, Sept. 2, against Black Hills State University at 1 p.m. at O’Shaughnessy Stadium in St. Paul.