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INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) announced Thursday the 16 student-athletes who have been selected to attend the 2018 GLVC Football Kickoff, which will take place in Lebanon, Illinois on Friday, July 27. The GLVC contingent, highlighted by eight All-Conference returners combining for 12 career postseason honors, will participate in the seventh annual event. The 2018 GLVC Football Kickoff will take place at The Hettenhausen Center for the Arts on the campus of McKendree University from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. CT, and will serve both the league’s media members and passionate fans through several social media outlets.
The head coach and two student-athletes from each of the eight GLVC football institutions will be on hand to help promote the conference’s seventh season.
Three first-team All-GLVC honorees will be in attendance, including two University of Indianapolis seniors in quarterback
Jake Purichia and linebacker
Cole Sigmund. Purichia ranked second in NCAA Division II in passing efficiency last year and was tabbed the GLVC Offensive Player of the Year as well as a unanimous first-team All-Conference pick. Sigmund picked up his first All-GLVC accolade last year, earning first-team distinction from the coaches.
Quincy University senior linebacker
Cody Leonard is back for his final season, having picked up first-team All-GLVC honors last year following an honorable mention nod back in 2016. Leonard earned D2Football.com National Defensive Player of the Week honors en route to breaking the school record for solo tackles in a single season (72) last year. He will be joined by junior offensive lineman
Justin Rosendahl, who garnered second-team All-GLVC laurels in 2017.
Missouri S&T’s two representatives have combined for four All-Conference honors over their careers, including three-time second-team All-GLVC linebacker
Landon Compton. The second-team Academic All-American enters the season as the GLVC’s active leader in tackles with 257, including 78 from a year ago. Senior quarterback
Tyler Swart, who is the owner of Missouri S&T school records for passing yards (5,860) and total offense (5,538), was an honorable mention All-Conference selection last year.
Truman State University will be represented by junior linebacker
Bryan Edwards, who was honored as a second-team All-GLVC pick at the defensive utility position in 2016 and an honorable mention selection last year. Edwards will be joined by senior offensive lineman
Tanner Hageman.
Attending for host McKendree will be senior quarterback
Reece Metcalf and junior linebacker
Michael Tucker. Metcalf started every game as the Bearcats' signal-caller last season and was recognized with All-GLVC honorable mention distinction.
Southwest Baptist University, which earned a share of the 2016 GLVC Championship, returns two players from that team in senior wide receiver
Tristyn Bennett and senior linebacker
Tyler Curts.
Lincoln University will be represented by junior offensive lineman
Jamal Brown and senior linebacker
Edwin Durassaint, while William Jewell College is set to bring sophomore tight end
Nick Fisher and redshirt junior defensive back
Donte’ Colum.
While the event is for credentialed media only, fans are encouraged to participate in the event through a variety of social media platforms, and follow along online with each GLVC school as they rotate through stations over the course of the 90-minute event. A complete schedule, as well as the official 2018 GLVC Football Kickoff website, will be announced on Thursday, July 19.
Media members interested in attending the 2018 GLVC Football Kickoff can apply for credentials by contacting GLVC Associate Commissioner Jeff Smith at
jeff@glvc-sports.org.
A complete list of 2018 GLVC Football Kickoff player attendees follows:
| School |
Offensive |
Defensive |
| Indianapolis |
Jake Purichia, R-Sr., QB (Indianapolis, Indiana) |
Cole Sigmund, Sr. LB (St. Louis, Missouri) |
| Lincoln |
Jamal Brown, Jr., OL (Lawrence, Kansas) |
Edwin Durassaint, Sr., LB (Pembroke Pines, Florida) |
| McKendree |
Reece Metcalf, Sr., QB (Mount Carmel, Illinois) |
Michael Tucker, Jr., LB (Chicago, Illinois) |
| Missouri S&T |
Tyler Swart, Sr., QB (Dickinson, Texas) |
Landon Compton, Sr., LB (Lamar, Missouri) |
| Quincy |
Justin Rosendahl, Jr., OL (Poplar Grove, Illinois) |
Cody Leonard, Sr., LB (Carrollton, Illinois) |
| Southwest Baptist |
Tristyn Bennett, Sr., WR (Yulee, Florida) |
Tyler Curts, Sr., LB (Bolivar, Missouri) |
| Truman State |
Tanner Hageman, Sr., OL (Fenton, Missouri) |
Bryan Edwards, Jr., LB (St. Louis, Missouri) |
| William Jewell |
Nick Fisher, So., TE (Basehor, Kansas) |
Donte’ Colum, R-Jr., DB (Merriam, Kansas) |
INDIANAPOLIS
Jake Purichia, R-Sr., QB (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Purichia enters his senior season after earning GLVC Offensive Player of the Year and unanimous All-GLVC First Team honors as a junior. The Harlon Hill Award candidate set the UIndy single-season record for passing efficiency, ranking second in DII at 186.5, and also tied the school mark with 29 touchdown passes in a season. The four-time GLVC Offensive Player of the Week helped lead the Greyhounds back to the GLVC Championship in 2017.
Cole Sigmund, Sr. LB (St. Louis, Missouri)
Sigmund returns for his final campaign on the heels of first-team All-GLVC distinction as well as two GLVC Defensive Player of the Week honors last year. He racked up a career-high 20 tackles at McKendree, good for the highest total by a Greyhound in 13 years.
LINCOLN
Jamal Brown, Jr., OL (Lawrence, Kansas)
A redshirt player in 2017, Brown is expected to be one of the leaders on Lincoln's offensive line this season.
Edwin Durassaint, Sr., LB (Pembroke Pines, Florida)
One of Lincoln's top linebackers in 2017, Durassaint finished fourth on the team with 54 tackles, 24 of which were solo takedowns. Durassaint added 4.5 tackles for loss, including a pair of sacks, and added a forced fumble, a blocked kick and a safety to his resume.
MCKENDREE
Reece Metcalf, Sr., QB (Mount Carmel, Illinois)
Metcalf started every game as the Bearcats' signal-caller last season, and continued his solid production from the end of the 2016 campaign. He threw for 1,902 yards, which was the fourth-highest season total in McKendree history. The honorable mention All-GLVC selection completed 62.8 percent of his pass attempts while throwing for 13 touchdowns. He topped the 200-yard mark in passing three times this season. On the ground, Metcalf rushed for 130 yards and four scores.
Michael Tucker, Jr., LB (Chicago, Illinois)
Tucker is poised to continue the Bearcat linebacker tradition as graduated linebacker Austin Weltha was GLVC Defensive Player of the Year and an All-American last year, just two seasons after linebacker A.J. Wentland accomplished the same feats. Tucker was fifth on the 2017 team with 53 stops, which included 3.0 tackles for loss. He helped contribute to a Bearcat defense that ranked second in the GLVC and 31st nationally in scoring defense (20.6) last year.
MISSOURI S&T
Tyler Swart, Sr., QB (Dickinson, Texas)
Swart, an honorable mention All-GLVC selection last fall, enters the 2018 season as the holder of Missouri S&T school records for passing yards (5,860) and total offense (5,538). He is coming off a 2017 season in which he completed 217-of-346 passes for 3,165 yards and 22 touchdowns and accounted for 27 scores overall as he also ran for five touchdowns during the year. Swart threw for at least 300 yards on six occasions which was led by a 374-yard effort against Northwood, while he also threw for 357 against NCAA Division II finalist West Florida and for 333 with four scoring passes against Indianapolis. He comes into the 2018 season needing just nine touchdown passes to tie the S&T career mark in that category; one of his previous 50 was an 89-yard scoring pass against Southwest Baptist that matched the third-longest pass play in school history.
Landon Compton, Sr., LB (Lamar, Missouri)
Compton, who was named second-team All-GLVC in 2017, comes into the 2018 campaign as the GLVC’s active leader in tackles with 257, including 78 a year ago. He ended the year with 5.5 sacks and 16 tackles for a loss; he is second in S&T history with 39.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. In addition, he added two pass interceptions to his resume last fall. As a sophomore, Compton finished with a team-high 94 stops and had 15 tackles for a loss during that campaign along with four sacks and an interception. The three-time All-Conference honoree also earned second-team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors last year.
QUINCY
Justin Rosendahl, Jr., OL (Poplar Grove, Illinois)
Rosendahl played all 11 games at offensive tackle last season, helping the Hawks average 134 rushing yards and 144 passing yards per game. He contributed to 14 rushing touchdowns and eight passing scores, earning second-team All-GLVC accolades for his efforts.
Cody Leonard, Sr., LB (Carrollton, Illinois)
Leonard enters 2018 having turned in one of the best defensive seasons by a Hawk. The first-team All-GLVC selection, who earned both GLVC Defensive Player of the Week and D2Football.com National Defensive Player of the Week honors last year, broke the school record for solo tackles in a single season (72) and sits fourth with 110 total tackles in a single season. He has 208 total tackles to his credit over his three-year career.
SOUTHWEST BAPTIST
Tristyn Bennett, Sr., WR (Yulee, Florida)
Bennett has seen time on both sides of the ball for the Bearcats, playing at both wide receiver and cornerback. Slated at wideout for the 2018 season, Bennett is coming off a redshirt season one year ago.
Tyler Curts, Sr., LB (Bolivar, Missouri)
Curts, a three-year starter at linebacker, has led the team in tackles in all three seasons (2014, 2015, 2017). He surpassed 100 tackles in both 2015 and 2017, while serving a medical redshirt season in 2016.
TRUMAN STATE
Tanner Hageman, Sr., OL (Fenton, Missouri)
Hageman started at right guard for all 11 games last season, helping the line move the Truman rushing attack to 175.7 yards per game on the ground with 17 rushing TDs overall. The Bulldogs ranked second in the GLVC in rushing offense and was 14th in Division II and third in the GLVC in sacks allowed. In 2016, he was credited with three starts and played at least seven contests at right guard.
Bryan Edwards, Jr., LB (St. Louis, Missouri)
A second-team All-GLVC selection at the defensive utility position in 2016, Edwards earned honorable mention accolades at the position last season. He was second on the defense in 73 tackles, 60 of which came on running plays. Edwards recovered fumbles in three straight games, including two against GLVC Champion Indianapolis. He topped over 10 tackles in two games with a high of 11 at Morningside, and finished the year with 2.5 tackles for loss, four quarterback hurries and two pass breakups. Nationally, Edwards was second in Division II in fumble recoveries with four, one behind Arkansas Tech’s KJ Reid.
WILLIAM JEWELL
Nick Fisher, So., TE (Basehor, Kansas)
Fisher appeared in nine games last season with four receptions for an average of 12.8 per catch. He scored his first career touchdown against eventual national champion Texas A&M Commerce.
Donte’ Colum, R-Jr., DB (Merriam, Kansas)
Colum saw action in three games before suffering a season-ending injury, which earned him a medical redshirt for the remainder of the year. During those three games, he registered eight unassisted tackles and nine total stops. Prior to attending Jewell, Colum won a 2016 NJCAA National Championship at Garden City Community College.