At first glance, one could make the case that the St. Thomas Tommies are set up for a down year in their fourth season as a member of the Pioneer Football League.

Leading receiver Andrew McElroy and leading rusher Shawn Shipman have moved on via the transfer portal, and their two leading tacklers, linebackers Jonathan Bunce and Jack Mohler. have graduated.

But the league’s coaches have enough faith in the Tommies to pick them to finish second in their preseason poll. And while they aren’t about to go on the record as saying as much, one can be sure that the Tommies aren’t going to celebrate with the words, “We’re No. 2.”

“It’s not something we concern ourselves about,” said senior offensive tackle Alec Rasmussen of the poll. “There’s still a lot of time before that first game is even played or we get to conference play. Just focus on getting better every single day right now.”

St. Thomas head coach Glenn Caruso talks to his team before the start of a NCAA football game against Valparaiso at O’Shaugnessy Stadium in St. Paul on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Drake, the preseason favorite, visits St. Thomas on November 9. The Tommies would like nothing better than to have the game be a showdown for the eventual conference crown. The Tommies went undefeated in the conference in 2022 and finished second last season with one loss.

“Each year brings different goals,” head coach Glenn Caruso said. “We’re never going to be satisfied until we are the best that we can be. Two years ago, I thought we were very close to being the best that that group of 110 kids could be.

“I think (the No. 2 ranking) is a great tip of the cap from the coaches in our league. But our expectations have always been bigger than our ranking, and always bigger than a win.”

The Tommies open the season at home with a Thursday night game against Sioux Falls on August 29. Their biggest non-conference test comes on September 7 when they host Northern Iowa.

With fall camp in its second week, Caruso said there are three starting positions on each side of the ball that are still undecided, along with one of the specialty spots.

But the questions go further than who is going to line up with the first units for Game 1.

“A lot of it is the intricacies of how we are going to become who we are,” Caruso said. “I firmly believe that we don’t have our identity as a team — at the earliest — until you’re a month into the season.

“I think one of my failures early in my career is that maybe I tried to force that identity and be something that we weren’t. The older I get, the more I realize we have to let these identities reveal themselves to us.

“And then work to the strengths and mitigate the weaknesses. What we still have to figure out are those soft skills. The pieces are not necessarily what my focus is, but how those pieces work together.”

The key losses at linebacker will be missed, but veteran defense coordinator Wallie Kuchinski still has a lot of talent to work with.

“The biggest thing is our connection on defense,” said graduate student defensive lineman CJ Warren. “Whether it’s on the field or off the field, we’re always together. It’s such a blessing.”

Senior linebacker David Ayeni said the defensive line will continue to be what makes the defense come together. “Our defensive line has done a phenomenal job of keeping o-linemen off our linebackers and our (defensive backs),” he said,

“I think we’re going to be the same defense we’ve been before, where we’re playing high energy, we’re playing physical. We’re playing fast and we’re sending a lot of guys to the ball.”

On offense, the Tommies will once again rely on a strong offensive line and a solid running game, Senior halfback Hope Adebayo led the Tommies with 10 rushing touchdowns last season, when he ran for 766 yards.

Caruso is most comfortable when he has three running backs he can rely on, and Gabe Abel is a solid No. 2. Caruso is confident a third option will emerge.

“Gabe is a guy who can do so many different things,” Caruso said. “We’re trying to figure out who that third guy is going to be, because there are three different guys that can help us on game day.

“The interesting one is probably not a freshman, but keep an eye on how we use Landon Reed, who is our fullback combo. Right now, he is operating at a very high level. He played his senior year of high school at 5-foot-10, 188 pounds.

“He comes to us a year later at 6-foot, 231 pounds and running a 4.67 (40-yard dash). Taking these bigger fullbacks and using them as the ‘1’ back is something we’ve done going back to 2009.”

The quarterback position is set with sophomore Tak Tateoka as the starter and Amari Powell and Michael Rostberg as the backups. Caruso said his quarterback will be asked to use his legs more than in years past — but not necessarily by rushing the ball.

“When you combine Tak’s ability to move with his arm skill is when he’s at his highest,” Caruso said. “So leaving him in the pocket to just throw is probably doing him a disservice. Amari is producing well and Michael Rostberg is in his second year after redshirting, and all three of those guys can move.

“Being able to use their lower half to find space and put stress on the defense, that’s what you’re going to see more of.”