Tommies Blog: Caruso Named AFCA Division III Coach Of The Year
For the second time in four years, Glenn Caruso led the St. Thomas football program to the pinnacle of Division III football, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.
The Tommies didn't get the result they were looking for in a 49-35 loss to Mount Union. But they got back on top of the MIAC for the first time since that 2012 run, and Caruso received another national honor for the program's success in 2015. Caruso was named the Division III National Coach of the Year on Monday by the American Football Coaches Association.
It's the second time in four years Caruso has been selected. Other winners this year included Clemson's Dabo Swinney in Division I, Jacksonville State's John Grass in FCS, Adam Dorrel of Northwest Missouri State in Division II and Mark Henninger of Marian in the NAIA.
Caruso will be the first to tell you he ultimately wants a national title in St. Paul, but his success in eight years leading the Tommies speaks for itself. He has a career mark of 87-14 at St. Thomas, an average of better than 10 wins per season. That includes a 15-6 mark in the playoffs. St. Thomas has also collected four MIAC titles under his leadership. If that's not enough the chew on, the Tommies have been in the playoffs in six of the past seven seasons. From 1985 to 2007, they made just one postseason appearance.
The run to the 2012 national title game was special, but this year felt different. The way the Tommies were playing heading into the Stagg Bowl, they had a legitimate belief that they could beat Mount Union. That was especially true after soundly beating No. 2-ranked Linfield 38-7 in the semifinal round.
When St. Thomas took a 14-0 lead on Mount Union, it got many thinking this might be the year.
Regardless, the 2015 season will go down as one of the best in St. Thomas history when you look back at what the program accomplished. The Tommies managed to have one of the top offenses in the country, averaging 51.3 points and 516 yards per game. They also had one of the top defenses in the country, allowing single digits on average until Mount Union scored 49. For the year, St. Thomas allowed 12.5 points per game and 247 yards of total offense. The Tommies were one of the few defenses to allow, on average, less than 100 yards per game rushing.
Over the course of the 2015 season, St. Thomas beat eight teams that were either nationally ranked or made the playoffs by a combined 73-33.
And the future looks bright for the Tommies. They'll have a new quarterback next year as John Gould will graduate, but they'll return running back Jordan Roberts, who finished the season with 2,092 yards and 34 touchdowns. They'll also return one of their top wide receivers in Nick Waldvogel, who finished the year with 68 catches for 876 yards and four touchdowns.
Barring an incoming transfer, Alex Fenske will take over quarterback duties next fall. He appeared in 10 games this season, mostly with big leads, and had 55 completions for 882 yards and nine touchdowns.
St. Thomas will suffer other key losses on offense to graduation in Jack Kaiser, Dominic Troucollo, Charlie Dowdle, Jack Gilliland and Ryan Bradley. Troucollo was a key lead blocker at fullback in the St. Thomas rushing attack, which averaged 254 yards per game this season.
On the offensive line, the Tommies graduate Zach Brennan, Richie Donovan, Greg Kriege, Luke Marks and All-American David Simmet.
St. Thomas should feature another strong defensive attack next season. The outgoing graduates include linebacker Tim McClanahan, defensive backs Jordan Young, Trace Adams and Mozus Ikuenobe and defensive lineman Eric Sutton. The Tommies will bring back six of their top seven tacklers next fall. That list includes Steve Harrell, Bennett Celichowski, Isaac Seering, Jesse Addo, Ryan Winter and Anthony King-Foreman.
The Tommies will also need to replace Paul Graupner, one of the more reliable kickers in the country. Graupner finished the season 79-of-82 on extra points and 8-of-12 on field goals. St. Thomas has two other kickers listed on its roster, junior Ryan Anderson of Champlin Park and freshman Carter Schmitz of Germantown (Wis.).
St. Thomas should be the favorite in the MIAC next season with the returning talent. They hold spring practice before starting up a new season with lofty expectations in August.