St. Thomas set to start season with sophomore quarterback leading the way
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Entering its third season of Division I football, it makes sense that St. Thomas's team is very young. But last year's Pioneer League Championship group was even younger. Call it youthful experience or whatever you want.
"Very weird," is how Tommies head coach Glenn Caruso describes the amount of experience the still youthful team has. "That's the best way to describe it. Usually by the time your offensive line has 60 collective starts among them, they're fifth year seniors, they're not juniors."
The Tommies have a new starting quarterback. Amari Powell is a sophomore from California and is the most experienced passer on the roster. He has all of three college completions.
"Of course it's natural to be nervous," said Powell. "It's natural to be excited. But at the end of the day focus is my biggest thing. Just be able to go out there, give the ball to my guys, inspire a lot of people, lead."
Catching passes from Powell will be FCS All American Andrew McElroy.
"He's a great dude. I love Amari," said McElroy. "He's been throwing the ball real well. It's been great being able to throw with him all practice and all fall camp."
The Tommies still don't have postseason eligibility until 2026, despite their conference prowess.
"That's more like one of those 'control the controllables'," said McElroy. "So, we just play our game, as many games as they give us. And we do what we can with what we can."
A year ago, the Tommies were undefeated except for week one. A new season starts this week. UST hosts D-II Black Hills State at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
"It's my mom's birthday on Saturday so I'm super excited to go out there," said Powell.
