Graduation losses has left the Northwestern Lehigh football lineup looking somewhat like a piece of Swiss cheese.

Much of the starting lineup on offense, including record-setting quarterback Deven Bollinger and his entire line, are gone. There were also losses in the backfield and at wide receiver.

The defensive starting lineup was also ripped apart by graduation

That left Tiger head coach Josh Snyder and his staff with a lot of work to do during the offseason.

If having all of that work ahead of them wasn’t enough, the team lost their spring workouts to the coronavirus restrictions and have had a somewhat up-and-down feel for their fall workouts as the question of whether or not fall sports would even be played was debated.

“It certainly wasn’t the best of circumstances,” said Snyder, who led his team to a 10-2 record and a share of the Colonial League championship last season. “We just worked day-by-day. We had Zoom meetings twice a week and relied on communicating with everybody, so we knew what was going on.

“Not having spring practices really hurt us, but we’re on a good path and everybody is coming together right now. The guys are picking up the system well, so it’s all working out.”

Bollinger, widely considered the best quarterback in school history, is off to the University of Delaware where he will redshirt for his freshman season. One of Bollinger’s favorite targets last season was curent junior Justin Holmes, who pulled in 28 passes and led the Tigers receiving corps in both touchdowns (11) and yards (700). This season, Holmes will be on the other end of the passes, taking over at quarterback for Bollinger.

In front of Holmes will be a revamped offensive line that Snyder believes has excellent potential. Seniors Dan Fenstermacher (center), Owen Coffield (right guard) and Reed Conrey (tight end) will help to anchor the line.

“Coffield has been a three-year starter for us at defensive end and Conrey could have started on a lot of teams but was just stuck behind some other guys the past couple of seasons,” Snyder said. “We’ve also got Zach Fry, who started a couple games on the offensive line last season, so there is some experience for us to draw from.”

With a bunch of new faces in new places, Snyder has reworked some of the schemes on both sides of the ball for this season.

Offensively, Northwestern will likely run the ball more than they have in the recent past and take advantage of the fact that Holmes has the ability to do damage with his legs. They will also lean heavily on slot receivers like Rodda, Wyatt Ledeboer and Taylor Wikert.

Defensively, the Tigers will employ a “30” defensive formation.

Coffield will hold down his normal defensive end spot, while their will be battles for both the nose tackle and other defensive end spot on the line. Holmes and Ledeboer will work as outside linebackers with Henry holding down the middle linebacker spot. The secondary has returning starters in Wikert and Rodda. Sophomore Cade Christopher should also get a starting spot.

Ledeboer led the team with three interceptions last season and Coffield was third in sacks with 4.5.

“We’ve had to look at our personnel and adjust what we are going to do this season,” Snyder said. “We plan on throwing the ball less than we did with Deven and we’ll use some options and bootlegs and work in some misdirection to play to our strengths.”

The Colonial League portion of the schedule kicks off on Sept.25 when the Tigers travel to Bangor for the season opener. Northwestern added two games leading up to the official start of the season against Palisades and Pen Argyl. The games against Colonial League foes will count as regular season games, but not as official Colonial League games.

POSITION BREAKDOWN

QUARTERBACKS - The Deven Bollinger era is over and last year’s leading receiver will be the one stepping into Bollinger’s shoes for the 2020 football season. Justin Holmes, who threw just two passes as a varsity player, takes over the Tigers offense. Holmes’ ability to run will also be a key part of the offensive scheme.

RUNNING BACKS - Nick Henry will serve as the tailback, while Justin Rodda will be used in somewhat of a non-traditional fullback role, lining up primarily in the slot for the Tigers. Henry will play an important role in the offense to provide a successful ground game and also block on options and bootlegs.

WIDE RECEIVERS - The receiving corps is a young group with sophomore Cade Christopher and junior Ryan McDonnell serving as the wide receivers. Wyatt Ledeboer (senior) and Taylor Wikert (junior) will work as slot receivers in various sets. Tight end Reed Conrey was stuck behind other players the past couple of seasons and will get to show what he can do as a starter.

OFFENSIVE LINE - Last year’s offensive line was completely lost to graduation. Even with that, there is some experience for this year’s team. Senior Dan Fenstermacher takes over at center and three-year defensive end starter Owen Coffield will play at the right guard position. Zach Fry, made a couple of starts on the offensive line to fill in for injured players and will own the left tackle position.

DEFENSIVE LINE - Coffield reprises his starting job at one defensive end spot in the Tigers’ “30” defensive scheme. Ben Dunstan and Fenstermacher are battling for the other defensive end spot with Devon Allen-Salamonczyk and Fry fighting to see who will see the bulk of time at nose tackle.

LINEBACKERS - Holmes and Ledeboer, who led the team with three interceptions last season, will play at the outside linebacker spots with Henry in the middle. In their stack defense, Conrey and Devin Toth will be added to the mix.

SECONDARY - The secondary has some experience to draw on with Wikert and Rodda returning. Christopher will also be part of the mix.