Fans and the media still want to talk about Northwestern’s run to the state title game last year.

Tiger head coach Josh Snyder, while proud of that team and all it accomplished, doesn’t want live in the past.

“I’m anxious for this season to start just to turn that page completely,” Snyder said. “It was a special group, but we’ve got to be fair to this group. It’s their time now. It’s their time to find their identity.

“We’re going to be a different football team that’s just as explosive, that’s just as capable of making a run. It’s just about doing it and finding your identity, digging deep, taking one game at time and finding out who your leaders are as the season goes.”

Snyder knows who at least a few of the leaders are who will take over that role from graduates Dalton Clymer, Blaine Snyder, Devon Hildebrand, Daniel Jenkins and Ben Walters.

Several key players are back from last year’s team, which graduated just five seniors, including four offensive starters and five on defense.

The Tigers are bringing back quarterbacks on both sides of the ball. Junior Shane Leh is back under center, while safety Eli Zimmerman will be the QB of this year’s defense.

Leh threw for 1,816 yards and 24 touchdowns last season, while running for another 466 yards and nine scores.

“Shane is going be really good this year,” said Josh Snyder. “He had a great year as a sophomore starting 16 games. The big difference between last year and this year is his feel for the offense. He’s on the same page with me. The playbook is wide open.

“He knows where guys need to get lined up. He’s extremely accurate. His feel and grasp of the offense is really good. I think he’s up for a really good year.”

On the other side of the ball the Tigers have three all-state players returning.

Zimmerman, an all-state defensive back in 2023, set a Colonial League record with 10 interceptions. He also made 39 solo tackles, 24 assisted stops and recovered a pair of fumbles.

“He’s a special player back there,” said Snyder. “He’s our quarterback of the defense. He always gets us into the right coverage and the right position.

“He has a real knack for reading the quarterback and really driving on the ball. And he can go get it. He high-points the ball and out-efforts the offensive guys for the football. He’s a ball hawk.”

Zimmerman is an explosive punt returner who averaged 15.2 yards per return and took one for a touchdown last season. He’ll also be the Tigers’ starting running back this year after rushing for 499 yards and six scores last year.

The Tigers need to make up for the graduation of Clymer, who rushed for 1,930 yards last year. His 291 carries led the team by 229, as Leh’s 63 were second on the team, followed by Zimmerman at 52 totes.

With the strength of this year’s offensive line, the Tigers expect to be able to run the ball effectively, maybe even at will.

Three linemen return for the Northwestern offense in seniors Jared Meck (right guard), Bryer Reichard (right tackle) and Jackson Bailey (left guard).

Reichard, a two-way player who made 32 solo tackles, 54 assisted stops and a team-high 10 sacks last year, will anchor the line on both sides of the ball. Reichard also made nine tackles for loss in 2023 when he earned all-state recognition as a linebacker.

Another leader on the defensive front will be nose guard Jackson Huber, who had 16 solo tackles, 40 assisted tackles and three sacks last season.

“One of those two-gap nose guards,” Snyder said of Huber. “He can get double-teamed without being driven and at the same time make plays going up and down the line.”

Thanks to winning by the mercy rule in eight games last season, a lot of Northwestern players saw playing time on a team that went 15-1 and didn’t lose until the state final.

“We’ve got a lot of guys back with a lot of experience,” said Snyder. “You look at the mercy-rule games, the nonstarters probably played four or five full games last season. So that’s a ton of experience.”

One area that will be a question mark heading into the season, and maybe for a few weeks early-on, is the Tiger linebacking corps.

Three of Northwestern’s five graduates were starting linebackers. They accounted for more than 300 tackles last year, with inside linebackers Clymer (52 solo, 79 assisted) and Blaine Snyder (50 solo, 82) leading the team and Hildebrand (29 solo, 38 assisted) making an impact on the outside.

Junior Shane Hulmes is the top returning tackler for the Tigers and one of the team’s three returning all-state players. He will return to his middle linebacking spot. As a sophomore he made 50 solo stops and 66 assisted tackles last year. He also forced a team-high three fumbles, made seven tackles for loss and tallied 3.5 sacks.

Josh Snyder has a good idea who three of the four players are who will join Hulmes at the position, but the situation could remain fluid for a few weeks.

“We can’t just reach into a hat and pull out three all-league linebackers,” he said. “It’s going to be a work in progress. The scrimmage is going to be really important. Even as the season rolls on that could be a work in progress.”

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Northwestern Position Breakdown

QUARTERBACKS

Junior Shane Leh returns as the starter after a stellar season. He’ll have a better grasp of the offense this year, allowing the Tigers to open up the playbook a bit more. Behind him will be capable back up Mason Bollinger.

RUNNING BACKS

Eli Zimmerman will get the bulk of the Tigers’ carries, while Seth Kern will also be in the mix. The short-yardage back could also emerge to take some of the load from Zimmerman, a two-way player and special teams standout who will be on the field for nearly every meaningful snap this season.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Mason Bollinger and Landen Matson were a big part of last year’s receiving corps. They’ll be joined this year by Seth Kern and possibly sophomore Michael Legowy. Josh Wambold and Shane Hulmes will play tight end.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Three return in seniors Jared Meck (right guard), Bryer Reichard (right tackle) and Jackson Bailey (left guard). Senior Jeremiah Gornicz (center) and junior Colton Poll (left tackle) will join them.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Bryer Reichard is coming off an all-state season at end. Nose guard Jackson Huber is the team’s top returning tackler. Jared Meck, Ethan Steigerwalt, Josh Wambold, Jackson Bailey and Colton Popp are all candidates to take over at the other end position.

LINEBACKERS

Three of five graduates need to be replaced. All-stater Shane Hulmes returns in the middle. Landon Matson is back on the outside. Mason Bollinger and Josh Wambold are likely to earn two of the open spots, with Braxton Lakatosh, Brendan Miller, Evan Wagstaff and Michael Boring in the mix to earn a linebacker position.

SECONDARY

Eli Zimmerman, an all-state safety last season, returns with Seth Kern coming back on one corner back position and the other still undetermined heading into the team’s first and only scrimmage last week.