GAME 1
RMU (0-0) @ Air Force (0-0)
Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023 • 1:00 p.m.
Falcon Stadium (46,692) • Colorado Springs, Colo.
 
TV: Altitude Sports
Talent: Vic Lombardi (pxp), Ted Sundquist (color) & Katy Winge (sideline)
Audio: RMU Athletics Gameday App
Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp)
Twitter: @RMU_Football • Instagram: RMU_Football
 
Slant Routes
 
- The RMU football team opens its 2023 season and 30th year of NCAA Division I football Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff against the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., at Falcon Stadium.
 
- The Colonials are led by Bernard Clark, Jr., who is in his sixth season at the helm of the program. In his first head coach position, Clark was named the 2019 Northeast Conference (NEC) Co-Coach of the Year and owns an overall record of 13-34 (.277).
 
- Clark was inducted into the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame presented by AutoNation, joining Dewey Selmon (Oklahoma) and Grant Wistrom (Nebraska) as part of the Class of 2022. The trio were honored at the annual AvMed Orange Bowl Coaches Luncheon presented by AutoNation Dec. 29, 2022, at Jungle Island and were recognized in an on-field ceremony at the 89th Capital One Orange Bowl Dec. 30, 2022, at Hard Rock Stadium.
 
- RMU returns 16 starters and 38 letterwinners from 2022. Of the 16 returning starters for the Colonials to return in 2023, 10 are atop the two-deep for Saturday's game @ Air Force. Included among that group are four on the offensive line. Juniors Luke Beltavski (center) and Dante Thompson (left guard) will get the nod against the Falcons, as will seniors Hayden Baron (right guard) and Diego Turcios (right tackle).
 
- A total of three Colonials were named to the 2023 Big South-OVC Association Watch List, which came as part of Big South-OVC Association Media Day in Nashville, Tenn., at the Sheraton Music City Hotel. Garnering the plaudits for RMU were senior linebackers Joe Casale and Jamar Shegog and fifth-year punter George Souders III. Casale was named to the 2022 All-Big South Second Team, while Shegog earned a spot on the 2021 All-Big South Second Team as well as the HERO Sports 2020-21 Freshman All-America Team.
 
- The Big South and Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) announced Feb. 20, 2022, the creation of an association of their football member institutions to begin with the 2023 NCAA Division I season and have an initial term of four years. The unique agreement combines the football membership of the two conferences to ensure NCAA championship access and stability. Selected as the 2023 preseason favorite for the inaugural Big South-OVC Association in a vote of league head coaches was Southeast Missouri State.
 
- Earrning his first RMU start at quarterback Saturday against the Falcons is redshirt sophomore Tyler Szalkowski. A transfer from UAlbany and a native of Rochester, N.Y., Szalkowski has completed two of his four passes in four career games for 28 yards and a touchdown. His lone career touchdown pass was a 19-yard strike that capped the scoring for the Great Danes in a 59-14 win over Stony Brook (10/29/22).
 
- RMU returns home to Joe Walton Stadium to host its first game of the 2023 season Saturday, Sept. 9, by welcoming in-state rival Saint Francis for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff after taking on Air Force Saturday.

AIR FORCE LINKS
- RMU Two-Deep
- Audio
- 2023 Schedule
- RMU Athletics Gameday App
 
The All-Time Series (Air Force) – The Colonials and Falcons have never squared off on the gridiron, as Air Force is one of five programs on the 2023 schedule RMU has never faced. The Colonials have also never played Lynchburg (9/23), Tennessee Tech (10/28), Southeast Missouri (11/4) and Eastern Illinois (11/18).
 
The Anchor – Senior Hayden Baron is the anchor of the RMU offensive line as the Colonials open their 2023 season Saturday at Air Force. A fixture at right guard, Baron has started 24 consecutive games on the offensive line for RMU and was named to the 2022 Big South All-Academic Team. A cybersecurity major, Baron has maintained a 3.87 cumulative grade point average (GPA) during his time with the Colonials.
 
The Middle – Returning to the starting lineup at middle linebacker for the Colonials in the 2023 season opener @ Air Force is redshirt senior Joe Casale. In nine games last season, Casale finished with a team-high 70 tackles, including 42 of the solo variety. He missed the final two games of the 2022 season due to injury. In 40 career contests at the NCAA Division I level, Casale, who posted four games in double figures for stops last season, owns 134 career takedowns, including 80 solo tackles.
 
On The Flanks – Redshirt senior Jamar Shegog and redshirt junior Tony Brown will flank Joe Casale at linebacker Saturday @ Air Force, as Brown appeared in all 11 games for the Colonials last season and finished with 69 tackles. Shegog, meanwhile, missed the early part of the 2022 season due to a knee injury. He rehabbed and returned for the final five games of the year, racking up 25 tackles, including 13 solo takedowns. Combined, the starting linebacker corps of Tony Brown, Joe Casale and Jamar Shegog combined for 164 tackles in 2022.
 
Firecracker – To get ready for the 2023 season, redshirt senior linebacker Jamar Shegog entered the Brentwood Firecracker 5K in Pittsburgh, Pa., on the Fourth of July. Shegog navigated the 40th annual 3.1 mile jaunt in a time of 27:03 to finish in the top third of the 1,686 participants. Shegog enters the 2023 campaign with 132 career tackles in 19 games in an RMU uniform, the most by a student-athlete that has spent his entire career with the Colonials. Included among his career numbers are 67 solo stops, two-and-a-half sacks and two forced fumbles.
 
In The Trenches – While Hayden Baron has started 24 consecutive games for RMU on the offensive line, he has plenty of veteran presence joining him in 2023. Juniors Luke Beltavski and Dante Thompson as well as senior Diego Turcios each were members of the starting lineup for all 11 games last year for RMU. Turcios moves from left tackle and will start at right tackle Saturday @ Air Force, with senior Riley Kemper getting the nod at left tackle. Beltavski, meanwhile, gets the call at center and as an engineering major has compiled a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.94.
 
The Third – Returning for the Colonials as the starting punter is grad student George Souders III, who has anchored the RMU special teams for years. Also serving as the holder for kicker Jayson Jenkins, Souders has amassed 6,993 career yards on 193 attempts, an average of 38.2 yards per punt. During the 2022 season, Souders established a career high in punting yards (3,060), posting seven punts of 50 yards or longer and pinning 22 inside the 20-yard line of opponents.
 
The Weapons – Quarterback Tyler Szalkowski will have plenty of options at the skill positions entering the 2023 season. The lone holdover in the receiving corps from a year ago is senior Parker Fetterman, who caught 21 balls for 241 yards and a touchdown. Three new receivers dot the starting lineup Saturday, including redshirt senior Connor Becker and redshirt sophomore Noah Robinson at wide receiver and junior Landen Lucas at tight end. Becker is a transfer from Stetson, while Robinson played previously at Old Dominion. Lucas, meanwhile, is a native of Modesto, Calif., and played at Fresno City College last year.
 
Still On Top – The program's first running back, Tim Hall (1994-95), spent two seasons with the Colonials and during his career rushed for 2,908 yards. He accomplished the feat on 393 carries, an average of 7.40 yards per attempt. That total remains No. 1 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) record book (minimum 350 rushes) entering the 2023 season, a span that hits 27 years this fall. Matt Cannon of Southern Utah sits second with an average of 7.25 yards per carry thanks to 5,489 yards on 757 attempts.

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