By Evan White

QU football has high expectations for this upcoming season. Despite the interference of the pandemic, the Hawks were able to hit the field last semester and put on the pads to see a preview of what to expect this season.

Tionne Harris is a sophomore quarterback for the Hawks football team. The Hawk’s offense relies heavily on him to make big plays. As some would say, he is a “stud” on the field. Harris is well known for his throwing power and to locate players down the field, but also can really turn on the burners and get down the field on his own.

“He is tough, he is good at making plays and you never know what he is going to do because he’s capable of so much so you really can’t put a limit on to what he can do,” Lazerick Hill, football player, said.

The Hawks were just under .500 in 2019 with a 5-6 overall record. The team went 2-5 in the GLVC conference and were 2-3 at home. The team toughest opponents were Truman State, University of Indianapolis, and McKendree University, who are all part of the GLVC conference.

After ending the 2019 season 5-6, which just was a one game improvement from 2018, this year’s team is very optimistic about this season’s outcome as they are entering the offseason with a new mindset to make no excuses and get done what needs to be done.

The team has faced a few challenges this off season with a couple of players being diagnosed with COVID-19 that resulted in the rest of the team having to go into a few quarantine periods.

One of the main priorities this team will be focusing on is staying sharp on and off the field. Along with staying on top of their studies, the players know that taking care of their bodies is also essential in their daily routines.

“I was able to lose 20 pounds just changing my eating habits and following the daily workout plan. We have not been able to go into the weigh room as a team as much due to the limited capacity, but any chance I get I make sure I do not waste time when I go in there. Coming from Chicago is tough, you can’t just go to a gym in the city thinking everything is going to go as planned with you just trying to work out, it can get really dangerous if you’re not keeping your head on a swivel,” Hill said.

Paul Sullivan is a junior wide receiver for the Hawks, and he weighed in on the team focus as well.

“We should be much better this year and a tougher team to beat, it’s all about our discipline on the field this year, that is usually what hurts us every year,” Sullivan said.

The spring is usually the time the Hawks would train during the off season to prepare for the actual season in the fall. This year, it is the complete opposite as they have been training in the fall to play in the spring.

The Hawks will be looking to compete on a 5-game schedule this spring starting in March. Following this short season, the Hawks will have hopes to return to their regular season schedule in the fall of 2021 with an 11-game stretch.