Stacked Coe is strong up front

CEDAR RAPIDS - No pizza, no burgers, no steaks, no beer. No anything.

Come on, Brad Boyle. If you don't hook up your big uglies up front every now and then, they're going to stop blocking for you.

"He never takes us out to eat," said left tackle Joel Brockmeyer during Coe College's football media day Monday. "He's always talked about taking us out, but he's never done it. I've heard about some Division I quarterback, I can't remember where it was, took his whole line out to eat every week.

"Then, again, they go to school for free. They can afford that kind of stuff."

Boyle was the Iowa Conference's MVP last season, leading the Kohawks to the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs. He set a D-III record by throwing his first 307 passes without being intercepted, finishing with 34 touchdowns.

That included 15 of the rushing variety, a school record for quarterbacks. Boyle returns to a club that's got obvious lofty goals for 2010, as do all five guys who protected him.

Well, six considering there was a rotation system.

"Ah, he treats us pretty good," said senior center Logan Weber, an all-Iowa Conference selection. "He thanks us when we get a good block and when we keep everybody out (of the backfield). Nothing like (food), though. I've heard of quarterbacks taking everybody out and buying them cheeseburgers and stuff. He just gives us a pat on the butt, and we go back and play some more football."

That Boyle and the Kohawks were able to accomplish what they did is in part a testament to how the offensive line was able to come together. Brockmeyer, Weber, Carington Daniel, Sam Wright and Charlie Goetzinger were all first-year starters, as was Jacob Deaton, who spelled Brockmeyer when he got injured midway through the season.

You don't often have five new offensive line starters. You don't often have six returning offensive line starters.

Coe is one of only three D-III teams to have every up-front starter back.

"They deserve all the credit," said assistant coach/offensive line coach Shaun Lehman. "They came to work every day trying to better themselves. Get better as a unit, get better individually. With them and the attitude they brought to the table, it made coaching easier and fun. So we were able to accomplish a lot and mesh as a unit."

Coe also has all four defensive line starters back, including all-conference end Frank Weymiller, who set a school record for sacks in 2009. If the Kohawks can find suitable replacements for an outstanding trio of linebackers that graduated, the defense should be good.

The whole team should be good. Real good.

"That's what we're all hoping for. To get to that national championship," Weber said.

"With all the guys returning, I think the kids are looking for bigger and better things (this season)," said head coach Steve Staker. "I think they've set their goals quite high. I just have to remind them in order to reach their goals we have to set smaller goals and take them one at a time.

"That's my job as head coach. To make sure they don't look too far ahead."