New UNI football coach Todd Stepsis enjoying spring when ‘it’s just us’

Todd Stepsis is going through his first spring as the Northern Iowa football coach.

So far, so good.

“If you had to ask me what my favorite time of year is, this might be it,” he said during a recent news conference in Cedar Falls. “It’s just football.”

Stepsis, who coached Drake to 16 wins and back-to-back FCS playoff appearances the past two years, said after the season there is kind o a “long lull” waiting for spring to finally get here.

Now, however, “you get to focus really on the teaching of the game. Getting a chance to hone in on fundamentals.

“It’s just us,” he said. “The opponent is us.”

While Iowa and Iowa State wrap up spring drills this week, UNI will hold its spring game May 3 at 1 p.m. at Cedar Falls High School because of UNI-Dome renovations.

The event is free event open to the public.

UNI is coming off a 3-9 season, including a 1-7 record in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Panthers have not made the FCS playoffs since going 6-5 in 2021, losing to Eastern Washington in the first round.

Stepsis said the players “embracing the new.

“There’s a lot of joy out there,” he said “There’s a ton of potential there. Mistakes are going to happen, but the effort is there.”

His biggest takeaway early is “they love football. That’s one thing that is very evident.”

Stepsis is working with six quarterbacks, according to the roster, and said “the quarterback room is solid.”

That list includes last year’s starters — Matthew Schecklman and Aidan Dunne. Both played in nine games last season, Schecklman passing for 1,276 yards and Dunne 955. Both completed around 60 percent of their passes. Schecklman had a 134.07 QB rating, Dunne 132.58.

Jaxon Dailey, Cale McThenia, Jayce Nixon and Kaz Rebarcal are the other QB on the roster.

Stepsis said he is not ready to name a starter and said the coaches are “mixing and matching” them with different groups.

The main thing, right now, is learning what this staff wants to team to look like.

“We have a chance to be very solid on offense,” he said. “(But) having a pecking order at this point doesn’t make much sense.

“You’d like to know who the main guy is. I do think, that room in general, there’s not a bad athlete in that group. I think you can do some neat and creative things.”

By fall camp, he said, “I think I’m going to know.”

The Panthers open the season Aug. 30 at home against Butler.

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