ST. CHARLES – It was a season of great highs and chasmic lows for the Lindenwood football team last fall.
Brilliant performances at Appalachian State and against conference champion Tennessee Tech placed the Lions in position to pull off upsets late in the fourth quarter.
Miscue-filled performances at St. Thomas and Western Illinois produced head-scratching, disappointing losses.
The team’s 6-6 overall record was indicative of a team capable of beating or losing to anybody.
“I think there were games last year where we played to the level of the team we were playing,” senior linebacker Jacob Waller said. “The lessons we all learned are to never underestimate a team, don’t take anything for granted and that every day matters.”
The Lindenwood football team is hoping to apply those lessons in 2026, starting with a crucial opening game against conference rival Charleston Southern at 6 p.m. Thursday, August 27 at Harlen Hunter Stadium in St. Charles.
Despite not returning their starting quarterback, the Lions were ranked third in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll, just below Tennessee-Martin and Southeast Missouri, two teams Lindenwood defeated last season.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” Lindenwood coach Jed Stugart said of the preseason ranking. “You’re grateful there’s people that look at you that way, but in the same way, the people ranked below us will be using that as psychological warfare all fall camp. It all comes down to how prepared you are by taking one practice at a time and bringing your team together.”
The team will rally around new starting quarterback ‘Pops’ Battle, who served as the backup quarterback the previous two seasons. Battle, who produced record-breaking passing numbers at East St. Louis High, will assume the keys to the Lindenwood offense having completed only one pass for nine yards in his collegiate career.
“Any time you have a young quarterback, our job is to put him in situations where he can use his abilities, without us throwing everything at him at once,” Stugart said.
Battle will be helped by an experienced offensive line that includes Gavin Hulet, who spent time in Indianapolis Colts mini-camp before being granted eligibility to return to Lindenwood for a final year.
The wide receiver room is also a strength, despite the loss of leading pass-catcher Rico Bond, who transferred to Ohio University. Big-play threat Jalen Smith caught 40 passes for 771 yards and four touchdowns last season, averaging a robust 19.3 yards per reception. Summit alum Drew Krobath had 28 receptions for 492 yards and two scores.
But the strength of the offense should be the running game, led by MICDS alum Steve Hall, who burst onto the collegiate scene with an electric freshman season. Last year as a sophomore, Hall amassed 639 yards and eight touchdowns, despite being hampered by an ankle injury that caused him to miss time.
“Even though we lost a couple guys on offense, we retooled and we still have a lot of depth,” Hall said. “The returners are there to support the guys who are in new roles and make them feel comfortable.”
Lindenwood has a stable of seven quality running backs, including Ladue graduate Jared Rhodes, who led the Lions with 651 yards rushing last year. Seniors Robert Giaimo and Noah Triplett add to a talent-rich backfield.
“The running game is really something we want to focus on, and that will help Pops a lot,” Stugart said.
On defense, Waller leads an experienced front seven that is teeming with depth. Waller had 89 tackles last season, including 17 in the meeting with Charleston Southern, and led the Lions with 8.5 tackles for loss. He knows the importance of staying focused and hungry throughout a long season.
“The intensity at practice and during workouts translates onto the field. By Week 8 and Week 9, practices might feel routine or mundane, but it requires you to raise your intensity level,” Waller said.
He will be joined at linebacker by Caelum Jones, Zach Lewis and others who make that position one of the deepest on the team.
“When you get to where it’s getting hard to make decisions about who to start in these various positions, that’s a good problem to have. We feel like we can have a a lot of great rotation without dropping off at all,” Stugart said.
The defensive line is also a position of strength, with St. Charles native and Lutheran High graduate Ashtin Rustemeyer clogging up the inside and defensive ends Zach Neilsen and Jesse Smith taking care of the edges. Smith is coming off a foot injury that forced him to miss the final seven games last season.
“I’m anticipating that Jesse Smith will be a very impactful player this year,” Stugart said. “We didn’t really get to see a whole lot of him the last part of the season, but looking at him this year, he’s a guy who’s going to be hard to stop.”
He added, “I think what I’m most excited about this year is our front seven.”
The secondary will be led by fifth-year senior Eric Gant, who like Hulet, was granted an additional year of eligibility. Gant finished third in tackles (49) and first in passes broken up (12) last season. The rest of the secondary is relatively new and has shown outstanding ball skills during the preseason, as the defense hopes to improve upon the three interceptions it produced last year.
“The new players in the secondary are so coachable, and I feel like we’ve improved a little bit skillfully. We’re making more plays in practice than we did last year,” Stugart said.
Special teams, which produced game-altering plays both positively and negatively last season, should be more consistent.
After a tough opening week, kicker Will Graham went 5-for-6 on field goal attempts to close out the season and earned preseason All-Conference recognition this year. Christopher Bennett averaged over 10 yards per punt return and was instrumental in changing field position.
“I’m excited about this team,” Stugart said. “I’m never one to predict how the season will go until you get out there and play football games. All you can do is find out little indicators, and I like where our team is at right now in terms of leadership and maturity.”
Lindenwood, which lost its opener to St. Thomas last season after demolishing the Tommies 64-0 a year earlier, will not underestimate a familiar opponent Thursday when OVC-conference rival Charleston Southern visits Hunter Stadium to begin the season.
“Our guys are excited to start off with a conference game right off the bat, and I’m sure Charleston Southern would say that their guys are juiced up too. It’s an extra motivator for everybody,” Stugart said.
He added, “It’s the first time we’ve started the season at home in quite a while. Thursday night game, I think it’s going to be a great atmosphere.”
*Update: Due to a recent ruling by an appellate court, Gavin Hulet and Eric Gant (and others throughout the college football landscape) were denied the 5th year of eligibility they were once granted.
To learn more about the Lindenwood football tradition of ‘Burning the Wood’ after victories, click the video below.