KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Northwest Missouri State is the defending Division II national champion, has played in five consecutive national title games and has 18 returning starters.

So the fact that UNO was picked to finish second in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association by league coaches probably isn't too bad.

“Preseason, that is probably as close as we're going to get,” University of Nebraska at Omaha coach Pat Behrns said.

Behrns and the rest of the league's football coaches met with members of the media on Monday to discuss the upcoming season.

While league coaches predicted the Mavericks to lead the pack of those chasing Northwest Missouri, the media picked UNO to finish fourth, behind Northwest, Washburn and Missouri Western. The preseason expectations are an improvement from last year, when the media picked UNO fourth, but the coaches foresaw a sixth-place finish. UNO went 7-5 overall, but was part of a four-way tie for second place at 6-3 in the MIAA and won the league's tiebreaker system to earn a trip to the Kanza Bowl, where it lost to West Texas A&M.

So Behrns, with eight starters back on offense and 16 overall, approaches the preseason projections with both satisfaction and expectation.

“There's a lot out there for us to do,” he said. “It's always hard to figure out what to say about being selected No. 2. I'm looking forward to the day that we'll be selected to win it. Our goal is to compete for a conference championship, and I don't think we've really done that (in two MIAA seasons) to this point. You don't do it until you beat the big boys. Hopefully we're closer.”

The Mavs, who open the season Sept. 4 against the University of Nebraska at Kearney, could make major strides if they open by posting wins in their first five home games. Included in that stretch is the Sept. 18 league opener with Northwest. UNO plays four of its final six games on the road.

“Hopefully the schedule will give us a chance to get off to a good start,” Behrns said. “To compete for a conference championship, we'll have to. Then by the time we get on that road trek, hopefully we'll be a good enough football team that it won't matter. Plus — and I'm not sure I want to say this — I like where we have to go. Those are good places to play.”

Road games are Oct. 9 at Washburn, Oct. 23 at Central Missouri, Oct. 30 at Pittsburg State and the regular-season finale Nov. 13 at Truman State. Washburn, Central and Pitt State are considered to have some of the league's top game-day atmospheres.

Told that Truman State isn't really considered an exciting road venue, Behrns had a ready answer.

“We got beat there last time (in 2008),” he said. “Plus by then we'll either be in it, or out of it. If we're in it, we'll have a chance to play well.”

UNO opens practice Aug. 12 and will have seven fewer practices than in previous seasons because of new NCAA legislation. Despite all of the returning experience, Behrns still considers UNO a team that needs a lot of work.

“As young as we are, I'd like to have those practices, but we'll find a way,” he said. “You've just got to do the best you can.”

Despite the returning experience on offense, one glaring open spot is at quarterback, where third-year sophomore John Teigland and fourth-year junior Jon Daniels enter fall camp on even terms and set to split reps with the No. 1 offense for as long as it takes to determine a starter. Teigland started one game last season when Greg Wunderlich was injured, while Daniels redshirted after transferring from a junior college. Behrns won't rule out using both regularly.

Levi Terrell returns at tailback after rushing for 1,182 yards in just more than seven games as a true freshman. Behrns hopes for even better things from wide receiver Brian Miller, who caught 45 passes for 700 yards as a redshirt freshman. Miller heads a young but experienced group — all 10 Mavs who caught seven passes or more are back, including four wideouts who played as freshmen. Added to that mix is talented junior college transfer Marques Parker, the one-time Texas Christian recruit from Omaha Westside.

UNO's Division II All-America candidate at tight end, Mike Higgins (50 receptions, 848 yards, nine touchdowns), should share playmaking responsibilities in the Mav offense. Up front, four of the five starters return in the offensive line.

Behrns said the defense needs strong contributions up front from nose guard Kent Fleming and multi-position lineman Kevin Ehlers, with an infusion of depth from freshmen. A young group of defensive backs must fill in around safety Danny Pelster and cornerback Bruce Harris, while the linebacking corps — while deep — is moving forward without leading tackler Bobby Stroup and potential starter Evan Martin, who both left the program.

“We're young in the secondary and young at linebacker,” Behrns said. “I still think we're young at wide receiver, even though they've all played.

“But I like our attitude, I like our enthusiasm, I like our ability, and I like our talent level.”

UNO adds, subtracts from roster

Among the recent offseason shuffling in the UNO football program are the departure of starting fullback Brett Bohuslavsky and the addition of several transfers, including two from the Nebraska program.

Behrns said Bohuslavsky decided to end his football career. The Mavericks use a fullback less than half the time, usually opting for multiple receiver or multiple tight end sets. Bohuslavsky caught three passes and rushed two times each of the past two seasons.

In his absence, the Mavs will convert Aaron Konicek from wide receiver to fullback to compete with former safety Josh Tietsort and redshirt freshman Ryan Maloley. Konicek, 6-foot-1 and 228 pounds, caught 10 passes for 101 yards last season as a sophomore, starting early in the season and playing regularly all year.

Joining the program from Nebraska are tight end Damon Bechtold of Omaha Westside and outside linebacker Zach Ruiz of Beatrice. Other transfers include former North Dakota cornerback Delano Saporu, former Dana College offensive lineman Andrew Schneider of Omaha Roncalli and linebacker Shane Lowman of Diablo Valley (Calif.) College.

Contact the writer:

444-1027, rob.white@owh.com

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