Photo by Luke Zayas/True To The Cru/@lukezayas_photography
BELTON — As UMHB head coach Larry Harmon made note of on Monday, national championships are not won without the presence of a top-notch offensive line.
While at times overlooked within the ecosystem of an offense, the performance of the linemen up front plays no small role in dictating the playcalling and big-play potential of the skill players around them. The ability to “open up the playbook” isn’t always solely dependent on the accuracy of the quarterback or the vision of the running back, but also in the strengths and weaknesses of the unit tasked with protecting the quarterback from the blitz and creating gaps for the ballcarrier.
In UMHB’s Stagg Bowl title runs in both 2016 and 2018, The Cru had the ASC Offensive Lineman of the Year on its roster, with senior All-American Broderick Jenkins (2016) and senior Colton Hall (2018). Jenkins and Hall were each joined by a fellow lineman on the ASC’s All-Conference First Team in each of those seasons as well, a testament to the talent from left tackle to right tackle. The same was true in 2021, the year that Kyle King & Co. set new program single-season records for touchdown passes (48), passing efficiency (191.2), and fewest interceptions (3), while also rushing for an impressive 5.3 yards per carry. The focus was on King at quarterback, receivers K.J. Miller, and Brandon Jordan, and running back Aphonso Thomas in the backfield, but up front, center Jeffery Sims Jr. and tackle Ethan Ruckman were First Team All-ASC honorees.
All of that isn’t a coincidence. Since the early days of the program, when UMHB was running the ball over 700 times in a single season, The Cru’s offense has featured strength and skill up front.
That won’t change in 2025.
“The most improved from scrimmage #1 to scrimmage #2 was our offensive line,” Harmon, entering his fourth season as head coach, said Monday. “I thought they did a great job of improving and getting better. Coach [Matthew] Oubre has done a great job with them.”
The return of First Team All-ASC honoree Eric Teutsch is notable, as the junior guard from Canyon Lake made great strides last fall, earning a 95% offensive lineman grade through 10 games. One of two All-ASC Offensive First Teamers returning for The Cru this season, Teutsch chose to come back to Belton after garnering interest from a handful of Division I programs, and should be an anchor up front. Senior tackle Carson Gaido, a Second Team All-ASC selection, also returns following a junior season in which he saw action in all 12 games. Joseph Montez is the third key returner from 2024, as the senior guard saw action in 11 contests in his third year on the varsity roster.
The presence of Teutsch, Gaido, and Montez will no doubt be invaluable as UMHB heads into Saturday’s season opener against Bethel University. Nine offensive linemen are currently on The Cru’s varsity roster, and while the group as a whole is young and lacks game experience in some spots, Harmon spoke with optimism when asked about their development through fall camp.
“We’re still pretty young up there, but we have size and strength,” he noted. “They take pride in what they’re being asked to do. [Offensive Coordinator Stephen] Lee and Coach Oubre have done a great job of making sure that we’re calling things and using schemes that use their strengths. They’re taking pride in themselves, their unit, and they’re developing a tight bond which is really nice to see.”
As it relates to the offense’s collective success, one of the burning questions through August has been in regards to who will take the snaps behind that offensive line when UMHB steps inside Crusader Stadium in three days. Jake Wright was the name most UMHB fans recognized amongst the quarterbacks in fall camp, as the junior made eight starts in 2024, including four in the postseason. He was joined in the quarterback room by a trio of newcomers in Kirkland Michaux (Transfer from Illinois), Seth Mouser (Transfer from Kilgore JC) and Cade Horton (Transfer from Tulsa), and all indications are that the quartet pushed each other well over the course of fall camp.
Harmon confirmed that a starting quarterback has been decided upon, but didn’t reveal the coaching staff’s decision on who that will be at Monday’s press conference.
The 6 p.m. rematch against Bethel, a top-tier NAIA program that went 7-3 in 2024, will not be the first time UMHB has taken the field under the lights of Crusader Stadium in 2025. Two weeks ago, The Cru hosted UANL Autenticos Tigres, a team from Mexico’s collegiate league, for an evening scrimmage, and then followed that with a second scrimmage this past Saturday morning against Cisco College. Harmon made note of the enthusiasm in the locker room coming off both scrimmages, as UMHB put together a pair of performances that featured solid execution in all three phases of the game.
“I was really pleased with both scrimmages,” Harmon told reporters. “We’ve gone out and executed on offense, defense, and special teams. We’re still a work in progress, and we’re nowhere close to being what we can be. But there’s excitement in the locker room. We’re pretty explosive on both sides of the ball and on special teams.”
The scrimmages serve multiple purposes as Week 1 of the regular season approaches, Harmon said. From an overall team standpoint, they provide a level of “game conditioning” that is “hard to simulate in practice”, putting players through the routine of a four-quarter contest played at full speed. It also offers the chance to work out any kinks regarding playcalling from the sidelines and the rhythm of getting the special teams units assembled in anticipation of a change of possession. Of course, there is also an opportunity for the coaching staff to get a look at specific position groups and players as the varsity roster begins to take shape, providing valuable intel in a game-like atmosphere against an outside opponent, something that can’t necessarily be replicated in the same way on the practice fields.
“You get to see your players against different competition and get a really good idea if they can handle it when the pressure’s on,” Harmon added. “It’s not the absolute only thing we use [in making roster decisions], but it is definitely a valuable tool for us.”
With the roster solidified and preseason preparations in the rearview mirror, UMHB now finds itself fully immersed in the feeling of a regular season game week. While the contest against Bethel will not have bearing on The Cru’s NCAA Power Index ranking—the system used to determine playoff seeding and at-large playoff bids—it should give The Cru a playoff-caliber test right out of the gate in what promises to be an energy-filled atmosphere at Crusader Stadium.
“With playing NAIAs and D2s, at least we’re playing incredibly tough competition and full league scholarship schools,” said Harmon, whose team will face two more non-D3 opponents in Mars Hill and Texas Wesleyan later in 2025. “We should be playing against the same kind of competition that the playoffs bring, and the same quality of team and athletes.”
This article was last updated at 1:25 p.m. on Sept. 3.
