St. Francis De Sales Football Preview
There are some Toledo schools with a ton of intrigue and one of those schools is St. Francis De Sales. St. Francis is going through a big change this offseason and yet despite all of the change they feel very…
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Continue ReadingThere are some Toledo schools with a ton of intrigue and one of those schools is St. Francis De Sales. St. Francis is going through a big change this offseason and yet despite all of the change they feel very excited and have a ton of optimism.
They will be without former coach Dan Chipka. Chipka was a Bluffton University grad who had a plethora of experience in multiple different levels and with St. Francis. But, the reason for optimism is a pretty good reason. That reason is none other than the new Interim Head Coach, Bruce Gradkowski. If you’ve been around football in the past 15 years, especially here in the Toledo area, you know who that is. Gradkowski was a 8 year NFL QB. Gradkowski spent time with the Buccaneers, Browns, Raiders, Bengals, and the Steelers. He’s bringing great knowledge of the game with the most experience an HS coach could have.
On the field, they will be led by MLB Dominic Arnold. Arnold is the heart and soul of that defense and is the signal-caller. He comes in at 5’10” and 185 lbs. He’s decent in the run support game and has been taught well when it comes to fighting through a block. He can close the gap and cover ground in a hurry. He doesn’t always know what he’s seeing and you can see the double guessing sometimes. It’s never hurt him but it obviously could. It is just something the right position coach in college can clean up. He’s able to play in coverage and covers a lot of field on the backend as well.
St. Francis is looking forward to getting the season up and running with QB Dayven Kizer. Kizer is a dual-threat with QB who is always a threat to run. He has a decent enough arm to get the ball the distance. He’s not always the most accurate and when he has any pressure in his face he struggles. He’s best on the move because he always makes something happen. He has a very pretty 5-step drop when he has a clean pocket. Kizer is a playmaker and St. Francis is relying on him to have a big year.
St. Francis is in an interesting spot as they head into the year. An interim head coach with NFL experience and a very raw QB in Kizer. Those 2 could be the perfect match, and if they are, you can expect them to make a push deep into the playoffs. The talent is there on both sides of the ball, they just need the right coach to help make it happen.