HAVRE — During Thursday's football media day for the Frontier Conference, every team was represented by their head coach and select student-athletes.
Montana State-Northern was picked to finish last in the preseason coaches poll, but head coach Jerome Souers believes this upcoming season could be a 'pivot year.'
"It's going to be an interesting fall and it's been successful already from the standpoint of just generating the kind of numbers we need," Souers said.
The third-year coach has already seen positive change.
"Last year we played with 58 (players)," Souers said. "This year we'll have 100. So, we're building the football program in depth and we're starting to gain some experience, and so we expect to see improvements in year three for us."
In the past two seasons, the team has a combined record of 1-19. A player who's been through that is junior linebacker Lucas Thacker.
He said he's grateful for the new players coming in.
"These guys coming in, they're not just guys, they're great guys," Thacker said. "Coach always harps on camaraderie, that's one of our core values, and I really see that building."
The team has also seen some key changes over the offseason.
"Chad Germer joins us from the University of Montana, he's coaching our offensive line and is our offensive coordinator," Souers said. "Dave Sandau is another Montana guy that joins us, and he's coaching our quarterbacks."
Northern welcomes in grad transfer quarterback Zach Brooks from Dakota State to lead the new offense.
"I entered in January," Brooks said. "I was able to get a full spring and full offseason with the guys lifting and working out."
The team still needs to piece things together, and while Souers isn't sure what to expect, he's excited to see it fall in place.
"It's hard to say how fast everybody is going to come together and how quickly we can be productive," Souers said. "But I'm excited to see what that result may look like."
The Lights begin play Aug. 31 on the road against Mayville State.
