This Week in Valpo Football: The 2026 Valparaiso University football season kicks off on Saturday afternoon as the Beacons welcome Lawrence Tech to Brown Field to start the second season of Andy Waddle's Valpo head coaching regime. This marks the first of three nonconference games and the only nonconference home game in 2026. It kicks off an 11-game regular-season slate featuring five Brown Field dates. Fans are encouraged to arrive early as Valpo rally towels will be given away upon entry, while supplies last.
 
Previously: Valpo is set to play at Brown Field for the first time since a furious Senior Day rally to beat Stetson 32-31 in overtime on Nov. 15 of last season. Valpo followed that up with a close 27-20 loss at rival Butler, but finished the season with a 2-10 overall record and 1-7 Pioneer Football League mark. The Beacons hope to build upon playing their best football late in the season in 2025 as 2026 commences on Saturday.
 
Glancing Ahead: Valpo will have a bye week next week, the first of two byes this season, before hitting the road for the first time in 2026 with a Sept. 12 visit to Murray State. Each of the team's two remaining nonconference games will be on the road against members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. 
 
Series Notes: This represents the first-ever matchup between Valpo and Lawrence Tech. 
 
Following the Beacons: Saturday's game will air on ESPN+ with Todd Ickow beginning his 36^th season on play-by-play and Valpo Athletics Hall of Famer Tom Byrne handling color commentary. The radio call of the game featuring Grayson Merchant and CJ Perez will air on WVUR, 95.1 FM Valparaiso, ValpoAthletics.com and the TuneIn Radio app. For in-game updates, follow @valpoufootball on X. Links to live video and stats can be found on ValpoAthletics.com. This season, nine of the 11 games will be on ESPN+ with the remaining two games airing on YouTube.

Scouting the Blue Devils

• Starting quarterback Ryan Schuster returns after throwing for over 2100 yards, 13 touchdowns and just one interception last season. He has thrown for over 3300 yards in 16 games over the last two years.
• Under the direction of head coach Oscar Olejniczak.
• Set to host Saint Mary-of-the-Woods next week.

Opening Up

• The Aug. 29 season opener will mark Valpo's earliest opener since also beginning on Aug. 29, 2019 at Eastern Kentucky and will match the team's earliest opener since Aug. 28, 2014 at Western Illinois.
• The Beacons will start the season at home for the second consecutive year and just the third time since 2012. This will mark the first time consecutive seasons have kicked off with a home game since 2011 and 2012.
• The Beacons will look to start the season in the win column for the second straight year. You have to go back nearly two decades for the last time Valpo started consecutive seasons at 1-0, the 2006 and 2007 campaigns under head coach Stacy Adams. 

Preseason Plaudits

• Two members of the Valpo defense – defensive back Nic Lendino and linebacker Anthony Feltrinelli – were tabbed to the Preseason All-Pioneer Football League Team by the conference office.
• Valpo was one of six teams with multiple Preseason All-PFL honorees.
• Return specialist Chris Gundy was named to the Phil Steele Preseason All-PFL First Team, while Lendino and Feltrinelli achieved Second Team status. A trio of third-team honorees rounded out Valpo's Phil Steele laurels – offensive lineman Noah Kline, tight end Colin Hayes and defensive back Mark Johnson.
• The Beacons were picked 11^th in the preseason poll. San Diego is the preseason favorite to win the league followed by Drake and St. Thomas.

A True Hero

• Team captain Mark Johnson made a selfless decision this past summer, when he agreed to donate bone marrow to potentially save the life of a 5-year-old child in Paris, France.
• Johnson learned that he was a match for the child after signing up for the national registry when he learned the touching story of head coach Andy Waddle's wife Kerry Jean, who had a rare bone marrow disease before receiving a life-saving donation from a man named Todd Spencer.
• Because of his selfless donation and his other community-service work, Johnson has been nominated for the 2026 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. He is one of 175 total nominees from across all levels of college football and one of 49 FCS student-athletes.
• The story of Johnson's bone marrow donation was told by ValpoAthletics.com, The Victory Bell, The Times of Northwest Indiana, CBS-2 Chicago and NBC-5 Chicago.

Leading the Way

• Three Valpo players were named team captains prior to the season, as voted upon by their peers.
• Senior defensive back Mark Johnson was named a captain for the second consecutive season. He started all 12 games a year ago and has appeared in 33 games over the last three campaigns.
• Redshirt junior defensive back Nic Lendino is serving as a captain this season. He was tabbed All-PFL Honorable Mention last season and has started all 23 Valpo contests over the last two years.
• Redshirt senior quarterback Rowan Keefe is the lone offensive captain. A fifth-year member of the program, Keefe was named the team's Most-Improved Player for the second time in his career last season. Keefe played in all 12 games and made nine starts at quarterback a year ago.

Roster Rundown: Nearly half of the United States are represented on the Valpo roster, as Beacons hail from 21 different states. Illinois (29) and Indiana (23) are the most represented, followed by Ohio (17) and California (10).
 
Who's Back?: The 2026 Beacons return seven starters on offense and eight on defense from last season. This comes after Valpo featured just four returning starters on offense and three on defense last season.
 
Notes Wrapping Up 2025

• The team recorded the largest comeback in program history, rallying from 24-0 down late in the third to beat Stetson 32-31 in overtime, going 4-for-4 on 2-point conversions in the game.
• Five players earned all-conference accolades, two were Freshman All-Americans and one was a First Team FCS All-American, Valpo's first since 1999.
• The Beacons also boasted a Campbell Trophy semifinalist and four Academic All-PFL selections.
• Valpo led the nation in kick return average at 27.9.
• On defense, Valpo had 70 tackles for loss, tied for the fifth most in a single season in program history.
• On offense, the Beacons completed 59.9 percent of their passes, the team's highest single-season completion percentage since 2013 and third highest in program history.
• The 2025 squad opened the season with a 67-10 triumph over Virginia Lynchburg, the program's highest point total and margin of victory since 1958.

Head Coach Andy Waddle

• Andy Waddle (57-71 overall, 2-10 at Valpo) was named the 19^th head coach of the Valpo football program on Dec. 9, 2024. He is in his second season leading the Beacons in 2026.
• A two-time Ohio Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, Waddle possesses over two decades of collegiate coaching experience including the previous 12 years as the head coach at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio.
• The Pioneers started the 2024 season 8-0, the first 8-0 start in program history. The program enjoyed a 13-game winning streak that spanned the end of the 2023 season and start of the 2024 campaign, tied for the longest in program history and the program's longest since 1920. The 13-game winning streak was at the time tied with Army for the second longest active winning streak in all of NCAA college football, behind only Division-III SUNY-Cortland's 20-game streak.
• Waddle guided the squad to a combined 16-5 record and 14-2 mark in the NCAA Division-III Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) over his last two seasons in Ohio. He successfully engineered a turnaround of the Marietta program, leading the team to a record of .500 or better in seven of the last eight years after the Pioneers had previously experienced nine consecutive losing seasons.
• When Waddle took over as the head coach at Marietta prior to the 2013 season, he inherited a program that had won three or fewer games in each of the previous six years and was coming off an 0-10 season. Before Waddle's eight-year run of sustained success that began in 2017, Marietta had a winning record just twice in a 20-year span. The program enjoyed as many winning seasons in Waddle's final eight years as head coach as it had experienced in the previous 30 years combined.
• The 2024 season culminated with Marietta's second-ever postseason appearance and first since 1973 as the Pioneers competed in the Extra Points Bowl, hosted at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. After the 8-0 start, Marietta was ranked 22nd nationally by D3Football.com and 23rd by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). The Pioneers finished the 2024 campaign ranked among national leaders in the following categories – third-down conversion percentage defense (first, .250), redzone offense (eighth, .912), total defense (10th, 236.1), sacks per game (3.18, 16th), total offense (453.9, 19th), scoring offense (40.5, 21st) and scoring defense (14.9, 23rd).
• Marietta placed 16 players on the All-OAC team in 2024 and had 101 total all-league selections during Waddle's tenure. Following the 2023 campaign, Waddle was named the OAC Coach of the Year after leading Marietta to its highest win total since 1995. Waddle earned his first OAC Coach of the Year award in 2017 after leading the Pioneers to a 6-4 mark, the team's first winning season in 11 years. During his time at Marietta, Waddle instructed 19 all-region performers, 22 All-Americans and four Academic All-Americans.
• Prior to his dozen years leading the Marietta program, Waddle spent eight seasons at Wittenberg University, where he joined the staff in 2005 as the defensive secondary coach and was promoted to defensive coordinator a year later. Wittenberg won four North Coast Athletic Conference championships and made four NCAA playoff appearances in the seven seasons with Waddle running the defense. His 2009 defensive unit led all of the NCAA in total defense (189.9) and scoring defense (8.85) and the program tied a school record with 12 wins.
• Waddle began his coaching career in 2003 at Mansfield University (Pa.) as the defensive backs coach. The NCAA Division-II Mountaineers went 8-3, a six-game improvement over the previous season, and recorded the team's first winning season in nearly 30 years. In 2004, Waddle served as the secondary coach at D-III Maryville College (Tenn.), where he helped the program win as many games as it had in the previous three seasons combined.
• An all-conference defensive back, Waddle played for two North Coast Athletic Conference championship teams and made three NCAA playoff appearances at Wittenberg. He spent two seasons at the University of Findlay prior to transferring to Wittenberg. He was redshirted during the Oilers' 1997 NAIA national championship season and was a starter the following year.
• Waddle earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from Wittenberg in 2003 and completed his master's in executive leadership from Liberty University in 2014. A native of Enon, Ohio, Waddle and his wife Kerry Jean have a daughter, Hopelyn, and a son, Spencer. The Waddles are involved with the Be The Match Bone Marrow Registry and have raised nearly $20,000 while registering over 2,000 potential bone marrow donors.

Meet the Staff

• Reed Florence – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach – In his second season at Valpo after spending the previous three seasons on Waddle's staff at Marietta, where he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
• Zach Feltrop – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach – In his second year at Valpo after spending the previous six seasons at Marietta College, serving as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach under Waddle.
• RJ Ghilarducci – Assistant Head Coach / Special Teams Coordinator / Defensive Line Coach – Is in his seventh season on the Valpo football staff.
• Terry Geiger – Wide Receivers Coach / Recruiting Coordinator – Is in his second season at Valpo after spending the previous three years on staff at Marietta, where he was the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator under Waddle.
• Peter Nank – Offensive Line Coach – Is in his second season at Valpo after spending the previous two seasons as the offensive line coach under Waddle at Marietta.
• Michael Joseph – Defensive Backs Coach – Is in his second season at Valpo. Played at Division-III University of Dubuque before going on to spend five years in the National Football League as a member of the Chicago Bears from 2018-2022 before he spent 2023 and 2024 as a member of the United Football League's DC Defenders.
• Connor Vierstra – Tight Ends Coach – Is in his second season on Valpo's staff. Graduated from Marietta College in December 2024, finishing as the program's all-time career leader in passing touchdowns, completions and pass attempts for the Pioneers.
• Weston Bridges – Running Backs Coach – Is in his first season on Valpo's staff after serving as the running backs coach at the University of Sioux Falls in 2025.
• Justin Schiets – Director of Football Operations / Defensive Ends Coach – Is in his first season at Valpo, serving as Director of Football Operations and coaching the defensive ends. Arrived at Valpo after a stint in player personnel and recruiting at Western Michigan.
• David Busch – Quality Control / Offensive Line – Is in his second season on Valpo's staff. Was a five-year starter on the Marietta offensive line from 2020 to 2024.
• Jaelon Quiero-Gordon – Quality Control / Safeties – Is in his first season serving in a quality control role and working with the team's safeties. He was a five-year football student-athlete at Marietta College under Waddle from 2020-2024 and broke into coaching by instructing the defensive backs at Ohio Dominican University.

Family Tree

• QB Marcus Brown and DB Donovan Brown are brothers.
• OL Billy Jack McCool and OL Spencer McCool are brothers.
• DB JQ Harris and LB Nathan Harris are brothers.
• DL Emmanuel Olojo's brother Jeremiah played football at Valpo in 2017 and 2018.
• QB Bo Brunner's older sister Belle golfed at Valpo from 2021-2025, uncle Brian O'Connor played baseball at Valpo from 1996-1999 before being drafted by the Houston Astros and grandfather Tom Brunner competed in track & field at Valpo from 1968-1972. His brother Tommy is a swimmer at Ball State.
• Spencer and Billy Jack's father Billy Wade McCool played football at Wake Forest (1999-2000) and Valdosta State (2000-2001) and rugby at North Texas (2001-2003).
• JQ and Nathan's uncle Robert Mathis played at Alabama A&M and for the Indianapolis Colts.
• DB Mark Johnson's father Mark played football at Vanderbilt from 1986-91.
• DL Bertrand Berry II is the son of former Notre Dame defensive end Bertrand Berry, who went on to play 12 years in the NFL for the Indianapolis Colts, St. Louis Rams, Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals. He was Second-Team All-Pro and a Pro Bowl selection in 2004.
• RB Michael Rumoro's uncle Mark Tortorice played baseball at Grand Canyon from 1982-1985 and played minor league baseball in the Oakland A's and Chicago White Sox's farm systems
• QB Nathan Downey's grandfather Jim Rucks played football, basketball and baseball at the University of Illinois from 1969-1973
• QB Johnny DiBlasio's relative Karen DiBlasio swam at Harvard and in the 1980 Olympics.
• DL Caleb Baczek's father Todd played football at Northwestern and was signed by the New York Jets.
• QB Jacob Ritter's mother played volleyball at Iowa and father played football at Michigan.
• OL Marco Morales' grandfather Jaime was a professional Bolivian soccer player in the 1960s.
• LB Floyd Watson III's uncle Kevin Watson played for the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints. 
• LS Hayden Hourany's uncle Joe Brown played football at Ohio State (1996-2000) and for the Seattle Seahawks (2001-2002).
• P Will Struyk is related to George Washington.

Did You Know? #BeaconBits

• DL Alex Goworowski has never seen Star Wars, Rocky, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones or Caddyshack.
• OL Noah Kline's extended family is so large that at one point he had a relative living in every state except Maine.
• OL Nathan Snedegar is a second-degree blackbelt in Taekwondo. 
• RB Michael Rumoro is a first-generation American.
• WR Bryson Winbush's biggest fear is big statues.
• WR Nolan Teising is named after MLB legend Nolan Ryan.
• OL Billy Jack McCool lived in the cities/suburbs in the southern United States until eighth grade, then moved with his family to a ranch in Wyoming and learned cattle ranching and horses.
• DB Kaiser Wilhelm is a self-taught gymnast.
• DL Caleb Baczek can play the harmonica.
• OL Marco Morales created and ran his high school's "Barstool" account that has 1,300+ followers. This account was used to promote his high school's athletics in a fun way that was up to date with current trends/memes and also updated fans/parents on schedules and game times.
• WR Robbie Spang is a student senator and a Christ College (honors college) student at Valpo.
• WR Isaac Tran had eight surgeries in a five-year span.
• DB JD Friday is a pro Fortnite player.
• DB Colten Tripp scored a 4 on the AP U.S. History exam.
• RB Niko Kokosioulis can play the piano and ukulele.
• RB Russell Tye did not start playing football until high school.
• RB Elijah Rose has 14 siblings.
• DL Mac McCormick grew up on a farm.
• LB Floyd Watson III was born on Leap Day, Feb. 29.
• DL Alex Prine had a close encounter with a black bear in Canada.

Player-by-Player Quick Hits – Projected Offensive Starters
*Based on two-deep, starters subject to change

• QB #2 Rowan Keefe, R-Sr. – Team captain… Named the team's Most-Improved Player for the second time in his career in 2025… Earned 2025 Academic All-PFL Second Team honors… Enters the 2026 season having made 15 career starts at quarterback including multiple starts in each of the last three seasons… Completed 17 passes or more in each of his final four games of the 2025 season.
• LT #74 Mason Knoch, R-So. – Played in 11 games on Valpo's offensive line in 2025.
• LG #63 Cooper Bothwell, R-Jr. – Played in 10 games on Valpo's offensive line in 2025 after transferring from Marist.
• C #56 Justin Hemmersbach, R-So. – Played in nine games and made eight starts on Valpo's offensive line in 2025.
• RG #79 Austin Lambert, R-Jr. – Played in three games on Valpo's offensive line in 2025. 
• RT #70 Noah Kline, Sr. – Named to the 2026 Phil Steele Preseason All-PFL Third Team… Enters the 2026 season having started 32 consecutive games on Valpo's offensive line.
• TE #11 Colin Hayes, R-So. – Named to the 2026 Phil Steele Preseason All-PFL Third Team… Was on the receiving end of two successful 2-point conversion passes in the Nov. 15, 2025 win over Stetson, one at the end of regulation and one in overtime. In both scenarios, Valpo would have lost the game if he did not catch the pass.
• WR #13 Marty O'Keeffe, R-Jr. – Played in 12 games and made one start in 2025, hauling in six catches.
• WR #17 Devin Yeats, R-Sr. – Caught a touchdown pass with all zeros on the clock as part of an untimed down that helped the team force overtime in the Nov. 15, 2025 victory over Stetson. 
• WR #9 Chris Gundy, R-Sr. – Had 19 catches for 276 yards and a touchdown in 2025 including a career-high 108 receiving yards on five catches on Oct. 25 vs. Morehead State… Has played in 32 career games entering the 2026 season.
• RB #20 Michael Rumoro, So. – Played in nine games and made two starts as a true freshman in 2025… Had 137 rushing yards on 34 carries plus eight receptions for 51 yards in 2025.

Player-by-Player Quick Hits – Projected Defensive Starters
*Based two-deep, starters subject to change

• DE #15 Gabriel Batres, R-Jr. – Was named the PFL Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 31 after a three-sack performance against Virginia Lynchburg.
• DT #91 Garrett Risley, Sr. – Played in eight games and made one start for Northeastern State in 2025.
• DT #99 Emmanuel Olojo, R-Fr. – Named to the team's Scout Team Player of the Year while redshirting in 2025.
• DE #42 Alex Goworowski, R-Sr. – Played in all 12 games and made 11 starts in 2025… Blocked a PAT on Oct. 11, 2025 vs. Dayton.  
• LB #1 Max Samuel, R-Jr. – Started the first four games of the 2025 season before missing the rest of the year due to illness.
• LB #51 Anthony Feltrinelli, R-So. – 2026 Preseason All-PFL Team pick… Named a Freshman All-American by Stats Perform FCS, FCS Football Central and Phil Steele in addition to earning All-PFL Honorable Mention status in 2025.
• LB #19 Connor Cervantes, R-Jr. – Played in 10 games and made nine starts in 2025, starting each of the final eight games of the season.  
• CB #0 Nic Lendino, R-Jr. – Team captain… 2025 Preseason All-PFL Team… All-PFL Honorable Mention and the team's Defensive Player of the Year in 2025… Finished 12^th in the PFL and second on the team with 86 tackles, averaging 7.2 per game in 2025.  
• S #3 Mark Johnson, Jr. – Second-year team captain… Phil Steele Preseason All-PFL Third Team… Became the first Valpo player with an interception, forced fumble and fumble recovery in the same game in over two decades on Nov. 1, 2025 at No. 25/22 Presbyterian.
• S #22 Jason Salman, Jr. – Played in nine games in 2024 at Marietta College under head coach Andy Waddle, then played in 12 games and made five starts with the Beacons in 2025. 
• CB #8 O.C. Nurse, Sr. – Played in 12 games and made 11 starts last season, totaling 24 tackles including a season-high eight on Oct. 18 at St. Thomas.  

Specialist Quick Hits – Projected Starters

• K #26 Luke Scoma, R-So. – Played in all 12 games and made five field goals in 2025.
• P #88 Will Orlando, Fr. – Set the Indiana High School state championship record for punting average at 46.7 with a long of 53 in the 2025 state title game.
• RS #9 Chris Gundy, Sr. – Phil Steele First Team Preseason All-PFL at return specialist… Led the PFL in kick return average at 28.6 in 2025.