MANCHESTER, N.H – The Saint Anselm College football program is set to open the 2023 season on the road this Thursday, August 31st against Millersville University with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. The Hawks are keen on building from last season with the help of a strong upperclassman group including nine fifth-years returning to the team.
 
"We had great leadership a year ago, and it all came together in terms of the plans set in the preseason," commented Head Coach Joe Adam. "Credit to the players who were on the team for executing and believing in what we're doing and the continuance of our strong culture. It was a fun year, a good building block for the team, and now getting a few players back we've really challenged them to forget about last year. This is a new season."
 
Fifth-year captain Vincent Wagner (Staten Island, N.Y.) said, "This is probably one of the most talented group of players that we've had on the offensive side of the ball. Not much has changed for us and we've had a lot of players step up and really buy into their roles."
 
Senior captain Will Klein (Abington, Mass.) pointed out that, "A big thing from the team last year was our communication on the defensive side. Especially on the sideline during games, I thought we did a really good job cleaning that up and taking care of the small things."

"I think Coach Adam hit on it pretty well, just consistency in the room, making sure everyone knows their actual job, and then the main thing just believing in our coach, believing what the film says and just attacking it with the proper game plan," stated fifth-year captain Taylor Pawelkoski (Bradenton, Fla.).
 
"It didn't take much to convince me to come back," commented Wagner. "We have a really great group of players and a great coaching staff. We've done a great job of buying into the program and wanting to be here."
 
"I feel like the underclassmen have done a great job of picking up the team culture that Coach Adam has instilled in us," said fifth-year captain Max Tempchin (Silver Spring, Md.). "No class outweighs the other, and we're all in this together."