DAVID HUGHES: Marian to provide big, burly opposition for SMWC football in MSFA

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Some say “size matters,” but how much girth do you need to succeed in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics football?

After playing four seasons of sprint football, which caps each player’s weight at 190 pounds, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College — the two-time Midwest Sprint Football League champion and two-time MSFL runner-up — will find out what it’s like to compete with the “big boys” of the Mid-States Football Association this season.

To nobody’s surprise, the Marian University Knights were picked as preseason favorites to capture the MSFA Midwest League title by the league’s six head coaches, the organization announced last weekend.

The Knights received the maximum number of votes with five, as teams are not permitted to vote for themselves.

Olivet Nazarene placed second with the other first-place vote. Saint Xavier, St. Francis (Ill.), Judson and SMWC rounded out the Midwest League poll.

On the Mideast side, Indiana Wesleyan was voted the league favorite with the maximum five first-place votes. Taylor and Saint Francis (Ind.) tied for second, with the Trojans receiving the other first-place selection. Defiance, Lawrence Tech and Madonna rounded out the Mideast poll.

Last season, Marian (located in Indianapolis) lost its opener to NCAA Division II school Indianapolis. Then the Knights won their next eight games and plus two more regular-season games and one NAIA playoff game that were later ruled forfeits because of a self-reported inadvertent use of an ineligible player.

So on paper, Marian ended up 8-4. On the field, the Knights were 11-1.

Marian has won nine MSFA league championships since 2011, the most during that span. The two-time NAIA national champions will open up their 2026 MSFA Midwest League slate with Olivet Nazarene at Ascension St. Vincent Field on Oct. 17.

One of those five head coaches who voted for Marian was SMWC’s Blaine Powell, who’s currently preparing his Pomeroys for the MSFA.

The Woods’ season opener will be Sept. 5 at non-Midwest League foe Lawrence Tech in Southfield, Mich. Its home opener at brand-new McMahon Field will be Sept. 19 against Saint Francis (Ind.), starting at 1 p.m.

Oct. 3 will mark the Pomeroys’ homecoming against Madonna (the NAIA university in Michigan, not the famous pop singer). That clash also will kick off at 1 at McMahon Field.

Although those three opponents — plus two others early in the season — are members of the MSFA Mideast League, those results won’t count in the league standings. Midwest League battles will begin for SMWC on Oct. 17 when St. Xavier (Ill.) visits McMahon Field for a 1 o’clock matchup.

Then coach Ted Karras Jr.’s Marian squad will come to McMahon Field the following Saturday, Oct. 24, for a 1 p.m. showdown with The Woods.

Karras should be a familiar name around here because he guided Rose-Hulman’s football program for three seasons (2003-05), leading the Engineers to records of 5-5, 4-6 and 5-5 respectively. And in case you forgot, his late father, Ted Sr., and his late uncle, Alex, were well-known NFL players in the 1960s and Ted Jr.’s son, 33-year-old Teddy, starts at center for the Cincinnati Bengals.

If anyone should know how difficult the MSFA is, it’s Ted Karras Jr. Upon my request, he provided an analysis of the MSFA that Powell and his assistants should takes notes on before Sept. 5 arrives.

“The MSFA is one of the toughest conferences in the country, with multiple NAIA national championships won,” Karras said in an email. “The MSFA is a quality league that spans across the Midwest and you have to be ready to go week in and week out.

“SMWC fans can expect excellent coaching and some players on each roster capable of playing at the [NCAA] Division I level. In this day and age, if an NAIA player excels [especially early] in his career, there is a good chance he may get an opportunity to play at a higher level. We lost four players from our 2025 roster to FBS Division I schools [two to Ohio University, one to Northern Illinois and one to Hawaii].”

Karras mentioned that Marian prides itself on developing quality players.

“This is one reason for our success,” he continued. “We want them to be a Knight for life, but we support their decisions to play at a higher level if they get an opportunity to do so. We recruit guys truly hungry to play the sport of football and also who are hungry to earn their degree. Recruiting players who are team-driven and focused has also been one of the reasons for our success.”

Again, what about size? We all know that can help a football team succeed. So do speed and skill.

Considering this is the first season that the Pomeroys have been allowed to use players weighing 191 pounds or more, however, I decided to search their 2026 roster for their beefiest physical measurements.

Here’s what I found:

The Woods has nine players weighing 270 pounds or more — freshman defensive lineman Jahtavious Green (5-11, 355); freshman offensive linemen Jeremy Smith (6-2, 320), Micah Clark (6-3, 290) and Levi Hollifield (6-6, 290, a Sullivan High School graduate); freshman defensive lineman Aaron Davis (6-6, 275); and freshman offensive linemen Aidan Provo (6-4, 275), John Carver (6-2, 270), Kaden Willoughby (6-1, 270) and Kaden Fleming (5-10, 270).

Meanwhile, Marian carries 14 players weighing 300 pounds or more — redshirt freshman defensive lineman Fiyin Ademodi (6-3, 380); redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Javian Jones (6-3, 340); redshirt junior offensive linemen Ethan Morgan (6-4, 330) and Joseph Chase (6-4, 325); senior offensive lineman Andre Dumas (6-1, 325); redshirt sophomore offensive linemen Eli Bridges (6-3, 320) and Auden Jones (6-2, 320); redshirt junior offensive lineman Braden Beasley (6-4, 310); redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Zack Leighty (6-3, 305); freshman offensive lineman Bentley McClellan (6-5, 300); redshirt freshman offensive lineman Noah Epperson (6-2, 303); junior offensive lineman Gavyn Blake (6-4, 300); freshman offensive lineman Tom Conway (6-2, 300); and freshman defensive lineman Jacarei Markey (6-2, 300).

I’m sure their physiques vary from muscular to not-so muscular, but size is likely another reason that Marian will be a handful for SMWC and other MSFA opponents this season.

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