The time students spend here at MU are going to be spent mostly worrying about grades. They take notes like it’s their job, spend countless hours in the library or Scovill trying to do homework and study hoping that they will have respectable grades to go home to Mom and Dad with.

Technically, athletic programs are only “graded” on wins and losses, which is just too easy. To go more in depth, here are the grades for the Offense. Passing gets a B-. Sophomore Nick Pippin was throwing too high, too far in front or behind, and leading his receivers’ right into some hard hitting defenders. Pippin soon found his stride and began hitting guys downfield like nothing. He completed two touchdown passes of over 50 yards. Give Pippin some time in the pocket, and this kid can tear apart a defense.

Rushing gets an A. In the scrimmage against Eureka College, Sean Dunning broke for a 24-yard run and was inches from a touchdown before being pushed out by the only defender that touched him that play. Running the same play, Dunning took the ball thirty yards and maybe had someone grab a shoelace. The kid is not only good as an early down back, but as a short yardage man as well. Justin Brooks also got some touches in the scrimmage and shows that he will make great contributions rushing behind Dunning, along with catching some balls from Pippin out of the back field.

The line also gets an A- because of the success of the running game. That’s not the only variable contributing to their grade. The guys Millikin have up front are massive! Pippin has all the time in the world to make a throw, and they open up holes big enough for President Obama’s motorcade to get through. If the line can stay healthy this season, a lot of the team’s success will come from them.

The overall offensive grade would be a B+. This offense will be able to put up points, and in a hurry. Millikin used to be a mostly running team, but they have everything working for them now.

For the defensive side, the line gets a B+. Led by junior Wesley Beach, this line is going to disrupt a lot of offenses this year. Adam Rosner and Casey Bierman came out firing on all cylinders as well as getting into the back field and rushing the quarterback on more than half of his drop backs. Quarterbacks also won’t get much time to get a throw off which will hopefully allow some botched plays and turnovers in favor of Millikin.

Linebackers get a C+. If Coach Etherton decides to load the box with eight guys and blitz every play, then these guys are good. The linebacking crew had a lot of miscues in their scrimmage. When dropping back into coverage some of them looked lost, which lead to big plays for the opponents. The linebackers have very good speed, show great promise when blitzing off the edge, and they can only get better from here..

 The secondary receives a B-. With 3 new guys backing up the defense, it seemed like the Big Blue would struggle there this season. There is still a whole season to play, but the cornerbacks and safeties show they will be able to keep up with veteran receiving corps in the CCIW. Freshman Jowanis Edwards had some great knockdowns, and some close interceptions against Eureka. Freshman Mykal Neal and sophomore Zachary Vergara will also get a lot of playing time and show that they will contribute as well.

The total defensive receives a B-. The defense needs to go back to their JFL fundamental days and remember to wrap up the offensive guys. A lot of shoulder bumps and not wrapping will lead to big plays against this defense. They have the ability and speed to shut down even the best teams in the CCIW if they can just stay away from the big plays from the offense.

Now these grades won’t go into any sort of transcript for the football team. There’s no GPA for Coach Etherton or his players this season, but it does show that the Big Blue Nation is hoping for another good year. Millikin has the talent to compete with anyone in the CCIW. With the amount of work Coach Etherton and his staff put in with their players, there is no reason that this couldn’t be an A grade team by the time their “final” game rolls around.