Five Players To Watch During The 2023 GLIAC Football Season
Five Players To Watch During The 2023 GLIAC Football Season
Entering the 2023, there is no shortage of talent in the GLIAC, which includes two-time defending NCAA Division II national champion, Ferris State.
Entering the season as the home of the two-time defending national champions, as well as another top-5 team in the preseason polls, there is no shortage of talent in the GLIAC coming into the 2023 season.
Stars on both sides of the ball will look to make their marks on the field in hopes of helping their teams in the pursuit of a national championship, while perhaps even catching the eye of NFL scouts.
With kickoff to the 2023 season fast approaching, here are five GLIAC players to keep an eye out for this fall.
Olalere Oladipo, Senior Defensive End (Ferris State)
With the departure of wrecking ball Caleb Murphy, who dominated the GLIAC and beyond during the past two seasons at Ferris State, Oladipo steps into that void as the premier pass-rusher on the Bulldog defensive line.
Oladipo has gained national attention ahead of this season, being named to the Elite 100 Watchlist by D2football.com.
His selection comes with good reason. Even with Murphy on the other end racking up accolades, Oladipo still put up big numbers during the 2022 campaign, posting 9.5 sacks as part of 14.5 tackles for loss, both second-best on the team behind on Murphy, while also creating a pair of turnovers.
WATCH: Senior DE Olalere Oladipo talks with the media after day one of fall camp today! https://t.co/j9ScHAESAQ
— Ferris St. Football (@FerrisFootball) August 7, 2023
Oladipo’s biggest moments came against the Bulldogs’ toughest opponents, including three sacks against a then-undefeated Davenport team, and a pair of sacks against West Florida in the national semifinals.
With Murphy’s departure, Oladipo could see a big jump in production this year. At 6-foot-4 and 265 pounds, his combination of size and speed make him one of the most dangerous defenders in the GLIAC.
Abe Swanson, Senior Linebacker (Grand Valley State)
A consensus All-American in 2022, being named first or second team by every publication that awards such honors, Swanson looks to add the title of GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year, after taking the league’s honor for Defensive Back of the Year. He also was GVSU’s Defensive Player of the Year.
A 6-foot-1, 222-pound senior, Swanson was everywhere last season, racking up 95 total tackles, including posting seven or more in a game seven times, while adding four sacks, nine QB hurries and forcing a pair of turnovers.
Perhaps his best game came against NW Missouri State in the playoffs, where he tallied 11 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
With good health, Swanson should eclipse 300 career tackles this season, while over a third of his career stops have come in a solo effort.
Perhaps the most complete defender in the GLIAC, Swanson is the anchor for a Lakers defense that will be loaded during the 2023 season.
Peyton Brown, Senior Wide Receiver (Davenport)
Brown is a transfer from Lake Erie College, where he was a first-team all-league pick, his second such honor.
Brown is another weapon for a Panthers team that made big strides a year ago but needed more firepower to compete with Ferris State and Grand Valley State.
Enter Brown, who set a school record with 1,079 receiving yards last season, the first player in Lake Erie history to break the 1,000-yard mark. He did so on 65 catches, averaging over 16.6 yards per catch, and he found the end zone nine times, tying the Lake Erie record for a single season.
https://t.co/lDJOqdioru Elite 100 Watch List
— Davenport Panthers (@DUAthletics) August 21, 2023
Peyton Brown and Austin Alward both recognized by the website! Season opener getting closer on Sept. 2 against Thomas More at The Farm! pic.twitter.com/FKe68K6mGO
Not the biggest receiver at 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, Brown uses a combination of speed and smarts to find himself open more often than not.
Over the last two seasons, he racked up 116 catches and nearly 1,900 yards.
In addition to being a receiving threat, Brown also can be a return-game danger, if the Panthers choose to utilize him there. He posted more than 1,300 yards on punt and kick returns for Lake Erie in 2021.
Darius Willis, Junior Wide Receiver (Michigan Tech)
On a team that struggled to throw the ball a season ago, none of the blame fell on Willis, who despite facing double teams all season, still put up one of the biggest seasons in Michigan Tech history.
Of the Huskies’ 2,476 passing yards last season, Willis accounted for 1,051 of them, double what the next closest player put up.
In 11 games, Willis hauled in 74 passes and went for 10 touchdowns, including a long of 79 yards, showing that he can be a home-run threat, as well as a guy who can move the chains for the Huskies.
All of this despite being just 5-foot-8 and 170 pounds, one of the smaller top receivers in the league.
The good news for Tech and Willis, is that a young receiving corps whose three leading receivers last season all were underclassmen, has another year of experience and hopefully should allow Willis to face more single coverage, and perhaps put up even bigger numbers.
Through two seasons in Houghton, Willis has posted over 100 catches and nearly 1,500 yards.
Blake Bustard, Junior Offensive Tackle (Wayne State)
You might be wondering how an offensive lineman on the team picked to finished next-to-last in the league earns this spot, and it starts with the fact that the redshirt junior stands 6-foot-7 and tips the scales at 318 pounds.
Now throw in that as a sophomore who was making his first career starts, Bustard went on to start all 10 games and earned All-America honorable mention, in addition to earning first-team All-GLIAC honors.
#WarriorFB: With the start of the 2023 season just over a month away, this segment will feature the offensive line under the direction of first-year coach Rosco Byrd, Jr.https://t.co/0elpVKGekb#ThisIsOurDetroit pic.twitter.com/L652HYgiyk
— WSU Athletics (@waynestwarriors) July 28, 2023
While the Warriors struggled to move the ball through the air last season, WSU ran for nearly 1,500 yards as a team running behind Bustard, paving the way for 22 scores on the ground – out of the team’s 27 offensive touchdowns.
Bustard should anchor the Warriors offensive line, and with his combination of size and strength, could see himself on the NFL Draft radar with another strong season.
When Wayne State has the ball, keep an eye on No. 74, and watch the lanes he opens.