Lindenwood head football coach Jed Stugart talks with his team, following Monday’s first practice of the 2021 season at Hunter Stadium. (Photo courtesy Lindenwood Athletics)

by DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer

The Lindenwood University football team held its first practice of the 2021 season, Monday afternoon at Hunter Stadium.

It was the first time the Lions had been on the field as an entire team and holding an official workout since last spring, when LU had intended to play its 2020 season.

The fall 2020 season had been postponed due to the covid pandemic, so the Lions had planned to play a six-game season during the spring of 2021.

But after a spike in covid cases ran rampant through Missouri in February and March, Lindenwood decided to cancel the season entirely and move on to the fall of 2021.

Well now, that time has come. The Lions will play their first game in nearly two years, when they host their season opener on September 2, against Angelo State.

Lindenwood will play an 11-game regular season in 2021, with five of those contests at home and the other six on the road.

The prepare for a season in which the Great Lakes Valley Conference coaches picked the Lions to finish second in their preseason poll, LU will hold 26 practices and three scrimmages at Hunter Stadium.

The team didn’t release an official practice schedule, but in years past, head coach Jed Stugart has always seemed to prefer his team rotate between practicing in the morning, in the afternoon, and a night.

The Lions are expected to have five two-a-day practices, with none of them allowed to occur on consecutive days. The three scrimmages are expected to take place on the three Saturdays before the team’s first game.

On the field, Lindenwood will be led offensively by junior quarterback and 2019 GLVC Offensive Player of the Year, Cade Brister, who threw for 3,779 yards and 39 touchdowns in 2019.

And the defense will be led by senior All-American linebacker Drew Seers, who led the Lions with 175 tackles and 17 tackles for loss in 2019, a season in which Lindenwood finished the year with a 9-4 record, after winning the GLVC title, and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Division II National Tournament.