Lindenwood freshman QB Robert Battle drops a pass to teammate Jared Rhodes during Fan Fest scrimmage, Saturday evening at Hunter Stadium. (Photo: Cedric Williams)
ST. CHARLES, MO — The Lindenwood University football program hosted its first ever “Fan Fest”, Saturday night at Hunter Stadium.
The event included a full contact scrimmage/simulated game between the players, free admission for fans in attendance, and a variety of family friendly activities on the field after the scrimmage concluded, including autograph signings, player meet and greets with fans, football skills contests, yard games, among other things.
“We’re excited to be having an event like this,” Lindenwood head coach Jed Stugart said. “We’re excited about this team. We’ve got a lot of new guys and a lot of guys coming back from injuries that missed time last year. So it’s like we’ve got a whole new team, and we’re excited to have the fans here to meet and see these new guys work.”
As the season nears though, the biggest news coming out of the “Fan Fest” was info that wasn’t advertised or publicized. The new-look Lions revealed a number of their likely starters for the season opener on August 29 against Kansas.
There were no official notes given, but when the event began and the first team units for both offense were called to take the field, here’s who did so:
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
QB – 18 Nate Glantz
RB – 0 Cortezz Jones
WR – 1 Jeff Caldwell
WR – 5 John Anthony
WR – 10 Reece Thomas
LT – 78 Gareth Warren
LG – 77 Adel Mountassir
C – 74 Ethan Johnson
RG – 63 Cameron Cooper
RT – 56 Gavin Hulet
TE – 86 Darrin Fugitt
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
DL – 4 Kobe McClendon
DL – 96 Demetrius Jones
DL – 98 Andrew Zook
DL – 47 Lucas Allen
LB – 20 Ethan Stuhlsatz
LB – 23 Devon Edwards
STAR – 15 Sanjay Strickland
DB – 1 Taylen Blaylock
DB – 2 Jordan Knapke
DB – 39 Eric Gant
DB – 3 Tre Bell
On special teams, Lindenwood rotated a number of players for kickoff and punt coverage. The only starting positions that seemed determined were junior Logan Siebert, who will return as LU’s primary placekicker, and freshman wide receiver Rico Bond would be the team’s primary punt returner.
Stugart made a point to note that no official starting jobs were set yet. The team will likely announce those some time next week. And several players that will likely start when the season begins, including junior linebacker Matt Barnett and sophomore defensive lineman Maika Finau, sat out of Saturday’s scrimmage.
Media members were also told that Glantz wouldn’t participate. But there may have been some deception involved in that.
When the first team offense was called to take the field, a player wearing number 12 lined up at quarterback. Lindenwood doesn’t have a number 12 that plays quarterback listed on its roster.
A closer look at that player’s jersey seemed to show that the jersey number was actually 18 and that some colored tape had been strategically placed on the jersey to make the 18 look like a 12. Glantz wears number 18.
Glantz transferred to Lindenwood from McNeese State, where he started six games last season. In previous years, Glantz was one of the top junior college players in the country.
In 2020, he threw for 1,811 yards and 23 touchdowns, with just four interceptions, earning him the JCAA Offensive Player of the Year award. Glantz was also a juco All-American.
In 2021, Glantz threw for 2,147 yards and 18 touchdowns. His team went 18-2 in his two seasons at quarterback, which is why it seems likely Glantz will start at quarterback for the Lions against Kansas.
“We’re not ready to announce any of our starters, just yet,” Stugart said. “But I have been very impressed by that kid, no doubt. He’s only been here a few months and you already see what a great leader he is. He’s already a part of every part of this team. Every team meal, you’ll see him sit at a different table. He wants to be a part of every group on our team.”
There were several impressive plays during the scrimmage. The number 12/18 quarterback finished off one of the first team offense’s drives by throwing a four-yard touchdown pass to Fugitt.
Later, redshirt freshman QB Tyler Kubat hit fellow redshirt freshman WR Drew Krobath for a 31-yard touchdown.
But the play of the day came from a pair of true freshmen local kids who were high school teammates and are now doing their thing at Lindenwood.
Robert “Pops” Battle took over at QB and hit Bond on a skinny post up the middle for a 68-yard touchdown that had every player on the sideline howling with excitement. Even defensive players were grinning and high-fiving over how thrilling the Battle-to-Bond connection was and could be in the future.
“We’re looking forward to seeing what this group we have can do,” Stugart said.
Lindenwood’s home opener will be Saturday, September 7, when the Lions will host Central Arkansas. Kickoff at Hunter Stadium that night is set for 6 p.m.
2024 LINDENWOOD LIONS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 29, 2024 (Thursday) | 7:00 pm | Away | Kansas | Kansas City, Kan. |
| September 7, 2024 (Saturday) | 6:00 p.m. | Home | Central Arkansas | St. Charles, Mo. / Hunter Stadium |
| September 14, 2024 (Saturday) | 6:00 pm | Away | Missouri State | Springfield, Mo. |
| September 21, 2024 (Saturday) | 1:00 p.m. | Home | St. Thomas | St. Charles, Mo. / Hunter Stadium |
| September 28, 2024 (Saturday) | 2:00 pm | Away | Eastern Illinois | Charleston, Ill. |
| October 5, 2024 (Saturday) | 1:00 p.m. | Home | Tennessee State | St. Charles, Mo. / Hunter Stadium |
| October 12, 2024 (Saturday) | 1:00 p.m. | Home | Charleston Southern | St. Charles, Mo. / Hunter Stadium |
| October 19, 2024 (Saturday) | 3:00 pm | Away | Gardner-Webb | Boiling Springs, N.C. |
| October 26, 2024 (Saturday) | 2:00 p.m. | Home | Western Illinois | St. Charles, Mo. / Hunter Stadium |
| November 2, 2024 (Saturday) | 1:30 pm | Away | Tennessee Tech | Cookeville, Tenn. |
| November 9, 2024 (Saturday) | 1:00 p.m. | Home | Southeast Missouri State | St. Charles, Mo. / Hunter Stadium |
| November 23, 2024 (Saturday) | 2:00 pm | Away | Tennessee-Martin | Martin, Tenn. |