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 2001 Warrior Outlook
Can the Wayne State University football team do the same thing in 2001? The Warrior football team hopes to make a big “jump” themselves in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference this fall by building off a successful 2000 season in which WSU finished with a record of 4-6. The Warriors hope they can jump to a position among the GLIAC elite behind the 37 returning lettermen and 23 starters from 2000. The Warriors lost only two starters on the offensive side of the ball and only four starters from the defensive side. Head Coach Steve Kazor, who is entering his second season with the Warriors, is looking for strong leadership from his returning starters and upperclassmen to jump WSU to the top of the GLIAC. “We are very optimistic about the upcoming season,” said Kazor, who is 34-16 lifetime as a head coach. “Offensively we have a lot of weapons that people have to account for. Players such as Pierre Brown and Thabiti Williamson can really create havoc for another team. We recruited a lot of players with speed and we think we really improved our depth. We are expecting big things from our seniors and juniors this season after having a year of experience to learn the system. We will not have the luxury of sneaking up on teams this season. However we feel we can compete against any team in our conference.” Wayne State has a very competitive schedule in 2001 starting with a road game against one of the best Division I-AA teams in the country in Northern Iowa (Aug. 30). The Warriors home games this season include Mercyhurst (Sept. 15), Ferris State (Sept. 22), Hillsdale (Oct. 13), Indianapolis (Oct. 27) and Northwood (Nov. 10). Click here to view WSU's 2001 football schedule. “You have to have depth in order succeed at any level,” Kazor said. “Due to injuries and loss of seniors we decided adding depth would most benefit our squad. We are trying to be at least two deep in every position so we could rotate more players and utilize the talent we have on this football team. Last season we jumped out to early leads, but we were not able to hang on due to our lack of depth. “Playing against Northern Iowa with 22,000 fans in attendance in a dome will be a great atmosphere for our guys. We are really looking forward to the challenge of playing in a different atmosphere with all the variables that go along with it. “In the GLIAC there will be some good teams this season, including the likes of Northwood and Saginaw Valley – both made the (NCAA Division II) playoffs in 2000. Many of the teams in the conference have players who have played against one another and know each other very well. In the state of Michigan there is a interesting rivalry between the Division II schools unlike any conference in the nation since these schools recruit the same type of players from the same areas.” Here is a look at Wayne State's offense and defense by position:
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