Aug. 31, 2004

GAME ONE: First year head coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff begin the 2004 campaign this coming Saturday, September 4th, when they take on the Azusa Pacific University Cougars. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. at Cougar Stadium. SERIES UPDATE: The APU Cougars lead the overall series 20-16 ... including last year's 24-14 win in Torero Stadium, Azusa has won two straight and five of the last six meetings ... since joining the I-AA ranks in 1993 the Toreros are 6-5 against Azusa after winning the first five meetings ... this marks the eighth straight year that USD and Azusa have played each other in their season opener with the Cougars holding a 5-2 advantage. HEAD COACH JIM HARBAUGH: Harbaugh begins his first season with the Toreros. Prior to being named USD's 11th head coach, he spent the past two football seasons in the NFL as an offensive assistant with the Oakland Raiders. He spent 15 years in the NFL with five different teams - Chicago (1987-1993), Indianapolis (1994-97), Baltimore (1998), San Diego (1999-00) and Carolina (2001). A 1987 first round draft pick by the Chicago Bears, Jim played in 117 NFL games with 140 starts. For his career he completed 2,305 of 3,918 passes for 26,288 yards with 129 touchdowns. In 1995 he led Indianpolis to the AFC Championship game; was voted to the Pro Bowl; was named the 1995 Comeback Player of the Year and the AFC Player of the Year; and was runner-up in the NFL MVP voting. A 1986 graduate of the University of Michigan, Jim was a 3-year starter for legendary coach Bo Schembechler. In his senior year in '86, Jim guided the Wolverines to a No. 2 national ranking while earning Big Ten Player of the Year honors and finishing 3rd in the Heisman race. Jim and his wife, Miah, have two sons, Jay and James, Jr., and one daughter, Grace. WEBCAST INFO: Jack Murray (play-by-play) and Rick Hill (color analyst) return to call the action for the season opener at Azusa Pacific, along with USD's seven home games. The games will be webcast via the internet at www.usdtoreros.com. All eight pre-game shows will begin 15 minutes prior to kickoff. PRE-SEASON RECOGNITION: The Toreros are ranked 4th behind Duquesne, Dayton and Morehead State in The Sports Network I-AA Mid-Major Pre-Season Top Ten Poll ... USD ranks ahead of Monmouth, Valparaiso, Albany, Robert Morris, Stoney Brook and Drake. USD is slated 7th in Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette Pre-Season NCAA I-AA Mid-Major Top 20 Poll - the top five lists Duquesne, Morehead State, Valparaiso, Dayton and Monmouth (NJ); Albany, Robert Morris, Stony Brook and Drake follow USD. The PFL Coaches picked USD to place second in the North Division behind Dayton; Drake, Valparaiso and Butler follow the Toreros. A trio of Toreros are 1st Team Pre-Season All-America picks by both The Sports Network and Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette - senior OL Keith Zapalac, junior RB Evan Harney and junior WR Adam Hannula. Earning Honorable Mention Pre-Season All-America recognition from Don Hansen's Football Gazette is first year quarterback Todd Mortensen and junior WR Michael Gasperson. TORERO OUTLOOK: First year head coach Jim Harbaugh will look to build upon USD's winning ways when he directs the Torero program during the 2004 campaign. Harbaugh and his staff will have an excellent core of returners to work with. Leading the way will be a trio of players that garnered 2003 I-AA Mid-Major All-America honors (The Sports Network) - senior offensive tackle Keith Zapalac, junior running back Evan Harney and junior wide receiver Adam Hannula. Zapalac anchored last year's offensive line that helped USD lead the I-AA ranks in total offense at 483.3 yards per game. In his first year with USD, Harney set new Torero season marks in rushing with 1,475 yards; in attempts with 285; in rushing touchdowns with 17; in total touchdowns (20) and in points scored (122). Hannula set new Torero season receiving marks for receptions (72), yards (1,161) and touchdowns (13). He already ranks second all-time in all three of those categories after just two seasons. Harbaugh's biggest question mark was at the quarterback slot where Eric Rasmussen, the I-AA passing leader the past two seasons, had graduated, along with top backup Brian Kirkpatrick. Rasmussen, the 2003 PFL North Division Offensive Player of the Year, rewrote all of the Torero career passing marks that will probably stand for some time. Harbaugh, who will coach the quarterbacks, had two NCAA Division I transfers in school during spring drills - sophomores David Perez (Cal) and Walter Cale (Northwestern). He received more good news this summer when Todd Mortensen, a 3-year letterman and 2003 graduate of BYU, enrolled for graduate school at USD. The 25-year-old, 6-4, 225 lb. quarterback is the projected starting signal caller for the Toreros this fall. The above trio will be pushed by freshman Josh Johnson, a 6-3 quarterback out of Oakland Tech. Besides Hannula, Mortensen will have an outstanding group of receivers to throw to. Junior Nick Garton was the team's second leading receiver last year on his way to earning 2nd Team All-PFL honors. He caught 48 balls for 902 yards and 12 touchdowns. Michael Gasperson, a 2002 First Team All-PFL receiver, returns after missing 2003 with a knee injury. In 2002, Gasperson led the Toreros with 57 catches for 907 yards and 10 scores. Out of the backfield Evan Harney hauled in 21 passes for 276 yards and 1 TD. The offensive line unit, along with the 6-4, 270 lb. Zapalac, will be bolstered with the return of senior tackle Matt Collins (6-5, 280), junior guard Josh Sanders (6-3, 295) and sophomore center Kaea Simeona (6-2, 285). Senior Rusty Higbie (6-2, 310) and transfer James Dunne (6-4, 275; Saint Mary's College) will also see plenty of action. Additional key offensive returners include sophomore fullback Jon Polk (6-0, 230) and junior tight end Dustin Owen (6 catches for 65 yards, 1 TD). Although the defense took the biggest hit due to graduation, leadership and experience will come from two 2nd Team All-PFL performers, senior nose guard and 2004 captain Joe Maietta (6-2, 285) and senior linebacker Jeff Langdon (6-2, 2 36). Maietta, a vocal leader from Levittown, New York, helped the Torero defense hold four opponents last year to 7 points or less. Langdon led the squad in tackles with 72 stops (33 solo) while Maietta chipped in with 33 tackles. Two other returning starters that will play key roles include senior defensive end Daniel Howard (6-4, 245) and junior defensive back Philip Bretsch (5-11, 190). Bretsch is the team's second leading returner in tackles (36) while Howard chipped in with 23 stops. A trio of players that will also help out defensively include senior linebacker Paul Kumer (5-11, 210), senior tackle Ashur Benjamin (6-1, 278) and sophomore end Colin Murphy (6-3, 250). First year transfers expected to make an immediate impact in the Torero secondary include two junior defensive backs - Chase McBride (6-2, 198; USC) and Adam Burke (6-0, 180; Palomar JC) . With the loss of return specialists Gavin Ng and Chase Mattox, along with kicker/punter Adam Williams, positions for special teams play is wide open. Coach Harbaugh's goal is a Pioneer Football League Championship. The Toreros will be tested early in their nonconference slate with back-to-back road games against Azusa Pacific (Sept. 4th) and Holy Cross (Sept. 11th). USD's first two home contests will be first time contests against teams from The Ivy League - Penn (Sept. 18th) and Princeton (Sept. 25th). USD's 7-game home schedule will also include contests against Southern Oregon (Oct. 2nd), Valparaiso (Oct. 16th), Davidson (Oct. 23rd), Dayton (Nov. 6th) and Wagner (Nov. 13th). USD hopes to be the PFL North Division representative in the PFL Championship contest on Nov. 20th (South winner will host). SCOUTING AZUSA: The APU football squad, which opened fall camp with 103 players, is ranked No. 11 in the NAIA's initial poll of 2004 ... the Cougars, who went 8-2 last year and are 17-3 over the past 2 seasons, return 50 players and 11 starters from last year's team that advanced to the NAIA Playoff Series ... head coach Peter Shinnick enters his 6th year and owns a 36-15 record directing the Cougar fortunes ... they were ranked as high as 8th last year and finished 13th in the final NAIA poll ... top returners include senior WR Ryan Allen (33 rec., 3 TDs in 2002), senior OG Rene Arguelles (6-3, 310), junior RB Ben Buys (996 yards, 12 TDs), junior QB Sean Davis (97-207-6, 1,351 yards, 9 TDs), junior LB Steve Holte (71 tackles), senior WR Jon Miller (34 rec., 419 yards, 2 TDs) and senior DT Peder Moore (43 tackles, 10 TFL, 1.5 sacks). UP NEXT: The Toreros play game two at Holy Cross on Saturday, September 11th ... game time is 1:00 p.m. (EST) against the Crusaders at Fitton Field ... USD won the first meeting between these two schools last year in San Diego, 46-45 in double overtime ... Holy Cross opens up at Duquesne on Sept. 4th ... they return 47 lettermen and 18 starters from last year's 1-11 club. PENN & PRINCETON COMING: Following the Holy Cross game, USD will return to open up their 7-game home stand with back-to-back opponents from The Ivy League ... the Toreros will take on Penn, the '03 Ivy League champs, on Saturday, September 18th; they'll follow that up with the Princeton Tigers on September 25th ... both games will kickoff at 1:00 p.m. at Torero Stadium ... for ticket information call 619/260-7550. MEDIA NOTE: To interview a USD coach or player, please contact the Media Relations office at least one day in advance by calling (619) 260-4745.