FAYETTE, Iowa - The Upper Iowa football team begins the 2025 season against Drake on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The season-opening contest takes place in Des Moines at Drake Stadium.
The game will be available to watch on ESPN+ and can be heard on the radio at 1350 | 102.1 ESPN Des Moines. Tickets can be found here.
Head coach Jason Hoskins enters his fifth season with the Peacocks in 2025. The team is coming off its best season under Hoskins in 2024 with a 7-4 (6-2 GLVC) record, tying for second in the conference. This marked the program's first seven-win season since 1997.
TEAM CAPTAINS
This year's team captains for Upper Iowa are Avery Dixon, Darryl Overstreet Jr., Shaquille Roman, Klay Seehase and Trevor Thompson. This marks back-to-back seasons for Overstreet Jr. as a team captain.
Roman was voted by the team as the Ultimate Peacock, which is the player that embodies the core values of the team the best. It's the player who is the most trusted to get their job done, along with being the player who comes to work each day with the right mindset and attitude. The Ultimate Peacock gets the honor of wearing No. 0 on the field.
MEET THE PEACOCKS: OFFENSE
Upper Iowa returns eight starters from last year's team on the offensive side of the ball, led by senior quarterback Darryl Overstreet Jr. Last season, Overstreet Jr. threw for 2,299 yards with 18 passing touchdowns and added four rushing touchdowns.
"He's a great leader who manages the offense really well," Hoskins said. "We just need him to play consistently. Consistency out of that position is what every football coach wants. He's been in the system long enough that we need to make sure that he plays consistently and he's able to move the offense efficiently."
In the running back room, the Peacocks will have to replace Jayden Mitchell's production from last season, rushing for 803 yards. Ellsworth Community College transfer Calvin Swinney fills the role, along with redshirt freshmen Damon Head Jr. and Jayden Gordon.
"Calvin is going to start for us and carry a large share of the role," Hoskins said. "It's going to be hard to replace all of the production we got out of the running back position last year because Jayden Mitchell and RJ Wells were great running backs. Where we are at with this year's backfield, we feel like this group will be able to recoup a large part of the production we got out of that position last year."
The top returner in the receiving core is Mante Morrow after posting 537 yards and nine touchdowns in 2024. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound receiver gets his senior campaign going in 2025.
"Mante is an extremely hard worker for us, and he has all the attributes to be an All-American wide receiver," Hoskins said. "We need him to come out and be our big playmaker. The expectations for him are high for us this season."
Upper Iowa also returns redshirt juniors Koda Gates-Bridges and Lonny Melvin Jr. at receiver. Gates-Bridges had 41 catches for 362 yards and a touchdown in 2024. Missouri State transfer Angelo Butts and Kentucky State transfer Samuel Mono will also be in the mix. Senior tight end Eddie Burgess is back for his senior campaign after putting up 309 receiving yards and three touchdowns last season.
The offensive line is returning four out of five starters from last season in Klay Seehase, Nick Perry, Ryan McDonough and Connor Andresen. Redshirt freshman Graeden Sullivan and junior Kemonte Myles are in the mix for the final spot at right tackle.
"Offensive line has been solid," Hoskins said. "Klay has been an anchor at left tackle, and in our league, he is as good as any left tackle. We are extremely happy about that."
Last season, Upper Iowa ranked fifth in total offense in the GLVC with 3,932 yards, an average of 357.5 a game.
MEET THE PEACOCKS: DEFENSE
The Peacocks return six starters on defense, highlighted by linebackers Michael Mulherin and Trevor Thompson. Mulherin led the team in tackles last season with 71, and Thompson was second on the team with 65. Sophomores Evan Dorn and Hunter Kane will also be in the mix at the linebacker spot.
"We got everybody back," Hoskins said. "Trevor, Michael and Hunter are all good players and consistent for us. Evan is our newcomer. We played him a little bit last year and didn't get to see him a lot. He had some injuries last fall and in the spring, so we didn't get to fully see him. He's had an unbelievable fall camp, and all of those kids have done a great job."
On the defensive line, Rhett Smith was the lone Peacock to earn the All-GLVC First Team accolade last season. Smith tallied 26 tackles with four pass breakups and a recovered fumble. The Peacocks will need to replace Smith in 2025 following his graduation.
The Peacocks will do that with three-year starter Eddy Latanauskas on the inside. Latanauskas had 28 tackles last season with two tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Seniors Elon Mondy and Wes Willis will be in there with redshirt junior Ben Werner.
"Rhett Smith is one of those players that come around maybe once every 5-10 years," Hoskins said. "We are going to miss him, but Eddy is going to be a mainstay in there after starting the past three years. We feel good about what we have at the defensive tackle position."
At defensive end, Shaquille Roman, Braden Powers, Gavin Sweeney and Demontay Mack all return after seeing significant playing time last season. Sweeney led the group last season with 20 tackles, five for loss and three sacks.
The Peacocks will have two new cornerbacks in the secondary with junior Brycen Hendrix and senior Darrell Matchem. Both players have seen action in the past in backup roles behind last year's starters, Zacarius Murray and Ben Kamara.
Avery Dixon returns at safety after totaling 49 tackles last season, which was third on the team. Juniors Tade Parsons and Nevan Foss are also in the mix in the secondary backfield. Yashua Pettis-Taylor and true freshman Christian Lassiter may also see some playing time as well.
"Avery's been a leader for us and continues to get better," Hoskins said. "Both Tade and Nevan have played a lot of snaps here. We feel comfortable about them taking the next step and providing us with some veteran leadership in the back row."
Upper Iowa ranked third in the GLVC in defensive scoring last season, with opposing teams averaging 20.8 points per game. The Peacocks were second in sacks, third in interceptions and third in forced fumbles.
MEET THE PEACOCKS: SPECIAL TEAMS
Sophomore Nathan Behne takes up both the kicking and punting duties for the Peacocks this season. Behne was 6-of-6 last season with a long of 41 against William Jewell. He was also 22-23 on extra points.
"It is awesome having Nathan Behne here," Hoskins said. "You talk about what this program needed prior to him getting here, and that was it. Somebody who could consistently come in and you feel comfortable about kickoffs, along with being somebody who could come in and hit some ranged field goals. Having him here has been phenomenal."
Behne is taking up the mantle of punting this season for the first time after adding the skill this past offseason. Senior Clark Coleman will take up the holding duties with Mulherin long snapping.
"Our special teams continue to elevate and be important for us," Hoskins said. "A lot of that has to do with the job Nathan Behne has done for us here.
On the return side, Melvin Jr. will handle punt returns with Swinney and Head being back for kickoffs. Last season, the program ranked first in NCAA Division II in blocked kicks with 10.
GLVC POLL
Upper Iowa was picked third in the 2025 GLVC Preseason Coaches' Poll. No. 20 UIndy was picked first with eight first-place votes. Truman State came in second with the final first-place vote.
Full Poll
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Indianapolis - 64 points
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Truman State - 57 points
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Upper Iowa - 43 points
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Quincy - 39 points
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McKendree - 37 points
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Missouri S&T - 35 points
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William Jewell - 25 points
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Southwest Baptist - 15 points
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Lincoln - 9 points
The 2025 GLVC Champion will be determined by the results of the round-robin league schedule. Co-Champions will be named in the event of a tie, which has occurred once since football became a Conference-sponsored sport in 2012, when Southwest Baptist and Truman shared the crown in 2016.
SCHEDULE
After the game against Drake, the Peacocks will return to Fayette for the home opener on Sept. 13 in a nonconference matchup against South Dakota Mines at 2:30 p.m. Upper Iowa wraps up nonconference play against Michigan Tech on Sept. 20 in Houghton, Michigan. The Peacocks aim to avenge last season's 17-10 loss to South Dakota Mines and 2023's 34-31 loss to Michigan Tech in this season's matchups.
"It's been fun playing some other nonconference opponents," Hoskins said. "We do have South Dakota Mines coming here, and that was a tight ballgame that we lost at the end last year. Then we have to go up to Michigan Tech, which we lost a heartbreaker here up 24-0, and losing on a last-second field goal. The guys are looking forward to those games and then getting back into league play."
The Peacocks begin GLVC play against Lincoln (Mo.) for homecoming on Sept. 27. This year's home GLVC schedule features games against Southwest Baptist (Mo.) on Oct. 18, McKendree (Ill.) on Nov. 1 and Quincy (Ill.) on Nov. 8.
The Peacocks will face conference favorites Truman State and No. 20 UIndy on the road. UIU faces Truman State on Oct. 11 and closes the regular season against UIndy on Nov. 15. Last season, the Peacocks were 4-0 on the road in GLVC play.
"We did get over the hump and started winning road games last season," Hoskins said. "I think the guys have a little more confidence getting on the bus and playing those games. This team is just focused on playing the next game. You only get 11 guaranteed opportunities, so to earmark certain games is not something we do here. We go one week at a time and put our best foot forward to enjoy that week and to enjoy that Saturday of competition."
DRAKE PREVIEW
The Bulldogs enter 2025 after a successful 8-3 campaign in 2024. Drake made the FCS Playoffs, losing in the first round to Tarleton State, 43-29. After the season, head coach Todd Stepsis was named the head man at Northern Iowa.
This year, Joe Woodley takes the helm at Drake after spending 17 seasons at NAIA Grand View University in Des Moines. Woodley was an assistant for over a decade before spending his last six seasons as the head coach for the Vikings. He guided Grand View to an undefeated season and an NAIA Championship in 2024.
"Drake's a bit of an anomaly because of the new staff," Hoskins said. "They should be similar to us. They have a lot of Iowa kids. A lot of the kids that they have recruited, we have recruited here as well. We understand where they are at from a personnel standpoint, but there are a few question marks."
Sophomore quarterback Chase Spellman will start for the Bulldogs after transferring from Tennessee State. Spellman only appeared in one game during his time at Tennessee State.
At running back, Drake will feature 5-foot-8, 190-pound Jaden Meizinger. The graduate student is a transfer from NAIA's Keiser University (Fla.). Meizinger appeared in 58 games for the Seahawks with over 4,100 total rushing yards and 52 rushing touchdowns.
One of the top returners for the Bulldogs is wide receiver Taj Hughes. The 5-foot-9 senior led the team in receiving last season with 647 yards and four touchdowns. Kansas State transfer Jackson Voth and sophomore Hank Foley will be top receivers for Drake.
Defensively, senior linebacker Sean Allison is back after he was second on the team in tackles in 2024 with 105. He added 5.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and one interception.
At cornerback, senior Isaiah Bragg will start for the Bulldogs. The Northern Illinois transfer participated in 11 games, including the 16-14 upset win over Notre Dame last season.
This will mark the fourth meeting all-time between Drake and Upper Iowa. The programs met in 2004, 2006 and 2008, with Drake winning all three matchups. 2008's matchup was the closest, with the Bulldogs coming back from a 10-0 deficit to win, 17-13.
"It really comes down to who comes out and executes first game details better than the other team," Hoskins said. "It's a lot of details. You're expecting that your team takes care of those details, but until you get out there against another opponent, you're not 100% sure. We feel like this is going to be a close, hard-fought ball game. Our kids are looking forward to getting out to Des Moines and playing a good opponent."
