AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University football team will get their season underway on Saturday afternoon, when the Gyrenes take on the No. 13 Tigers of Georgetown College. The 2021 season will be the sixth at the helm for head coach Joe Patterson, who said the Gyrenes enter the 2021 season following an excellent few weeks of practice.
 
"We've got a great mix of experienced players and exciting newcomers," said Patterson. "This has been a tremendous August camp, and we're eager to get onto the field. The players expect excellence."
 
On the offensive side of the ball, the Gyrenes are again guided by Offensive Coordinator Mike Faragalli, who is in his fourth season with AMU.   The offense will be led by senior signal-caller Will Tate. Should Tate play in six of Ave Maria's ten games this season, he would become AMU's all-time leader in games played by a quarterback. The 2018 Sun Division Offensive Player of the Year leads an offensive backfield that also includes three running backs that have all been the featured back at some point during their AMU careers - Quino Mauricette, Charles Philias, and Khalid Shakir.
 
The receiving corps will feature sophomore Roman Newkirk, an explosive target who averaged more than ten yards per catch last season. Up front, Ave Maria will have a young but experienced unit, as four of the five projected starters saw some time on the line last season. 
 
Ave Maria, directed by Defensive Coordinator Keith Gilmore in his second season with the Gyrenes, will feature one of the most experienced front sevens in the Sun Division, as six of the seven projected starters were major contributors last season. The defensive line trio of Jalyn Robinson, Brady Stockard, and Alec Major combined for 11.5 tackles for loss last season, while linebackers Connor Jewel and Dylan Bryan combined for 68 tackles.
 
All four starters in the defensive backfield that are expected to take the first snap on Saturday played in more than half of last season's games, and three - Second Team All-Division safety Shane O'Brien, safety Nick Maroon, and cornerback Eric Marshall, played in all seven games. The special teams unit will see new faces on the field, led by kicker/punter Brendan Clark. Newkirk and O'Brien are expected to lead the Gyrenes in the return game.  The Gyrenes also welcome a new Special Teams Coordinator in John Bowers.
 
The Gyrenes are slated to face one of the most challenging schedules in NAIA football. Ave Maria will face four teams currently ranked in the preseason Coaches' Poll - No. 4 Keiser, No. 8 Reinhardt, No. 13 Georgetown, and No. 22 Southeastern. That list does not include September 11's trip to Stetson University, which will mark AMU's first matchup with an NCAA Division I opponent since facing Jacksonville University in 2019.
 
"We're really happy with our schedule," said Patterson. "There is a very high quality to our opponents, from start to finish."
 
AMU's first two games of the season will be on the road, with the home opener against Point University scheduled for Saturday, September 18 at Gyrene Field in Ave Maria. Football ticket information can be found here.