Pocono Record preview (Zach Sturniolo)

EAST STROUDSBURG - East Stroudsburg University will finish its spring football practice sessions with its annual spring game on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Eiler-Martin Stadium.

The Warriors, entering their 43rd season under head coach Denny Douds, are coming off their second straight 6-5 season and return 15 starters, including four All-PSAC East selections.

Douds, who ranks second in NCAA Division II history with 256 career wins, enters his 51st year at ESU overall including eight seasons as an assistant coach (1966-73) before being named head coach in 1974. Douds has coached in a DII-record 440 career games, ninth-most in NCAA football history.

Rising redshirt senior tailback Robert Healy, already ESU's career leader in rushing yards (2,830) and yards from scrimmage (4,352), paces the returners, while the Warriors must replace two of the most outstanding offensive players in program history in quarterback Matt Soltes and wide receiver Jon Schnaars.

Healy was named All-PSAC East first team for his third career All-PSAC East honor, after earning second team mention in both of his first two seasons. He was also named the 2013 PSAC East Freshman of the Year.

Healy was the only NCAA football player with 750 yards rushing (884) and receiving (757) in 2015, leading the PSAC and ranking ninth in DII in yards from scrimmage per game (149.2). Healy compiled 1,641 yards from scrimmage in 11 games and has the top three seasons in yards from scrimmage by a back in program history.

Along with his 2,830 career rushing yards, Healy also leads active Warriors in career receptions (111) and receiving yards (1,522), rushing TD (14), receiving TD (11) and total TD (25).

ESU has seven returning starters on offense in Healy, senior fullback Sean Roth and all five offensive linemen - senior Fran McMenamin (20 career starts) at left tackle, redshirt junior Devon Ackerman (22 starts) at left guard, redshirt junior John Appice (19 starts) at center, redshirt junior Norman Rogers III (18 starts) at right guard and sophomore Michael Fleming (8 starts) at right tackle.

Fleming was named to the All-PSAC East second team, the first ESU freshman offensive lineman to earn an all-conference spot in 40 years.

Two All-PSAC East second team selections anchor eight returning starters on defense in redshirt senior defensive end Ahmad McFarland and redshirt junior outside linebacker Sekou Jones, the only Warriors to start all 11 games on that side.

McFarland, who leads returning ESU defensive players with 20 career starts, had 29 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss and 2.0 sacks last season. Also back on the defensive line are redshirt junior nose guard Marc Ranaudo (10 starts - 21 tackles, 6.5 TFL, sack) and sophomore defensive end Joseph Odebode (10 starts - 30 tackles, 8.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks).

Jones was ESU's top tackler in his first season as a starter with 73 tackles, 8.0 TFL and 1.5 sacks. Redshirt junior middle linebacker Mike Wiand also returns after making 36 tackles in nine starts in his first season at ESU.

There are three returning starters in the defensive secondary in seniors Jimmy Verizicco and junior Marc Gaudet at safety, and redshirt junior Wesley Pierce at cornerback.

Verzicco started the final nine games of the season and finished with 62 tackles (2nd on team) and three interceptions (1st). Gaudet was limited to eight games due to injury after starting all 11 games as a true freshman in 2014, but still produced 47 tackles. Pierce started nine games at cornerback and had 23 tackles, two interceptions and three pass breakups.

Departed starters defensively are cornerback Teron Dobbs (2-time All-PSAC East 2nd team - 38 career starts, 13 interceptions), outside linebacker Kaje Cowans (28 career starts - 189 tackles) and safety Dean Vitale (28 starts - 156 tackles, 7 interceptions).

ESU had 19 players make starts on defense last fall, including 17 who started multiple games.

On special teams, ESU returns both specialists in sophomore kicker Nicolas Ruiz (8-for-11 FG, 50-for-54 PAT, 3rd among PSAC kickers with 6.7 points per game) and redshirt sophomore punter Sam O'Brien (37.8 average - 6th in PSAC).

Offensively, ESU loses four of its top five skill position players in Soltes, Schnaars and fellow wide receivers Gerard Wendowski (All-PSAC East 2nd team - 49 catches, 781 yards, 9 TD) and Joe Welk (30 catches, 490 yards, 5 TD).

Besides Healy (52 catches, 757 yards, 3 TD), the top returning pass catchers are redshirt junior wide receiver Tommy House (10 catches, 119 yards, 2 TD), Roth (10 catches, 93 yards, TD) and sophomore tailback James Bell (8 catches, 51 yards).

Soltes was a three-time Harlon Hill candidate at quarterback, finishing tied for 4th as a senior, set five NCAA Division II records and ranks in the top three in ESU and PSAC history in nearly every major statistical category for a quarterback.

He set PSAC records for career passing yards per game (313.6 ypg) and career total offense per game (351.0), the latter ranking 2nd in DII history.

His DII records include passing TD per game (3.15), career games with 5+ TD passes (13), career games with 500 yards total offense (6), career games with 600 yards total offense (2) and equaling a mark as the fifth DII QB with 3,000 yards total offense in all four seasons in his career.

He ranks second in PSAC history in career total offense (14,038), passing yards (12,544) and pass TD (126), and is third in pass efficiency (158.2) and TD responsible for (133).

As a senior, Soltes was 277-for-486 for 3,900 yards, 41 TD and 11 interceptions and ran for 210 yards and a TD - ranking  2nd in DII in passing yards per game (354.5 ypg) and pass TD, and 3rd in total offense per game (373.6 ypg). He ranks 3rd in PSAC single-season history in both of the per game marks for passing and total offense.

Soltes was the PSAC East Athlete of the Year, the D2CCA Super Region 1 Offensive Athlete of the Year, Football Gazette Super Region 1 Co-Athlete of the Year and was named to the Football Gazette All-America third team.

Schnaars was a consensus All-America first team selection from all five national organizations, and was DII's leading receiver with 114 catches, 1,610 yards and 22 TD, averaging 10.4 catches and 146.4 yards per game.

His single-season numbers rank 2nd in PSAC history in catches, 3rd in yards and t-2nd in TD, and rank in the top 15 in DII history in all three categories.

Schnaars set ESU's career record for catches (239 - 5th in PSAC history), ranks 3rd at ESU in yards (3,447 - 8th in PSAC) and 2nd at ESU in TD (45 - t-5th in PSAC).

He set PSAC single-game records for receptions (20) and TD (7) and had 218 yards - one of three 200+ yard games in 2015 - in a 69-67 (5OT) loss vs. Shippensburg on October 3 (Soltes tied PSAC record with 9 TD passes and had 594 passing yards, 616 total yards).