EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — It has been 283 long days since the ESU football team suited up for a game. 22 days since the Warriors returned to the Poconos to begin their preseason camp. And now, the wait for the 2026 season to begin is just two more grueling days that can't come quickly enough.
 
The Warriors' play as of late has raised the anticipation for the start of the season each time around, as East Stroudsburg has continued its push to take that next step as a program. Records of 8-3 in 2025, 10-2 in 2024, and 9-3 in 2023 mark the best three-year stretch the program has had in two decades, and Head Coach Jimmy Terwilliger and the Warriors have no plans on slowing down. They bring back seven starters on offense, nine on defense, and the majority of its special teams unit, with nine of those players earning All-PSAC honors.
 
Preseason training camp has been underway for just over three weeks now, with each day designed to push each player to the limit. Some of that has come directly from Terwilliger and his coaching staff, and also naturally stemming from each player's determination to help the program reach new heights. The key with everything planned this preseason has been operating and practicing with a detail-oriented mindset that will help that cause.
 
"We have been at eight or more wins in each of the last three years, and it's time for us to take a step into that elite category in the region and nationally," Terwilliger said. "To do that, we have had an increased sense of urgency in everything we do. The details of how our preparation will lead to confidence and being able to play faster, I've seen that play out in our first three weeks of camp."
 
The winning formula Terwilliger has envisioned for his team is one that is energetic, driven, and very physical week in, week out. That has been on display each day since the beginning of August. The challenge, though, is keeping that same approach from start to finish in 2026. Terwilliger equated it to a marathon, breaking it down one game, one practice, one meeting at a time. Operating that way while pushing each other is how he believes the team will naturally progress.
 
"We have to play complementary football," Terwilliger said. "Between offense, defense, and special teams, we have interacted a good bit in this preseason camp. It's been a tough camp. I wanted to push them to the limits, get them right to the edge, and they're there."
 
Although the team is bringing back a wealth of experience all over the field, one part of the offense in particular will look different in ESU's first game compared to how they have started the previous two seasons. With Sean McTaggart's graduation, the Warriors will have a new playcaller under center for the first time since 2023 to begin the year. It has been a two-horse race during training camp between returning senior Harrison Susi and Matt Machalik, a junior transfer from Lehigh University.
 
"Harrison is one of the finest dual-threat quarterbacks I've ever been around," Terwillerger lauded. "He creates a level of anxiety for every defensive coordinator that lines up six in the box, because at any point in time, he can stretch the field with his arm and legs.
 
Matt really is one of the most savvy competitors I have ever seen. He has made plays during this camp that I scratch my head and say, 'How the heck did he do that?' He has the ability to make you look really good, even when the play call isn't really good. Both of those guys have competed and played off of one another since they've arrived."
 
Terwilliger said Susi has earned the starting spot, having made two starts down the stretch last year and being the most experienced quarterback on the roster. In front of Susi, both paving the way on the ground and giving him time in the pocket, the one thing the offensive line is looking for, different from last year, is luck. The Warriors were bitten by the injury bug, particularly on the line, being forced to use nine different linemen and five combinations of starters in 2025. Two linemen did start each game for ESU: Guy Gilyard, a graduated RT who made 42 career starts, and Pat Reynolds, an All-PSAC RG.
 
Despite the challenges that the inconsistent availability presented ESU last year, it works as a positive heading into this season. Terwilliger mentioned the unit's youthful experience, as all of the projected starters have played meaningful snaps between 2024-25. Kale Kumernitsky will return as the center, making seven starts last year, with Reynolds and Hunter Seubert on either side of him. At the tackle spots, AJ Dilks started 10 of ESU's 11 games at left tackle, and sophomore Fynn McDonald is primed to protect Susi's blindside on the right side for the southpaw QB. The group enters the year fully intact, and if they are able to stay on the field together, it will drive the rest of the offense.
 
"I feel like we can go as far as we want, but the offensive line is like a fist," Terwilliger said. "We need five guys acting as one, and as long as they can do that throughout the course of the season, we'll be okay."
 
While stability is the goal on the offensive line, explosiveness is the theme across the running back, wide receiver, and tight end groups. On the ground, Ajani Walker and Deante Crawford provide a one-two punch for ESU, and that's not including Susi's team-leading 7.6 YPC and 688 rushing yards last year. Walker was the team's second-leading rusher with 610 yards, seven touchdowns, and averaged 5.7 YPC, as Crawford contributed with 4.4 YPC for 275 yards and five touchdowns. Helping pave the way for both of them is Matt Frame, a bruising fullback who became the first of his position to earn All-PSAC East First Team in 14 years and also punched in four touchdowns of his own in 2025.
 
As the bulk of last year's rushing production returns for ESU in 2026, the opposite can be said about the receiving room. Only one of the team's five receivers with over 100 yards last year is back, leaving plenty of opportunity for underclassmen and new faces. However, that does not mean that area is viewed as a weakness. At all. Terwilliger described his group of pass catchers as "live-action", and once they get the ball in their hands, watch out.
 
"Elijah Ford and Jalen Cook might be two of the most explosive outside receiving threats that we've had here in a long time," Terwilliger said. "Both complement one another, are 50-50 ball guys, and can stretch the field vertically. Cam Burti is a team captain, our leading returner out of that group. Cam is savvy and can play a multitude of roles. If I were still a quarterback, I would love to look on either side of me and see the guys we have lining up this year."
 
Grouped in with the receivers, ESU has three tight ends that it believes will step up to fill the void of All-PSAC TE Beau Heyser. Between Damien Padilla, Nolan Buzalka, and Mason Semmel, the trio has the ability to hold its own on the line and cut up the seam and catch the defense off guard.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, the conversation starts in the trenches. Terwilliger said his defensive linemen not only can be, but need to be, the tone setter for this defense. Three of ESU's starters on the line, Ashton Blose, Jake Williamson, and Ryan Epps, were All-PSAC players last year, while the fourth, Terrell Reynolds, is a four-year starter. With the depth that Trenton Dunnick gives them as an extra edge rusher, plus the immediate impacts Matthew Smith and Tavon Anthony can provide up the middle as a sophomore and freshman, respectively, the unit projects to be a strength on paper for the Warriors. They will need that to translate on the field and lead the defense for ESU's success.
 
"They need to dictate the atmosphere of the game," Terweilliger said. "If we can pressure with four and be able to disrupt things in the run game with four guys up front, I feel like our backers and secondary can complement them."
 
Over the middle of the field, ESU will need to replace Khalil Scott and Symear Williams, their top and fifth-leading tacklers from last season. They will have Mason Smith back, who was only two tackles behind Scott's 60 in 2025. Those extra snaps look to be going to a three-man rotation for the second linebacker spot, as Camerin Gross, Noah Cruz, and Sean McFadden have all impressed at camp.
 
"We've got some young guys that can go," Terwilliger said. "With the leadership that we have there, and the youth that guys can build off, we have a ton of players where, at that position, it's their time to play. They've seen some guys be there for the last couple of years, and it's time for them to step up and take the reins."
 
Speaking of players who have been there for years now, Everette Dingle is in position again to lead the secondary and act as the quarterback of the defense. All-America, All-Region, All-PSAC East, Dingle earned it all last year as one of the premier safeties in all of Division II. His presence raises the play of everyone in that unit, with Terwilliger bringing up Cam Jefferson, Armonie Torres, Harold Hill IV, Amir Shields, and Leyden Hertz.
 
Dingle's calm demeanor calling the shots makes him an easy leader to follow for everyone on that side of the ball, while setting him apart from his peers as well.
 
"His knowledge of the game separates him from other safeties," Terwilliger praised. "The great ones find a way to maximize the people around them. They also understand that their greatness is a result of the greatness of others."
 
On offense, the Warriors have two new captains in Burti and Reynolds, as Blose and Dingle enter their second season each as defensive captains. The latter two were recently named Preseason All-Americans by D2Football.com; the former duo is two of the top returners on that side of the ball. Having four of the top players on the team welcome the responsibility of captaincy is something Terwilliger is proud of and should help lead the team through the season.
 
"It's a great sign of our team culture," Terwilliger said. "It's a great sign of what we believe in here, blood running thick. When your best players are also your hardest workers, who are also your best leaders, you have a chance for success.
 
We're seeing that now the challenge for this team is to go from being a very good team to being an elite team. And that takes consistent habits by those at the top. It takes winning in all areas of your life."
 
That is just one aspect of the team Terwilliger believes gives ESU an edge this year; another advantage the Warriors have is their specialists. K Ty Quintois and P Adam Noll have some of the best numbers compared to anyone else at their position in Division II. Quintois is viewed as "a weapon" by Terwilliger, while he called his punter "a real estate agent" the way he can give the Warriors the advantage in the field position battle.
 
"When you have those two, that goes directly into how we play in a style of game," Terwilliger said. "I have no problem being able to call a game a certain way to be able to flip the field, trusting in our defense, and trusting in our special teams to be able to do that. When you have that level of trust with one another, you can move mountains."
 
The Warriors finished 2025 in third place in the PSAC East, but were voted second in this year's preseason poll. The competitiveness of the division makes the ranking sound rewarding, but the Warriors pay no mind to their positioning in the poll. Likening the results to rat poison, Terwilliger said ESU is not going to overlook any team in the conference and will remain focused on their opponent for the week.
 
"The trap is that you start looking ahead to the top teams and you forget that every one of these teams recruits the same caliber player," Terwilliger said. "They have the same caliber coaching staffs. They're all well-coached, well-disciplined, and week-to-week, any team can win. So, it's not looking at when the perceived big games are, but it's treating each game like it's our Super Bowl, and that starts with Seton Hill."
 
ESU opens the season on the road this week in Greensburg, Pa., against the Griffins for a cross-divisional matchup. Known for its defensive front, Seton Hill consistently boasts some of the best numbers in the conference in yards per rush and sacks as they give the offense a multitude of different looks with players all over the place. The Warriors have won all five of the matchups in the series against the Griffins, including three games at Seton Hill by multiple possessions. Despite Seton Hill's strengths at stopping the run and creating pressure, the Warriors will not let that alter their game plan in the season opener.
 
"For us, we need to be able to attack fire with fire," Terwilliger said. "We need to know our alignments and our assignments. The big thing for us to be successful is ESU cannot beat ESU."
 
The Warriors know that they are at the edge of making that next step. Conversely, they also know that making that leap is not guaranteed. To their credit, the players' own efforts have gone hand-in-hand with how the staff is trying to lead them. A "we over me" mindset has been a core theme of camp thus far, helping develop three characteristics of the team that Terwilliger believes will help their conference and national championship pursuits: a noticeable work ethic, an unmatched level of competitiveness, and doing things the right way.
 
"This year, we don't have any heroes, we don't have any superstars, we have guys that strap on their pads every day and want to be a part of a great team," Terwilliger said. "We're going to work our tails off to play as one unit, and that mentality will show throughout the entirety of the season."