Headlined by new coaching staff additions and four core values, the Yeomen prepare for year two of the ‘Pont era.’
This Saturday, September 7, the Oberlin College football team kicks off their season at Calvin University. Head Coach John Pont is returning to the helm and is set to take the field by storm. After last season, players and coaches alike are ecstatic to get into the season and build off of Coach Pont’s first season at the helm.
On the offensive side of the ball, starting quarterback Drew Nye remains the signal caller. Nye threw for 1,632 yards and 11 touchdown passes last season. The Yeomen are also bringing back their two leading receivers from last season. Fourth-year Evan Smith-Rooks, who put up an impressive 383 receiving yards and a touchdown on 45 catches, is set to return alongside third-year Connor Steele, who tracked down a team-leading three receiving touchdowns last season. Second-year Cameron Burke will also be a key wideout for the Yeomen after averaging nearly 30 yards per catch in 2023 with two touchdowns to his name.
Clearly Nye is surrounded with playmakers at every skill position. But he is also protected by an offensive line full of veterans. Third-year left tackle Mike Mathis is back to protect Nye’s blindside and experienced fourth-year captain Brent Larson joins him at the center position with renewed confidence and understanding.
“During the first season, you are trying to understand what he expects from us as a head coach,” Larson said. “I think going into year two, we are really starting to get a deeper understanding of what we are doing. Things are really starting to click with the offense.”
Defensively, the Yeomen are led by their dynamic linebackers and defensive line. Fourth-year Brandon Hall, an all-NCAC selection a season prior, is sure to be a key piece of the Oberlin linebacker core alongside third-year captain Hunter Green and second-year Colten Danel. Oberlin also has a strong rushing presence, with fourth-year defensive linemen Gavi Genger, Matt Cohn, and Jackson Lotinsky. The secondary is also stacked, with veteran fourth-year defensive back and captain Dylan Marshall leading a pack of young defensive backs with newcomers Kingston Askerneese and Ari Smith.
The experience the Yeomen bring on both sides of the ball is sure to help them this year. “The more you study something, the more familiar you get with it,” Coach Pont said. “The more you experience it, the more you are going to be able to adapt to changing elements, the more you are going to be able to fine tune the details of what you are doing.”
From a skill standpoint, Coach Pont evidently has the Yeomen pointed in the right direction. But during an interview with the Review, he made it clear that the actual game of football is only part of his job as head coach. The Oberlin Football program lives by four core values: love, care, faith, and respect. Those four values allow the football team to become a family, a fundamental aspect of Coach Pont’s ideology.
“Every coach, especially football coaches, talk about football being a brotherhood,” Pont said when asked about family and the values of his team. “But to me, it was more important that we lived it out and chose four core values that I think exemplify what a family is all about. Families are forged in love, built on care and respect, and generally have the same faith, or a common bond over something they believe in.”
These four values are not limited to him, but are shared across the entire roster. For Larson, the idea of family is especially important.
“No matter what’s happening on and off the field, we can always come back to each other,” he said. “As we’ve grown together [over the past year], that’s become our why.”
Multiple new coaches like Strength Coach Carson Kinney and Linebacker Coach Bradley Jennings Jr. have been added to the Oberlin staff, and they too share the same values Oberlin football cherishes.
“Every one of them, as a person, exemplified [our fundamental] ideals,” Coach Pont said when asked about the additions. “That’s something that’s a core part of our coaching philosophy. Their knowledge, their love of the game and desire to help our team grow as people off the field and use the game of football to help teach them life lessons.”
This blend of Yeomen values and experience with football has already had a positive impact on the Oberlin roster. “Collectively [the coaches] have brought an intensity and really elevated the culture, which is what we were looking for,” fourth-year co-captain Dylan Marshall said when asked about the new coaches. “Bringing those guys in helped solidify the foundation that we built during the spring.”
With only one win last year, Oberlin football has faced some harsh criticism from outside the program. The team, however, is unwavering in their belief and remains determined to have a successful season. In Coach Pont’s words, “The hard part with the foundation is it is built underground. As you drive by the foundation of a house, you can’t see it, right? To the passer-by that just looks at stats and scores online, they can’t see the foundation that was laid last year. But our team knows it is there, and we’re excited to build on that this year.”
The Yeomen will look to further build their house this Saturday at 1 p.m. at Calvin University.
