Kam Kruze and Kyle Sheets naturally developed a strong bond over the past several years, as each played significant roles in forging Slippery Rock’s potent offensive attack.
It is the kind of friendship that has allowed the former teammates to have some pretty frank discussions.
Kruze, now a senior tight end at Slippery Rock, even maintained a dialogue with Sheets while the former Rock standout wide receiver competed for a spot in his first NFL training camp this summer with the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Kyle is one of my best friends,” said Kruze, a 2020 West Allegheny graduate who won a WPIAL title as a freshman in 2016. “I’ve been talking to him every single day now. I even said it to his face, ‘Hey, man, I love you and I miss you, but it’s next man up.’”
There may be no better man for that job than Kruze.
A substantial 6-foot-3, 225-pound target for senior quarterback Brayden Long in Slippery Rock’s passing game, Kruze will be among several options vying to replace Sheets and fellow former wide receiver Cohen Russell when NCAA Division II’s No. 11-ranked team opens its season at 1 p.m. Saturday at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium against visiting perennial power New Haven.
“We think we’ve got one of the best tight ends in the country in Kam Kruze,” said Shawn Lutz, the three-time PSAC West Coach of the Year, now in his ninth season leading Slippery Rock’s program. “He is a coach’s dream.
“He’s just an old-school guy who loves to play the game,” Lutz added. “He can block as a three-man surface tight end and then you can put him out wide, you can put him there, and he can stretch the defense with what he does receiving.”
Kruze is poised for a breakout campaign after catching 46 passes for 465 yards and four touchdowns in 2023. He finished third in catches and yardage in the Rock’s PSAC-best passing game.
“I’m a family-oriented guy, and I view this team as my family,” said Kruze, whose full surname is Kruzelyak. “I believe I’m able to bring these guys in together and make it feel as a brotherhood, and that just makes us all want to play for each other more.
“It just makes everybody go harder,” the preseason All-American added. “I think everybody looks at me as a big brother that they can always go to, talk to, no matter if it is football or anything.”
Slippery Rock rode an offense, which led the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in nearly every statistical category last fall, to the NCAA Division II playoff quarterfinals. The Rock averaged 40.9 points, 185 rushing yards, 281.4 passing yards and 466.4 yards per game to lead the PSAC.
Sheets joined with Russell as the only teammates in the nation to eclipse 1,100 receiving yards in 2023. Sheets had 1,186 yards and 17 touchdowns, while Russell racked up 1,114 yards and five scores.
“It’s going to be hard to replace those Jermaine Wynns, those Henry Litwins, those Kyle Sheets, but there’s always another name that’s coming through,” said Kruze, alluding to some of Slippery Rock’s recent top passing-game targets. “The Rock produces those guys. I’m more than confident we are going to have a bunch of guys that are going to be able to go up, catch the ball, run the ball. We’ve got some threats.”
Logan Ramper is among the top prospects to be crowned as Slippery Rock’s next great wide receiver. A 6-foot-4, 215-pound redshirt junior, he caught 32 passes for 417 yards and six touchdowns a season ago.
Senior Tony Grimes — a Penn Hills graduate who transferred to the Rock before last season after three years at Division I Akron — could also see more production in the passing game.
The linchpin of the entire operation will be Long, who was a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy in 2023, which is given to the top player in Division II each season. He threw for 3,808 yards, completing 69% of his passes, with 35 touchdowns and just six interceptions in 2023.
While it will have to contend with replacing its top rusher from 2023 in Khalid Dorsey, the Rock will lean on senior Chris D’Or, who racked up 750 yards and 10 touchdowns a year ago.
“I think we’ve got our strongest defense we’ve had potentially,” Lutz said. “We’ve got skill guys everywhere. Our biggest weakness, I’m bringing it up, is we’ve graduated four of our five offensive linemen, so to have your QB1 back Brayden Long back, who’s up for the Harlon Hill [Trophy] again this upcoming year, speaks volumes. You’re only going to go as far as your quarterback is going to take you, as well as your O-line and D-line.”
Slippery Rock returns its two top defensive linemen in Munchie Johnson and Daniel Tooson, along with linebacker Andrew Vince.
The defense might have the majority of its depth in its secondary, though, as cornerback Josh Stokes provides veteran leadership along with Shady Side Academy product Eddie Faulkner IV — the son of Steelers running backs coach Eddie Faulkner — along with redshirt junior Ali Abdul-Hakim.
Redshirt sophomore defensive back Kanye Thompson could also make some big plays for Slippery Rock. The McKeesport product will provide an unrivaled athletic edge, as he won a PSAC championship in the 100-meter dash last spring and qualified for the NCAA Division II national championship meet.
“It never changes,” said Lutz, whose program’s streak of five consecutive NCAA playoff appearances is good for a tie for second longest in the nation with Colorado School of Mines. “We’ve got to win a PSAC championship, get to the national playoffs again and compete for a national championship.”
As high as the expectations are for Slippery Rock, though, there was another school that received Lutz’s preseason vote as tops in the PSAC West Division.
“I think everybody is tough, but IUP was my pick as No. 1 in the west,” he said. “Cal will be good. They’ll all be good.”
Although Indiana University of Pennsylvania struggled at times last season with a young roster under seventh-year head coach Paul Tortorella, the Crimson Hawks rallied to a 6-5 record for the program’s 13th consecutive winning campaign.
Redshirt senior quarterback Karst Hunter threw for 1,220 yards and 13 touchdowns with seven interceptions in his first season at IUP.
Hunter’s veteran presence will benefit redshirt senior wide receiver Hilton Ridley, who has 1,480 yards and 16 touchdowns in three seasons with the Crimson Hawks.
Aliquippa product Cyair Clark is also expected to have an impact for IUP this season. The redshirt sophomore wide receiver caught 11 passes for 180 yards in 10 appearances last season.
Redshirt junior running back Dayjure Stewart also returns for the Crimson Hawks. He rushed for a team-high 863 yards and six touchdowns last year behind a strong offensive line anchored by Washington High product Gerald Comedy and redshirt senior Chad Layton.
IUP opens it season on the road at 7 p.m. Thursday against Ashland.
Picked to finish second in the PSAC’s preseason poll, California University of Pennsylvania returns one of the conference’s top wide receivers from last season, which was the Vulcans’ conference-best 19th consecutive winning campaign.
Sophomore Eric Willis III was third in the PSAC in receiving yards and second in touchdowns in 2023. The 5-foot-8, 160-pound wide receiver had 56 catches for 925 yards and nine touchdowns.
Senior running back Eric McKan III also joins with McKeesport product Bobby Boyd Jr. to provide a strong ground game.
McKan rushed for a team-high 598 yards and nine touchdowns for California in 2023, while Boyd added 582 yards and three scores.
Senior defensive back Dominic Solomon Jr., who is a Clairton graduate, will make plays for California in its secondary alongside Obama Academy product Rashan Murray.
Solomon had 50 tackles with an interception and forced fumble in 2023, while Murray had 31 tackles and broke up six passes.
California opens it season at noon Saturday on the road at Charleston, W.Va.
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.