Robert Coury’s professional life is on an undeniably upward trajectory.
The prospects awaiting a fifth-year graduate student walking around Carnegie Mellon’s Oakland campus carrying a 3.97 GPA in one of the world’s most academically challenging mechanical engineering programs — with internships at Mack Trucks, Tesla and Curtiss-Wright under his belt — are considerably abundant.
Then there’s the reality of life on the football field for the Tartans inside linebacker, who was recently named a preseason All-American for the third consecutive season.
“It’s obviously the last year some of us are going to be playing football, but we try not to think that way,” Coury said. “The game of football is like life, in a way, that you never know when it’s going to be your last, so you just attack every day and you’re just trying to get better every day.”
For Coury, the cornerstone of arguably one of the most dominant two-year defensive stretches in recent Presidents’ Athletic Conference history, the focus this season is on crafting a final winning chapter to his legacy — along with that of his seven fellow graduate students and 18 senior teammates.
Carnegie Mellon had its chances of winning its 10th PAC championship, along with securing its eighth undefeated season and third consecutive NCAA Division III playoff appearance dashed by a mere seven-point loss to Grove City last September.
“We love this program,” Coury said. “We love this team, we love being a part of it. We love this institution. We want to just continue to build here.”
The Tartans open their season on the road at 1 p.m. Saturday with a contest at PAC foe Thiel’s Alumni Stadium in Greenville.
“What I appreciate the most and respect the most about this team is that we are not even focused on Thiel yet,” said third-year Carnegie Mellon coach Ryan Larsen before a sweltering late-August preseason practice at Gesling Stadium. “We’re just not. We’re not worried about them yet, we’re just worried about us, and just being the best we can be right now. We have a lot of work to do.
“We know that we’re talented,” he added. “We know that we have some depth. We know that we have experience. All those things are lined up, but we also know that if we let our guard down we can have a situation like last year where one game can have a huge determination on our future.”
And like the previous two seasons in Larsen’s tenure, the Tartans’ destiny will likely be determined by how far its tough veteran defense will take it.
Carnegie Mellon’s defense led the PAC in nearly every statistical category for the second consecutive year in 2023. The Tartans surrendered an average of just 245 total yards per game and 15 total touchdowns, along with 73.1 yards and six touchdowns on the ground a year ago, which were the fewest in their conference in each category.
While Carnegie Mellon’s average of 171.9 yards allowed per game was third best in the PAC a year ago, it conceded a mere nine touchdowns through the air and racked up 16 interceptions, which were both best in the conference.
The Tartans were also second in the PAC with 33 sacks and 12 forced fumbles.
Leading that charge was Coury, who had team highs with 83 tackles and 16½ for a loss, while also registering four sacks, one forced fumble and one interception. He now has 289 tackles, 46½ for a loss, with 17 sacks over his career.
Graduate student linebacker Logan Young, a Moon graduate, also returns to anchor Carnegie Mellon’s defense. He had 65 tackles, four for a loss, with 1½ sacks and three interceptions a season ago.
Robert Coury’s twin brother, Thomas, also a graduate student linebacker, is also back after recording 63 tackles a year ago, along with senior linebacker Evan Roper, who had 60 tackles and a team-high nine sacks and defensive lineman Mitchell Stokey, who contributed 30 tackles and four sacks.
Peters Township product Adrian Williams will again serve as the leader of the Tartans secondary. The graduate student defensive back had 48 tackles and three interceptions in 2023.
“We’ll be tested,” said Larsen of his defense. “There will be some offenses in the league that we know will test our defense. I think the thing we do really, really well defensively is we’re very adaptable in our personnel, but also our scheme, where we move people around. We have really, really smart young men who can handle it.”
Carnegie Mellon will also feature a veteran edge on the offensive side of the football.
And Larsen has a good problem on his hands with two veteran returning quarterbacks, whom he said could both see significant playing time this season.
Graduate student Ben Mills returns as starter. He threw for 1,642 yards and 15 touchdowns with 10 interceptions, while Brady Hess only threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns as a backup a year ago but showed significant development in the preseason, Larsen said.
Graduate student Tre Vasiliadis also returns as the Tartans feature back. He carried the ball 215 times for 847 yards and five touchdowns in 2023.
Junior William Bouma also returns to manage short-yardage situations. He had just 61 carries for 339 yards a season ago but scored six touchdowns on the ground.
While Carnegie Mellon graduated its top two targets in the passing game in Ethan Reifer and Kaveh Wojtowich from a season ago, Larsen said he has high expectations for returning wide receivers Dominic Voiland and Peters Township product Brendan McCullough.
Voiland, a senior, caught 28 passes for 290 yards and a team-high six touchdowns, while McCullough will look to build up on his 24-catch, 242-yard, one-score freshman campaign of a season ago.
“I would just always go back to the culture,” McCullough said. “From Day One, all of the freshmen receivers, the freshmen line, they’re all brought in to a mentality. Our mentality is ‘BYB, Bring Your Best’ every day and 1-0 each week.’ I think we’ve been executing that every single day.”
And, in turn, the Tartans have some lofty expectations this fall.
“I can just see it through camp, everybody is hungry for a national title and to win the PAC,” McCullough said. “I think if there’s anybody to do it, we can do it.”
The major obstacle standing in Carnegie Mellon’s way, of course, is defending PAC champion Grove City, which underwent a historic campaign in 2023 behind a roster full of WPIAL products led by coach Andrew DiDonato, who is a Bridgeville native and South Fayette graduate.
Balance was the key a season ago for the Wolverines, who earned their first national ranking and NCAA postseason berth and victory, in addition to their only undefeated 10-win regular season in school history.
Grove City’s magical run ended in heartbreaking fashion with a 25-24 loss to eventual national champion Cortland in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs. The Wolverines had a potential game-winning field-goal attempt by kicker Caleb Kuechly sail wide left with six seconds remaining in regulation.
Quarterback Logan Pfeuffer, a Peters Township graduate, wide receiver Scott Fraser, a Knoch product, and running back Nico Flati, a West Allegheny graduate, all return for Grove City in 2024 and provide their team with plenty of reasons for optimism again.
Flati was the PAC’s leading rusher a season ago with 1,234 yards and eight touchdowns, while Pfeuffer passed for 2,088 yards and 19 touchdowns and Fraser caught 74 passes for 1,038 yards and 10 scores.
Linebacker Ben Bladel also returns to lead the Wolverines defense. The Moon graduate’s 17 sacks were tops in the nation, while he also collected 56 tackles, 24½ for a loss.
Grove City opens its season at 1 p.m. Saturday by playing host to Geneva at Robert E. Thorn Field.
Thomas Jefferson product Jacob Pugh, the PAC’s top passer a season ago,returns in 2024 to lead Washington & Jefferson.
The 5-foot-11, 195-pound senior threw for 2,984 yards, completing 65% of his passes, while racking up 38 touchdowns and just six interceptions a season ago. He also rushed for 168 yards and an additional three scores.
The Presidents open their season at 1 p.m. Saturday when Saint Vincent visits Cameron Stadium in Washington.
Another former WPIAL quarterback could also make considerable strides for Westminster in his junior season in 2024.
Moon graduate Ty McGowan returns for his third season as starter. The 6-foot, 190-pound quarterback threw for 1,424 yards and 14 touchdowns with just five interceptions.
The Titans open their season at 1 p.m. Sept. 14 against visiting Waynesburg at Harold Burry Stadium in New Wilmington.
Waynesburg receiver Isaac Trout, a Southmoreland product, could have a big impact on his offense this season.
A returning two-year starter, Trout caught 43 passes for 457 yards and five touchdowns last season, which were tops for the Yellow Jackets in each statistical category. He caught two touchdown passes in games against Grove City and Geneva.
Waynesburg opens its season at 1 p.m. Saturday when Case Western Reserve visits John F. Wiley Stadium.
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.