That talent is most evident in the person of senior quarterback Dan Cole, who already holds most of the school’s passing records, including the game and season marks for completions, passing yards, touchdown passes, and total offense—a category in which he was fourth in the nation last year. Lindy’s National College Football magazine named Cole a preseason Second-Team All-American for Division III.

Cole’s favorite target this year is likely to be senior Flynn Cochran, who has played nearly every skill position for the Engineers’ offense. Cochran’s versatility plays a key part in offensive coordinator Brian Surace’s playbook, which features frequent deep strikes and razzle-dazzle plays. Cochran will also be called upon to help make up for the loss of his brother Evan, who scored 15 of the team’s 32 receiving touchdowns last year as a senior and is now an assistant coach with the Engineers.

Surace says he expects the problem of replacing the elder Cochran to “take care of itself” as other receivers step up to the challenge, and certainly there are several receivers who appear ready to do so. Senior Pat Hughes was both the team’s top rusher and third-leading receiver last year, and junior Danny Stephens provided several big catches in the last few games of 2002. Sophomore Anthony Couture is expected to see some downs this year, and dependable seniors Joseph Gomez and John Krol round out a receiving corps that is both deep and talented.

Running the football was at times a challenge for the Engineers last year, and Coach King says that has been addressed in this off-season, with the team sporting more depth than in recent years. Otis Williams returns as the team’s workhorse in the backfield, and fellow junior Anthony Martuscello should also see some playing time.

Up front is where the Engineers are least experienced, with three starting linemen plus the top tight end from last year gone. Returning seniors Alex Keel and Ray Noonan will get some experienced help from Anthony Casale, who missed last season with an injury, but the other two slots are still open.

Surace says that the team has been experimenting with different combinations of players to find a line that will work well together, but in the end, “The best 11 [athletes] are going to play.”

On the other side of the ball, the Engineers were very young in 2002, and it showed at times. Even the normally taciturn King said that “we weren’t as good as we like to be on D.” For the 2003 campaign, the defense appears to be much improved. The Engineers return two of the top defensive backs in the league in Mike Defilippi and Jai Echols, along with Brent Hanson, the Engineers’ leading kick returner. Chris Pierz and Greg Giadone anchor a deep group of linebackers, and Ramses Jimenez will again be a major force on the D-line—in 2002, Jimenez led the team with 5.5 sacks despite missing nearly half the season due to injury.

The Engineers also see the return of three experienced players who were not available to the team last season. Defensive backs Grant Cochran and Dylan Cooper and lineman Nick Barnes all figure to be key contributors to the 2003 campaign.

The team’s primary emphasis in the preseason, though, has been special teams—the Engineers allowed several long returns in 2002, and they have been focussing on avoiding that since the first practice of this season.

“We’ve at times been dominant on special teams,” said King, and he would very much like to get back to that.

The kicking game remains strong: Kickoff specialist Ed Garcia and placekicker Matt Verenini are both back for another year, as are nearly all of the Engineers’ returners.

The 2003 Engineers are a team that is proud of their previous accomplishments but hungry for more. RPI won eight games last year and went on to take the ECAC Northeast championship game, but they lost to conference rivals Union and Hobart, which left them in third place in the five-team UCAA and out of national playoff contention. Wide receiver Stephens said in an interview, “No one was really happy with an 8-2 season.”

Offensive lineman Keel made an even stronger statement, saying that making the NCAA playoffs was a goal for many players, “but just making it isn’t enough anymore. We feel that our team can compete with anybody in the nation.”

King, meanwhile, remains true to his focus on the short term that has brought him 15 years of success unparalled in the history of the program. When asked what his goal for the year was, he replied, “Win the first game.”

The Engineers open their season on Saturday at Utica. Game time is 2:15 pm; students can listed to the game live on WRPI.