The Jackrabbits open 2026 play by hosting the Stetson Hatters of the Pioneer League.  The Hatters finished 3-9 in 2025 with it’s three wins coming over Warner (NAIA), Davidson, and Morehead State.  Stetson is in DeLand, Florida and was founded in 1883, originally named DeLand Academy.  The name Stetson comes from John B. Stetson and the name was changed in 1889 to honor him.  Some fun facts are that it was home to Florida’s first law school and it was the first private university to desegregate in 1962.

Offense

Overall, Stetson’s offense really struggled to get much going in 2026.  It looks like injuries were definitely a factor.  They averaged under 19 points per game with 161 yards per game coming on the ground (3.9 ypc) but just 151 ypg passing  all of this led to just 31 total touchdowns on the season.  The QBs combined to toss 15 interceptions and they had 9 lost fumbles.  On 3rd down they converted 32% of their opportunities.  In the redzone they scored on 24 of 32 opportunities with 21 being touchdowns.  The offensive line did only give up 20 sacks on the season.

Stetson returns it’s top two quarterbacks from last season.  #15 Kael Alexander (6-4, 210, So) played in 7 games last season and completed 55% of his passes for 954 yards, 8 TD and 5 INT.  He was not a threat in the run game and finished with -25 yards on the ground with a long run of 19 yards.  #16 Chris Stephenson (5-9, 193, JR)also played in 7 games and completed 54.5% of his passes for 454 yards and 2 TD to 4 INT.  However, he was certainly more of a running threat having 536 gross yards (4.9 ypc average) and 5 TDs with a long of 65 yards.  I can find no indication who the preferred starter will be but I’m sure the Jacks will be prepared for both.  Their difference in stature and play style sure make that intriguing.

#0 Michael Dempsey (6-0, 215) is the returning leading rusher for the Hatters besides Stephenson and he was actually named to the Preseason All-PFL 3rd Team as a fullback.  He had 50 carries last season for 280 yards (5.6 ypc) and 2 TDs.  He also added 13 receptions for 187 yards and 3 TDs in the passing game.   This effort actually earned him All-Pioneer League Honorable Mention.  The only other backs with any game experience are #27 Marvin Duffey Jr (5-8, 180) and  #8 Troy Flowers (5-9, 171).  Duffey Jr had 32 attempts for 88 yards (2.8) and 2 TD, both against Warner. Flowers had 21 attempts for 82 yards (3.9 ypc) and 2 TD.

The Hatters return their top three leading receivers from 2025.  #3 Dylan Redmon (6’2, 219) put together a nice season which earned him the honor of making the Phil Steele preseason All-PFL third team.  He had 23 receptions for 341 yards and 4 TDs with a long of 67 yards.  #5 Wyatt Rogers (6-1, 193) only played in 3 games but had 14 receptions for 195 yards and 1 TD.  Rogers was productive in the first two weeks of the season but must have been hurt in week 3 against Chattanooga.  Hopefully he is now healthy and we can see this Stetson passing attack at full force.  #1 Malachi Townsend (6’3, 211) ended the year with 17 receptions for 188 yards.  At tight end the Hatters return #10 Anthony Benzija (64, 240) after he had 15 receptions for 137 yards and 1 TD.  The only other tight end with much experience is #84 Jack Stanton (6-3, 212) and he had just 7 receptions for 35 yards in 2025.

Because Stetson did not put out game notes in 2025, I cannot predict who their offensive line may be this year.  When I look at the participation statistics in their stats from 2025, it doesn’t appear that there is a lot of experience coming back on the offensive line.

• #79 Gabe Snyder (6-8, 305, Sr) appeared in 4 games at left tackle and he must have been pretty good in those games as he was a Pre-Season Phil Steele All-PFL Second Team selection.
• #54 Jalen Foster (6-0, 282) played in 5 games and was selected as a 3rd Team PFL selection by Phil Steele.
• #65 Richard Dennis (6’3, 325, Jr) appeared in 8 games
• #68 Jonathan Stark (6-5, 323, Jr) appeared in 9 games.
• #62 Luke Cloer (6’4, 333, So) is a sophomore who appeared in 3 games last year
• #75 Colton Lewis (6-6, 271, Jr) appeared in 4.

Again, I have no idea if it will be a combination of these 6 but these are the most experienced guys.

Defense

The Hatter defense struggled in 2025.  Opponents scored 39 points per game via rushing for 169 ypg (4.7 ypc) and throwing for 219 ypg.  They did force  interceptions but only registered 17 sacks.  Opponents converted 42% of the time on 3rd down  and in the redzone they scored 41 of 46 times with 34 being touchdowns.

Again, the lack of a two deep makes it really challenging to identify who the starters may be so all we can really go on is stats and experience.  Luckily, this group has very little experience at Stetson so there simply isn’t much to write.  #6 Casey Bending (6-4, 233) is one bright spot.  He joints Stetson after a year at the College of Dupage where he was a NJCAA after registering 37 tackles and 13 sacks on his way to securing a NJCAA Division III National Championship.  #91 Colin Douthit (6-2, 253) is the only other senior on the roster and he played in 8 games in 2025 and registered 5 tackles.  #98 Noah Raab (6-1, 278) transfers in after two seasons at Pasadena City College in California where he played in 17 games and had 15 tackles and 3 TFLs.  #55 Cade Davis (5-11, 294) played in 5 games and had 3 tackles.   The rest of the room are either freshmen or redshirt freshmen and I don’t see any significant participation or statistics.

The linebackers are the strength of the defense with #41 Shug Bentley (6-0, 228) parlaying a big sophomore season into a 2026 preseason All-PFL 2nd team selection.  He ended the season with 75 tackles, 4 TFL, 1 INT and 4 PBUs on the season.  #11 Kyle Elphick (6-3, 235) had 58 stops, 5.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 1 INT, and 4 PBU which resulted in a preseason selection to the Phil Steele 3rd team selection this summer.   #0 Nycere Jacobs (6-1, 213) had a big freshman season and and was 6th on the team with 39 tackles, 3.5 TFL and 2 PBU.  A top backup may be #10 Damontez McDowell (6-1, 218) and he registered 26 tackles and 1.5 sacks last year.

#5 Jahyden Clark (5-11, 179) looks like a cornerback and he had 33 total tackles, 4 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 1 INT, and 1 PBU a season ago.  #2 Julian Sampson (5-11, 191) had 27 total tackles and 1 PBU on the year.    #20 Noah Schwartz (6-1, 187) did not appear in any games last season but played in 5 games the year prior and had 11 tackles.  The Hatters did bring in #1 Jaxon Holloway from the College of San Mateo where he had 14 tackles, 4 PBUs and 1 INT last season.   While there he won back to back California Community College State Championships.   Again, not much else for experience in this group.

Special Teams

The Hatters return both their punter and kicker from a season ago.  #85 Daniel Holbrook was 3-9 on his field goals last season with all three coming from the 30 to 39 range.  He had a long of 35 yards and had one kick blocked.  #20 Brett Gonda had a 40 yard average on 55 punts with a long of 61 yards.  He had just 3 touchbacks and forced 13 to be faircaught.  He landed 7 inside the 20 and boomed 5 50+ yards.  The team did surrender three blocked punts in 2025.  Gonda also served as the teams kick off specialist for the last third of the season and had a 55 yard average with just 2 touchbacks and 1 kick out of bounds.

Running back #8 Troy Flowers served as the primary kick returners in 2025 and had 12 returns for 251 yards (21 yard avg) with a long of 28 yards.  Wide receiver #4 Shawne Jones (6-2, 197) also had 6 returns for 151 yards (25 yard avg) with a long of 36.

Prediction

This game could get ugly.  The Jacks hungry and out to prove that last year was a fluke.  Two weeks ago I thought the team looked great in person.  I can’t imagine what two mores weeks of practice and preparation could have done for this group.  The Jacks win big and we get to see the depth for most of the second half.

Jackrabbits 56- Hatters 6

Go Jacks!

Matt