COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - The 2023 season ended well before Grant Peroutka and his teammates on the Saint John's University football team wanted it to.

But that disappointment has served as motivation, fueling the Johnnies' offseason preparation.

"Everyone - from the coaches to the players - hated that feeling of being left out," said Peroutka, a 6-foot-1, 275-pound offensive tackle whose team finished 8-2 last fall, but missed the NCAA Division III playoffs for the first time since 2013 – snapping a school-record streak of eight-straight postseason appearances (the Johnnies did not play in 2020 because of COVID-19).

"Guys bring it up all the time. It was our motivation through all the running and morning meetings this winter. We're still a little salty about it. We feel like we've got something to prove."

The opportunity to do that won't come until the Johnnies open the 2024 season with a nonconference matchup against Carthage (Wis.), scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sept. 7 at Clemens Stadium.

But a big step toward laying the groundwork for next fall comes Monday (March 25) when the team in scheduled to begin its spring practice period.

Under MIAC rules, teams are allowed a total of 16 practices (four of them padded) to be completed during a five-week period. SJU plans to practice two-or-three times a week, running through the final scheduled practice on April 29.

"We're taking the same approach we go into the spring with every year," SJU head coach Gary Fasching '81 said. "It's a time to work on cleaning up some of the things we want to improve on from last season, and it's also a chance to evaluate the progress players have made during the offseason."

Fasching's team returns seven starters on offense, including four on the offensive line. Peroutka and fellow tackle Tommy Hessburg (6-5, 295) each return for their senior seasons after being named All-MIAC first-team picks in 2023.

Center Charlie Folkens (6-3, 285) and left guard Nick McKenzie (6-1, 280) will return for their senior seasons as well.

"There's going to be bigger expectations next season," Hessburg said. "We have a lot of guys coming back and we know the coaches are going to be counting on us even more. 

"But we're ready for that."

The Johnnies did lose a pair of All-Americans to graduation in guard Joe Jaeger and tight end Alex Larson. Veteran wide receiver Nick VanErp, who joined those players on the All-MIAC first-team a year ago, and running backs Devin Vouk and Troy Feddema (the team's top two rushers last fall) graduate as well.

SJU got a big boost when standout quarterback Aaron Syverson (6-0, 195) chose to return to use the extra year of eligibility the NCAA granted all athletes because of the impact of COVID-19. Syverson has started the past three seasons and his 652 career completions, 96 career touchdown passes and 8,506 career passing yards all rank third in program history.

But Syverson will not take part in spring practices, meaning his backups will get some experience this spring working with returning receivers Dylan Wheeler (6-3, 200), who caught 55 passes for 762 yards and eight touchdowns as a sophomore last fall, and Marselio Mendez (5-9, 170), who had 32 receptions for 444 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior in 2023.

"On the offensive side of the ball, our biggest focus is going to be on continuing to improve in the running game," said Fasching, whose team does return Caden Wheeler (5-10, 195), who rushed for three touchdowns and had the fastest 40-yard dash time on the team as a sophomore last season.

"We improved there last season and we have a few new wrinkles we want to put in to continue building on that."

Fasching also mentioned Jaxon Sawyer (6-1, 205), who redshirted as a freshman at Division I Washington State in 2022 before transferring to SJU prior to last season, and senior-to-be Quinn Christoffersen (5-10, 200), who is studying abroad this semester, as being among a number of running backs who could also see playing time next fall.

"Spring is a good time to look at who's picked up their game since we last played in November," Fasching said. "Who's gotten faster or stronger? There's a lot of evaluation that happens."

Defensively, the Johnnies return eight starters from a unit that ranked second in the MIAC with an average of 316.2 yards per game allowed last season and yielded a conference-low 4.58 yards per play.

Leading that group are five All-MIAC first-team picks:

•    Defensive end Joe Akoh (6-4, 240), who returns for his extra year of eligibility after tying for the MIAC lead in fumble recoveries last season.

•    Noah Arneson (6-0, 195), who had 56 tackles and three interceptions as a sophomore in 2023.

•    Defensive tackle Zach Frank (6-3, 260), who was second in the conference in sacks with 5.5 as a junior last fall and was a D3football.com All-Region second-team pick.

•    Linebacker Hayden Sanders (6-0, 215), who ranked third with 70 tackles as a junior in 2023.

•    Linebacker Cooper Yaggie (6-0, 210), who ranked second on the team with 73 tackles as a junior last season.

SJU also returns both its kicker and punter in seniors-to-be Conor Murphy (5-10, 180) and Spencer Ell (5-11, 185).

Meanwhile, Fasching said the team added four transfers this offseason, all of whom will take part in spring practices:

•    Faaris Amegankpoe, a 6-foot-3, 188-pound wide receiver who had 47 catches for 497 yards and three touchdowns at Valley City (North Dakota) State the past two seasons - leading the Vikings in receiving yards as a sophomore in 2022.

•    Dom DiMaggio, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound tight end who spent his freshman season at Bethel in 2023.

•    Charlie King, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound defensive lineman who spent his freshman season at Division II power Minnesota State-Mankato last fall.

•    Henry Pirner, a defensive back from Centennial High School who did not play football as a freshman at Minnesota-Duluth in 2023

"There are limitations on what we can do, especially for the linemen, but there's still a lot of value in the time you get in the spring," Fasching said. "You're able to experiment and see how things look without having to worry about playing a game. 

"It's just good to get guys together one more time before the summer and review the things you want to work on."

"We're excited to get out there and work hard," Peroutka added. "It's a chance to set the tone going into the fall."