COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Over the course of his first three seasons at Saint John's University, Joey Gendreau knew he could usually rely on Aaron Syverson putting the ball in exactly the right spot.

A four-year starting quarterback who earned All-America honors in his final season last fall, Syverson finished his career in possession of 15 of the school's single-game, season or career passing records – including establishing new MIAC marks for career passing yardage (12,888) and touchdown passes (147).

Gendreau – a 6-foot-3, 230-pound tight end who earned All-America honors as a junior in 2024 – benefitted from Syverson's skills as much as anyone. His 92 career receptions already rank fourth on the school's all-time list for tight ends, while his 1,176 career receiving yards rank fourth and his 11 career touchdowns are tied for seventh.

But Syverson has now graduated, and the search for his replacement will be a big part of the Johnnies' focus during an extended spring practice period that began earlier this week.

"Obviously, getting that time to work with our top quarterbacks is going to be more important than it's been the past few years," said Gendreau who, like Syverson, is a Minnetonka High School graduate. 

"Aaron was so good at knowing his receivers and being able to put the ball in different places for each guy. When you lose a guy like that, it leaves a big hole to fill. So we need to see what these other guys can do, and continue building chemistry with them."

Five quarterbacks are taking part in spring workouts. That group includes a pair of transfers in Trey Feeney, who played three seasons at FCS North Dakota before leaving the team in late August of last year (leaving him with two years of eligibility remaining), and Beau Bush, who played the past two seasons at FCS South Dakota.

Feeney was the 2020 Gatorade Player of the Year in Minnesota as a senior at Moorhead High School (where his father Kevin is the longtime head coach) and saw action in seven games at North Dakota in the fall of 2023. Bush, meanwhile, was a prep standout at Pella (Iowa) High School.

SJU head coach Gary Fasching said those two will compete with senior-to-be Zander Dittbenner, the former Mankato West High School star who has been Syverson's top backup the past two years (though a shoulder injury kept him out much of last season), senior-to-be Lucas Jansky, who played in the Minnesota state all-star game following his senior season at Kimball Area High School, and sophomore-to-be Reece Dawson, a prep standout at Rogers High School.

"Just judging from the first day, they all look really good," Fasching said after the team's first practice Monday. "Eventually, as we go through these practices, I expect some separation will happen. The goal is to come away from the spring with a good idea of who our top two guys are going into next fall.

"But we have no idea yet who those guys will be. It's up to them to perform."

The fact that the Johnnies are allowed more practice time than usual to prepare for an international trip to Canada in mid-May means each quarterback will have plenty of chances to show their skills.

In addition to using 10 of the 16 unpadded practices normally allowed (in which no 11-on-11 work is permitted), SJU also has 10 padded practices in advance of their exhibition matchup with the Winnipeg Rifles of the Canadian Junior Football League, scheduled for noon on May 17 at Winnipeg's Maple Grove Rugby Park.

Teams are allowed to make such trips every three years under NCAA rules, though this is the first time the Johnnies have done so since 2021. The padded portion will also include a spring game, scheduled for May 10 at Clemens Stadium.

"It allows us the chance to do a lot more evaluation than we would in a normal spring," said Fasching, whose team finished 11-1, captured the MIAC title and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Division III playoffs last fall. 

"That's going to help a lot because we have a lot of holes we need to fill."

Indeed, in addition to losing Syverson, SJU graduated four of five starters on the offensive line (including All-America guard Nick McKenzie) and six starters defensively (including linebackers Hayden Sanders and Cooper Yaggie, who finished first and tied for second respectively on the team in total tackles last fall).

"We're losing some really talented players, but we have younger guys who have been waiting for their chance to step up," said All-America defensive tackle Zach Frank, who will return next fall for a final year of eligibility due to a medical redshirt, but will not be making the trip to Canada because he will be taking part in commencement that weekend.

"The goal this spring is to build chemistry with the new guys. We don't plan to take a step back next fall. We know we have guys who are ready to step in, and these practices give them a chance to show it."

Fasching said 93 players are taking part in the unpadded portion of spring practice with about 80 players expected to take part in the preparations for the Canada trip.

Included in that group will be three other transfers: defensive back Mark Rogalski, a St. Thomas Academy High School graduate who played two seasons (one as a redshirt) at FBS Wake Forest; running back Logan Eisele, a Becker High School graduate who spent the past two seasons at Division II Concordia-St. Paul (one as a redshirt); and defensive lineman Melvin Wallace, who redshirted as a freshman at Division II Southwest Minnesota State last fall.

The team will be without 10 returners who are studying abroad this semester for most or all of the spring – a group that includes All-America wide receiver Dylan Wheeler, linebacker Aiden McMahon, who was tied for second on the team in total tackles last fall, and running back Caden Wheeler, who led the team in rushing despite only seeing action in five games due to injury.

"I wouldn't say anyone is going to win or lose a starting spot in the spring," Fasching said. "But it's a chance for guys to solidify their spots. We want to go into the start of practice in the fall knowing who our top guys are at every position. It's not that other people can't jump into that group. But what we see in the spring will give us a good idea of who we're going to take the first look at in August."
 
·      The start time for the spring game on May 10 is still to be determined. Fasching said the plan is to schedule around the MIAC baseball tournament, which is being played at SJU May 8-10.

·      Fasching said the Johnnies will depart for Winnipeg on May 16, play the game against the Rifles the following day and return home immediately afterward.

·      The schedule for the spring is to practice Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

·      Fasching said offseason recruiting has been going well, and the Johnnies are on pace to bring in a group of somewhere around 50 to 60 freshmen next fall. He also said additional transfers may materialize after FBS teams complete their spring practice period because of a new rule limiting roster sizes to 105 at that level – a reduction of around 23 spots from the previous average.

·      The Johnnies are still looking for a non-conference opponent to open the 2025 season on either Sept. 6 or 13. SJU opens MIAC play at Hamline at 1 p.m. on Sept. 20 in St. Paul.