COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - A year ago, Trey Feeney was just getting up to speed at Saint John's – a transfer quarterback surrounded by a veteran receiving corps as he picked up the Johnnies' offensive scheme during the spring practice period.
 
Flash forward to today and Feeney is the established veteran with a year of starting experience under his belt. But it's his receiving corps now stepping into largely new roles.
 
"It's crazy how fast it goes," said Feeney, a Moorhead High School graduate who transferred to SJU from FCS North Dakota prior to last season and won the starting job last fall when he threw for 3,352 yards and 40 touchdowns to lead the Johnnies to a 10-2 finish and a berth in the third round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
 
"Last spring was about figuring out how everything works here. Now I'm trying to develop chemistry with the new guys and figure out what they're comfortable with."
 
The Johnnies – who started spring workouts April 2 – graduate a pair of All-Americans in wide receiver Dylan Wheeler (98 catches for 1,175 yards and 19 touchdowns) and tight end Joey Gendreau (76 catches, 1,020 yards, nine touchdowns). 
 
Fellow senior Owen Amrhein (17 catches, 254 yards, one touchdown) graduates as well, and Carson Hegerle, who had 47 catches for 530 yards and seven touchdowns after transferring to SJU prior to last season, has elected not to return next fall.
 
That leaves junior Riley Schwellenbach (50 catches, 817 yards, six touchdowns) as the lone returner among the team's top five receivers last fall. But he's playing baseball and will not take part in spring workouts.
 
"Who that next group will be is one of the things we're hoping to find out (this spring)," SJU head coach Gary Fasching '81 said. "We have a lot of guys who are going to get the opportunity to come in and catch balls from Trey and (top backup) Reece Dawson. There's a group of players there who haven't had their chance yet. But now they're getting it."
 
Among that group is senior-to-be Thomas Jacobs, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound Stillwater Area High School graduate who caught 10 passes for 122 yards last season. Andrew Harren, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound senior-to-be from Sauk Rapids-Rice High School, saw action in all 12 games at tight end. 
 
Sam Nolan, a 6-foot, 180-pound senior-to-be from Lakeville North High School, is among the other names who could be in the mix at wide receiver.
 
"We don't really have an alpha yet in the way guys like Dylan and Joey were last season," Feeney said. "But we have a good group of guys who are all friends and all want to succeed.
 
"There's a lot of talent there. It may not be one or two guys with 100 catches. But we could have four or more guys with 50 plus. I'm excited to see who steps up."
 
The Johnnies also have some holes to fill defensively, starting at the top. Defensive coordinator Brandon Novak '01 took the head coaching job at Loras (Iowa) this offseason. His place has been taken by James Herberg, who joined the staff as the defensive backs coach last fall after leading Rocori High School to eight state tournament appearances – four as a defensive assistant (2009-17) and four more as head coach (2018-24).
 
That stretch included Class 4A state titles in 2011 and 2019 and a state runner-up finish in 2023. 
 
"We're not doing much differently defensively, but there is some terminology James uses that's a little different," Fasching said. "So there are few things for guys to pick up that way."
 
SJU graduates a pair of All-Americans on the defensive line in Zach Frank and Landon Gallagher. But senior-to-be Chandler Obering and juniors-to-be Grady Minnerath and Charlie King saw plenty of time in the rotation, while Landon Danner, who started as a sophomore at linebacker last fall and ranked second on the team with 69 tackles, is expected to move to defensive end.
 
Unlike last season, when the team was allowed 10 additional padded practices to prepare for an international trip to Canada, the Johnnies will only get the standard 16 allotted practices (in which no 11-on-11 work is permitted) this spring. 
 
"We look at every spring as a time for evaluation, no matter how much time we get," said Fasching, whose team (ranked No. 8 in the final AFCA Division III poll of the 2025 season) plays host to Wisconsin-La Crosse (ranked No. 10) in the 2026 season opener at 1 p.m. on Sept. 5 in Clemens Stadium.
 
"And it's not just evaluating players. We're evaluating schemes and plays. It's a chance to take a look at everything we're doing heading into the fall."
 
•    Fasching said a pair of transfers are taking part in spring workouts. They are Jack Wojciak, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound sophomore-to-be wide receiver who spent his freshman season at Augsburg, and Will Quick, a 5-9, 170-pound defensive back who spent his freshman season at South Dakota Mines.