Hunter Hogan, a former wide receiver, has been a workhorse in the backfield for Calvin so far this season. Calvin athletics photo by John Van Tassel

By Joe Sager
D3sports.com


It’s rare that a sequel is better than the original.

Calvin believes it to be true, though.

The Knights debuted their football program last year. Understandably, the first-year team endured many ups and downs during its 2-8 campaign. This fall, though, Calvin is off to a 3-0 start.

The difference?

“The biggest change this year is the experience of the guys. They’ve had another year to develop physically, mentally and emotionally. The energy on the team is noticeably different,” Calvin coach Trent Figg said. “You can’t put a price tag on experience, that’s for sure. College football teams win with experience and veteran players. Last year, we gained so much experience with our guys.

“This offseason, they worked their tails off. They ran and got together and threw the ball around. They took it upon themselves to be a football team that’s very much on a mission right now.”

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Figg and his coaches wanted to build the program with a grassroots approach. Instead of loading up on transfers or graduate students with more experience, they focused on recruiting and building a majority of the roster through traditional recruiting classes.

“Basically, everybody came back from last year,” Calvin sophomore running back Hunter Hogan said. “We have an extra year extra of lifting and running and being around each other — it makes that much of a difference.”

Many of the Knights were first-year collegiate players last fall. Now, they’ve endured the grind of a college football season once already.

“Last year, you didn’t know what to expect since it was your first year,” Hogan said. “We didn’t have leaders like other teams have that kind of direct us in a way. Every game, you didn’t know who was going to step up or take the lead. The switch from last year to this year is that we’re all in and we have great leadership. That’s been the biggest difference.”

Familiarity with the team’s systems and how they function within games has helped Calvin’s players settle in, too.

“Definitely, with a year under everyone’s belts, we can play faster and react a lot better,” Calvin sophomore linebacker Carson Schnurstein said. “If you watch film, the plays will show themselves, eventually. With another year of experience, we can recognize that faster and get to the ball faster.”

The program has started to establish an identity on the football field as well. In the young season, the Knights rank fifth in the nation at 323 rushing yards per game. Hogan, a converted receiver, is second in the country with 567 yards.

“The progress from last year to this year is really insane. Looking at just the offensive side, we didn’t run the ball well at all last year. That’s what we really pride ourselves on now,” Hogan said. “Seeing that growth over the past year is amazing. Moving from slot receiver to running back, I can see holes open now that didn’t open last year.”

The squad has built some character, too. After losing three games by a touchdown or less last season, the Knights showed resiliency last week in pulling out a 40-37 win at Heidelberg. Calvin watched its 34-20 lead evaporate in the fourth quarter, but rallied to get the win in OT.

“It was great to see that because we faced some adversity there,” Schnurstein said. “It shows how well the team is built. I had no doubt our offense was going to go out there and get a touchdown in overtime after the defense held Heidelberg to a field goal. We believe in each other and I am so proud of our guys for that.

“We’re having a ton of fun out there right now. After each big play, people are running to the player who made it and congratulating him. When we look at the sidelines, the people there are cheering us on. The gives you a big energy boost when you’re out there on the field.”

The Knights have some more comfort this season playing games on campus. They were able to practice on a grass field at Calvin last fall, but traveled to Grand Rapids Christian High School for games. This fall, the team gets to practice on a brand-new turf field on campus and play its games at the new Calvin Soccer Stadium. That’s just a temporary home, though, as the second phase of building bleachers and a pressbox at the team’s turf practice field is scheduled to take place in the offseason and transform the facility into the team’s permanent stadium by next season.

“College football is meant to be played on campus,” Figg said. “Where we’re practicing now, the goal for 2026 is to get it playable. Our soccer stadium is an incredible venue on campus. The football stadium, once done, will be incredible, too. We’ll be on campus forever now. Last year, playing off campus, every game was a road game. We’d get dressed in our locker room, then take a bus to the stadium. Now, we get to work out of our locker room. We’ll have true home games and home-field advantages. Having games on campus is a lot of fun. It’s unbelievable for our students to be able to walk from their dorms and go to the stadium.”

Playing at their own castle — even a temporary one — has been a relief for the Knights.

“That’s been huge for us,” Schnurstein said. “Not having to take a bus to every home game is huge. We had our travel bags and couldn’t stay in the locker room to celebrate a win. From a practice aspect, it’s just so nice to be in a solid schedule every day and get into a groove every week.”

“There’s definitely a different kind of buzz on campus,” Hogan added. “More people are watching and looking for games. People tune in now because we’re winning games, too.”

Calvin understands the building process must continue, especially as it begins MIAA play.

“Our conference is very tough,” Schnurstein said. “We’re not celebrating everything now. We know we just have to keep working as we move on throughout the season.”