You hear the phrase "It's a new season" a lot at this time of year around college football camps.  In the case of Hamline University, the phrase has more meaning than usual.

Chip Taylor makes his debut on the sidelines Saturday as the Pipers open the 2016 season against Crown College. It's the first meeting ever between the two schools. Game time is 1:00 p.m.

There are a lot of familiar names on the HU roster. Overall, 56 players return from the 2015 team that went 4-6 overall, including keeping possession of the Paint Bucket with a win over neighbor Macalester. "We have a lot of guys who know what to expect this season," Taylor said. Among the new names, however, are two guys who won't gain a yard. Jim Zebrowski, former quarterbacks coach at the U of Minnesota and Brian Sheehan, former head coach at Defiance, joined Taylor's staff for the 2016 season. "It has been huge to have guys who have been there as head coaches (Zebrowski was a head coach at Lakeland and an assistant at Wis-Whitewater)," Taylor said. "They have great ideas and have been fun – and instructive – to work with."

On offense, Hamline starts with a rarity. Justice Spriggs and Kyle Johnson logged the lion's share of minutes at quarterback with Luke Lindquist also seeing playing time. This trio completed 60 per cent of their passes last year with for 2211 yards and 15 touchdowns. Spriggs, who threw for 1,011 yards is expected to get the start with Lindquist as a backup. Johnson, who is one of the top punters in the conference (and also placekicks), has been working out in the defensive secondary.

They have a speedy receiving corps to work with. Naji El-Araby led the Pipers last year with 36 receptions (including a 70-yarder – fifth longest in the MIAC last year). Kampa, who also plays basketball at HU, snagged 23 balls before being sidelined with an injury. Deon Bishop grabbed 18. El-Araby (pictured) also finished with more than 400 yards as a punt and kick returner, leading the team with 956 All-Purpose Yards.

Zebrowski, who is the offensive coordinator, is looking to find a replacement for Austin Duncan, the school's all-time leader in rushing yards and touchdowns, who graduated. Brendan Nachtrieb, the second leading rusher last year, returns as does speedster Jaiman Hampton.

Three regular offensive linemen (including strongman Chase Duwenhoegger, an All-American in the Shot Put last spring) are back. There is an opening at tight end. Phil Sherman has moved from being a starter last year to an assistant coach this fall. Three returnees – Josiah Harris, Nathan Oukrop and Jay Hendrycks – will compete with two newcomers at that spot.

Taylor, who is keeping his duties as defensive coordinator, has four of the team's top five tacklers from 2015 back. DB Zach Schwalbach, who led the Pipers last year (and tied for sixth in the MIAC) in Unassisted Tackles with 40, is back as is hard-hitting LB Jonny Nguyen (10 tackles for loss), CB Anthony Hill (team high three interceptions) and LB Luke Trudell, who had a superb freshman season with 30 tackles. Hill has 251 career tackles – an impressive mark for a secondary player.  Also back are such stalwarts as DL Lucjan Januszewski (who has started 24 straight games) and LB Cody Vaughn, who had 20 unassisted tackles last year.

The list of returnees includes the special teams. Johnson averaged 44.7 yards last year on 19 punts, including a 76 yarder at Macalester – second longest in school history. Riley Bakken, a freshman from Thief River Falls, Minn. is his backup. 

Kale Wurdeman, a junior, was 5-6 on field goals and connected on 24 extra points last year. He has been competing with Johnson in training camp for placekicking duties. 

The schedule has changed slightly in 2016. HU opens the season with three straight home games and has six in all at Klas Field. After the Pipers battle the Storm, it's the annual battle for The Paint Bucket against Macalester on Saturday, September 10 in a 7:00 p.m. game. After a week off, it's the MIAC opener against Gustavus Adolphus at Klas on September 24. The Pipers then travel to Carleton before coming back for the first ever Homecoming night game ever on October 8 against St. Olaf (7:00 p.m.).  The other home games are Augsburg (October 29) and the season finale against Bethel (November 12). The Pipers also have away games at Concordia, St. Thomas and St. John's.

"Our skill level is good. What I am looking for us is to be fundamentally sound," Taylor summarized. "We need to make sure we don't make mistakes like pre-snap penalties. We have a blue collar mentality and our attitude is very good. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens."