The Linfield Football program is used to high expectations – held both by itself and by others. However, the Wildcats coming into a season with chips on their shoulders has been rare.
 
After a disappointing end to the 2023 campaign in which they went 8-1 but narrowly missed out on a fourth consecutive Northwest Conference championship and missed the NCAA Playoffs for the first time since 2018, Linfield is ready to come back with a vengeance.
 
"The team is very motivated and there's a nice hunger that comes when we let something slip away that we shouldn't have," said 19th-year head coach Joseph Smith about his team heading into the 2024 season.
 
"Nobody forgets around here. Our guys remember and know what they're working for and certainly the motivation is quite high to improve."
 
THE OFFENSE
Linfield's offense had another strong showing last season for sixth-year offensive coordinator Brett Elliott, leading the NWC and finishing in the top 25 in NCAA Division-III in total and scoring offense.
 
The Wildcats proved to be balanced, efficient and mistake-free, leading the league in rushing at 182.7 yards per game, sitting in the top 20 nationally in fewest turnovers and completion percentage and ranking fourth in the nation at fourth-down conversion rate.
 
Although there will be four new starters at the "skill position" spots, the offense is led by senior quarterback Blake Eaton, in his third season running the Linfield offense, and a veteran unit on the offensive line, with five returners with starting experience.
 
Eaton, a two-time all-conference selection, started seven games as a junior and finished top three in the NWC in passing yards per game, completion percentage and touchdowns. He boasted the best touchdown to interception ratio in the league with 20 scores and just two picks.
 
The Central Point, Ore., product has also added seven rushing touchdowns through his two seasons as a starter and enters his senior year as the Wildcats' all-time leader in completion rate at a 70.1 percent clip.
 
"I see Blake exploding this year," said Smith. "He's always been a good decision maker on the short and intermediate stuff but now we're seeing more accuracy on the deep ball."
 
Eaton will be backed up by junior Luke McNabb, who was used moderately in designed situations last year before starting the final two games of 2023 with Eaton out with injury. McNabb will be mixed back into the offense this season.
 
In his sophomore year, McNabb threw for nine touchdowns with two interceptions and a 65.2 percent completion rate, while averaging 4.9 yards per rush. In his two games as the starter, he recorded 689 yards of total offense and was responsible for seven touchdowns.
 
"Luke comes in and he can really run, and he hits deep balls, too," said Smith. "We've got two exceptionally good quarterbacks and I'd be shocked if they weren't both playing in some fashion."
 
An experienced offensive line is anchored by two 2023 all-NWC honorees in junior Austin Leykam at center and graduate senior Ethan Hoppe at guard. Linfield also returns fifth-year senior guard Bailey Lee, a two-time all-league selection who's 2023 campaign was limited to four games due to injury.
 
Seniors Alex Hankins and Lane Baker return to man the tackle positions; both saw ample time on the field as juniors with multiple games as the starters under their belts.
 
"Our offense will be good because our offensive line should be exceptional," said Smith. "If they're good then everybody's good. With all that experience at o-line and quarterback, schematically we're pretty sound. Now we just have to put the weapons in place to make good use of them."
 
Plenty of touches are up for grabs with several roles needing to be filled after key graduations last year.
 
At tailback, senior Aaron Martinez is expected to start but will share snaps with sophomore Jackson Pfeifer.
 
Martinez had the second-most carries for Linfield in 2023. He rushed 48 times for 235 yards and five TDs and added 87 yards and a score as a receiver.
 
Pfeifer impressed as a freshman, totaling 252 yards with three touchdowns on just 29 attempts. He led the team and finished second in the NWC at 8.7 yards per rush.
 
"Martinez will have a very fine season," said Smith. "And Pfeifer is an up-and-coming tailback that's going to pop some big ones here and there. We've got some really good freshmen in that group, too."
 
At wide receiver, fifth-year Connor Wolfe is the lone returning starter. In two years in the mix of the offense Wolfe has totaled 190 yards and three TDs.
 
Eaton is also expected to rely on another fifth-year veteran in Jacob Slifka and true senior Maclain Stoneking on the outside. Stoneking, a two-time all-conference return man, has been used sparingly as a pass-catcher in his career while Slifka recorded 12 catches for 176 yards as a junior.
 
Senior Caleb Woodcock and junior Austin Case are also expected to mix in as productive wideouts.
 
THE DEFENSE
The Wildcats dominated the NWC defensively as much as ever last season under 17^th-year coordinator Jackson Vaughan.
 
Linfield led the league in scoring and total defense and put together the sixth-best third down and rushing defense in the country. Linfield also had the 12th-best red zone defense and allowed the seventh-fewest first downs.
 
"I expect our defense to be dominant," said Smith. "Of course, we expect that every year."
 
Linfield boasts nine returning starters, led by two-time All-American and NWC Defensive Player of the Year Blake Rybar at linebacker.
 
Last season he spearheaded Linfield's defense with 51 tackles, 6.5 for loss with 3.5 sacks. He also broke up five passes and added an interception.

Rybar will be joined at linebacker by junior Blaze Holani, who had 31 tackles with 4.5 for loss and six quarterback hurries in 2023.
 
Fifth-year senior Caiden Biege-Wetherbee, a two-time all-conference selection, will move from linebacker to rover, where he was a first team all-NWC honoree in 2022.
 
Biege-Wetherbee was third on the team with 32 tackles last year, with two pass breakups and an interception. Junior Johnny Miller will also see time at rover, where he had 22 tackles with two takeaways as a sophomore.
 
"Blaze Holani is going to be our middle linebacker and we're going to put Blake back on the edge. He thrives there, and I think Blaze will be fantastic in the middle.  Biege's going back to his comfort zone as our strong side backer so I think the three of them will be really good together. Their speed and athleticism will be fun to watch."
 
From rover to monster, the 'Cats have significant depth in the secondary. Senior Colby Kalaukoa is back in the starting lineup at monsterback after getting injured in the fifth game last year.
 
Fifth-year senior Cutter Hillock will also see time at monster. Hillock was second on the team in tackles behind only Rybar last season with 33.
 
Safety features plenty of experience with fifth-year Jett Searle as the starter, and sixth-year senior Adin Wolf as his backup.
 
Excitement is expected out of the cornerbacks, particularly from senior Chance Sparks, who garnered all-region honors as a junior after ball-hawking five interceptions in the final four games of 2023 to eventually lead the conference in picks.
 
Junior Kenyon Johnson is expected to step into the other starting corner role. Johnson saw action in eight games as a sophomore, totaling 10 tackles.
 
"I really like our safety play, they're fast and explosive veterans," said Smith. "Those guys will do a really good job. Chance will have a breakout year. He did a good job last year, I think he'll have an exceptional year this year."
 
The defensive line is expected to be as formidable as ever, with four seniors returning this season.
 
Two-time all-region selection Nick Severson and 2023 second-team all-league honoree Alex Frazier-Dow lead the way at tackle, both fifth-year seniors.  Severson totaled 31 tackles last year while Frazier-Dow was second on the team with 7½ tackles for loss and added two sacks.
 
At defensive end, another fifth-year in Caleb Sell is joined by true senior Connor Stevens. Sell registered seven tackles for loss and 4½ sacks in 2023 while Stevens totaled 16 tackles with 3½ for loss.
 
"The DTs are very talented and our ends will have good seasons, too," said Smith. "The front seven are going to give a lot of teams real problems and even better for us I think the back row is exceptional."
 
THE SPECIALISTS
Another experienced group headlines special teams, led by All-American punter Thomas Tabor.
 
Tabor led the NWC and was 15th in the nation in punting last season at 40.91 yards per punt. His career 42.51 yards per attempt are the best in program history.
 
At kicker, Gavin Dalziel returns for his third year as Linfield's starter. Dalziel went 8 for 12 on field goals last season, including a 51-yard conversion against Redlands for the third-longest make in Division III last season. He is one of just two kickers in Linfield football history with multiple field goals of 50 or more yards.
 
Stoneking returns to his electrifying role as Linfield's lead returner and is joined by Pfeifer on kickoffs as well as sophomore Reid Gray on punts.
 
THE SCHEDULE
For the first time in program history the Wildcats play a 10 game schedule, featuring three non-conference games.
 
The season opens at Maxwell Field Saturday, Sept. 7, with a 1 p.m. kickoff against the Denison Big Red in a rematch of the 2023 opener in Granville, Ohio. Linfield won 28-14 and the Big Red went on to finish the year 7-3.
 
Linfield then travels to Wisconsin to face the UW-Oshkosh Titans of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, widely considered the top conference in D-III football. The Titans went 6-4 last year and tied for third in the WIAC, but finished the season strong beating No. 24 UW-River Falls in the season finalé.
 
The Wildcats and Titans have just one meeting in their history, in 2012, when Oshkosh eliminated Linfield in the national quarterfinals with a 31-24 overtime victory.
 
Linfield wraps up non-conference play on Sept. 21 in McMinnville, hosting the Redlands Bulldogs for the seventh regular-season meeting between the two programs in the last 10 years. The Wildcats have taken the last four meetings, including 17-10 last year in California.
 
NWC action begins Oct. 5 at Willamette, followed by Linfield's Homecoming Saturday on Oct. 12 when the 'Cats host Lewis & Clark.
 
Puget Sound rolls into town on Oct. 26 for the Pacific Office Automation Hall of Fame Game. Senior Day is Nov. 9 against Pacific Lutheran, before the regular season wraps up Nov. 16 at Whitworth in a rematch of the 2023 season finale in which Whitworth won 28-24 to keep Linfield from claiming the NWC crown.