When the 2015 Augustana football season opens, the obvious change will be on the sidelines where Steve Bell takes over after a successful 15-year run at Monmouth. Bell, who compiled a sparkling 112-44 in 15 seasons at the helm of the Scots, is anxiously looking forward to his initial campaign with the Vikings.
 
"We believe that is it our job as coaches to create a culture of success," said Bell. "In doing so we are going to instill some things. Our philosophy is fairly simple and it involves competing in every single phase, being physical, playing the game fast and being mentally tough."
 
Another area that Bell was focused on since taking over was recruiting.
 
"Coming in late, there are always some anxious moments as you watch how a class plays itself out," said Bell. "We are ecstatic about the talent level that we were able to attract. We like the quantity and the quality."
 
Augustana was 5-5 overall in 2014 and Bell welcomes 33 letterwinners from that squad, including a total of 10 starters. The Vikings won four of their last five games after starting the season 1-4.
 
Bell and his staff were able to implement his new system during the spring practice and he was pleased with the results.
 
"We certainly had the attention of the players as we were putting our stuff in," said Bell. "They have been eager to learn and they also did a nice job during the off-season in terms of workouts and strength and conditioning."
 
Bell's philosophy on offense is to run multiple sets but he does believe that it eventually comes down to players making plays.
 
"People can get caught up in plays and formations but I believe that our first responsibility is to get the right 11 people on the field, put them in the correct formation and then run plays that gives our team the best chance at being successful," he said. "We will spend our pre-season practice getting all that sorted out."
 
One area where there has been a constant over the past two years has been quarterback where senior Sam Frasco (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect, Ill.) has been the starter. Frasco was a second-team all-conference selection in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin last fall. He led the team in rushing with 704 yards on 142 attempts with 11 touchdowns while completing 105 of 188 passes for 1,188 yards with seven touchdowns. He threw just three interceptions and completed .559 of his passes with a quarterback efficiency rating of 118.03. Fellow senior Chris Salazar (Providence Catholic HS, Plainfield, Ill.) has been called upon to spell Frasco in the past and has performed quite capably. Last year Salazar completed 10 of 24 passes for 166 yards with two touchdowns against two interceptions.
 
While Frasco was the leading rusher on the team, Bell is looking at three players to share the load at running back. Junior Brandon Price (Providence Catholic HS, Plainfield, Ill.) was a second team all-CCIW pick last year. He was the second leading rusher on the team with 470 yards on 131 attempts with two touchdowns. Sophomore Austin Chausse (Nokomis HS, Nokomis, Ill.) saw time as a freshman and had 258 yards on 44 carries with three touchdowns. Junior Paris Edwards (Thomas Edison HS, Tulsa, Ok.) had a good spring and will be in the mix as well.
 
When the quarterbacks air it out, there will be four capable receivers to use as targets. Senior Sean Fitzgerald (Providence Catholic HS, Manhattan, Ill.) caught 30 passes last year for 322 yards and one touchdown. He also returned 12 punts for a 14.5 average with one touchdown and added 206 yards rushing. He figures to be one of the main targets. Senior Kyle Frake (Clifton Central HS, Clifton, Ill.) was the leading receiver for the Vikings in 2014 with 31 catches for 481 yards and three touchdowns. Junior Danny Lattner (Fenwick HS, Riverside, Ill.) was injured most of his sophomore season but did catch three passes for 29 yards. Sophomore Danny Oliger (Davenport Central HS, Davenport, Iowa) is also in the mix.
 
Two seniors, Robert French (Elgin St. Edward HS, Elgin, Ill.) and Frank Hollo (Litchfield HS, Litchfield, Ill.) will battle for the tight end position.
 
The offensive line will be a work in progress and there will be strong competition throughout the early going to get the five best players on the field. Heading into the season, however, juniors Tommy Wilson (St. Charles East HS, St. Charles, Ill.), Matt Zimmerman (Mercer County HS, New Boston, Ill.) and Ryan McCarthy (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS, Wheaton, Ill.) appear to be three players who will be in the mix somewhere.
 
Bell's philosophy on defense will be to attack aggressively and to play fast. A year ago the Vikings surrendered 95 points in the first two games before settling down and holding six of the next eight opponents to 20 points or less.
 
The defensive line will be fairly young, but solid. Senior Brandon Stiers (Deer-Creek Mackinaw HS, Mackinaw, Ill.) will be the leader of a group that includes junior Lasalle Smith (Plainfield East HS, Bolingbrook, Ill.) and sophomores Nathan Magiera (Wauconda HS, Island Lake, Ill.), Lukas Stoutenour (Cascade HS, Coatesville, Ind.), Rafael Rodriguez (Lincoln-Way West HS, Mokena, Ill.) and Keith King (Peoria Richwoods HS, Peoria, Ill.). Of that group, Stiers had the most tackles from a year ago with 36 (27 solo and nine assists) with 3.5 quarterback sacks and seven tackles-for-loss.
 
The linebacking corps is solid with junior Jack Asquini (Buffalo Grove HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) leading the way. A second team all-CCIW pick in 2014, Asquini led the Vikings in tackles with 94 (61 solo and 33 assists). He had 5.5 tackles-for-loss with two fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles. He will be joined by fellow juniors Erik Johnson (Warren Township HS, Gurnee, Ill.) and Michael Daniels (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.). Johnson was the fourth leading tackler a year ago with 55 (32 solo and 23 assists) with 9.5 tackles-for-loss, one interception and one forced fumble. Daniels was sixth in tackles with 43 (33 solo and 10 assists with 2.5 tackles-for-loss.
 
The secondary has to be reworked a bit. Senior Frank Kalble (Hersey HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) and juniors John Bastian (V. Sue Cleveland HS, Rio Rancho, N.M.), Colin Skinner (Loyola Academy, Mt. Prospect, Ill.) and Tyson Powers (Amboy HS, Amboy, Ill.) will battle for the safety positions. Junior Danny Watson (Peoria Central HS, Peoria, Ill.) and sophomore Travon Aldridge (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) will handle the cornerback positions.
 
Special teams will get a long look during the pre-season. Senior Jeremy Lensing (Peotone HS, Manhattan, Ill.) and sophomore Jacob Stytz (Minooka HS, Channahon, Ill.) will battle for the placekicking duties. Sophomore Jeremy Collier (St. Thomas Aquinas HS, Overland Park, Kan.) is familiar to Bell because he was the regular punter at Monmouth last year. Sophomore Billy Loconsole (Lisle HS, Lisle, Ill.) will handle the long-snapping position.
 
"The schedule will be tough and we know that the CCIW is a great league," said Bell. "We are anxious to get started with the season."