LORETTO, Pa. – Protecting for one of the top backfields in the Northeast Conference is one of the biggest keys to the Saint Francis offensive attack in 2015.  The Red Flash offensive line will feature four new starters this season.
 
Anchoring the line is junior Jimmy Marks (Middletown, Pa./Lower Dauphin).  The six-foot-two, 275-pound Marks was selected as a Second Team USA College Football Preseason All-American.  With 16 career starts, Marks is moving to center for his third year in a Red Flash uniform.  He was named a second team All-NEC honoree.
 
Marks helped the Saint Francis offense to lead the NEC with 32.2 points and 208.8 rushing yards per game.  The Red Flash were the only offense in the league to average over 30 points and averaged almost 30 more yards than any other team.
 
"We're working hard," said Marks. "We are young, but we're pushing through together… Every day we get better. We pick something every day to get better at and we really have."
 
The line will look for a boost from junior tackle Sam Freireich.  The six-foot-three, 275-pound Freireich came to Loretto after transferring from Blinn College in Texas.  Freireich started all 19 games he played in at the junior college level.
 
Junior Evan Ferguson (Sterling, Va. /Dominion) will step into a bigger role on the line as he takes over the other tackle spot.  The six-foot-six, 302-pound Ferguson was first-team All-State as a lineman at Dominion High School in Virginia.
 
Moving into bigger roles on the line are freshmen Mike Ames (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) and Torsten Norberg (Manassas, Va./Osbourn).
 
At six-foot-two, 270-pound, Ames was a three-year starter at Penn Hills High School in Pennsylvania, where he was a Big 33 Game selection.
 
Norberg, six-foot-six, 285-pounds, played his final year of prep football at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia.
 
Junior Michael Boyd (Honolulu, Hawaii/Farrington) returns with six career starts.  Sophomore Mederick Flavius (Lauderhill, Fla./Northeast) and freshman Andrew Lucci (Parma, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) are among those that could also see playing time.
 
Despite not having as much experience on the line, offensive coordinator Eric Long praised the unit for the depth that has developed in training camp.
 
"I feel we have a good eight guys that can probably play at any time and we're comfortable with them playing," said Long. "We need them to be confident. We're confident in them. They need to be confident in themselves. They'll learn that as we go and hopefully we'll keep building that."
 
Saint Francis begins the 2015 season on Saturday as they host Georgetown.  The game starts at Noon at DeGol Field.