• Rankings: Neither team is ranked.

• UWF Coach Pete Shinnick: Shinnick was hired as the first coach in program history on Feb. 6, 2014. He has a 108-52 career record in 15 years, which includes a 50-24 mark at UNC Pembroke (07-13) & 53-22 at Azusa Pacific (99-05).

• Missouri S&T Coach Tyler Fenwick: Fenwick is 20-23 after four seasons at Missouri S&T. Prior to his arrival in Rolla, he spent six seasons as the offensive coordinator at Missouri Western, where the Griffons made the NCAA Division II Playoffs each season.

UWF Opens Second Season on Saturday
Coming off a 5-6 record in its inaugural season a year ago, the University of West Florida football program will open its second season of competition on Saturday at Missouri S&T.

What's Back
UWF returns 80 players who were on the team last year, including 18 starters.

QB Battle Highlights Camp
With the departure of graduate transfer QB Kaleb Nobles to the coaching staff, that left the starting quarterback spot open for competition. From the spring through fall camp, redshirt sophomore Grey Jackson and redshirt freshman Mike Beaudry have been the two emerging candidates for the spot. As he did with Jackson and Nobles a year ago, head coach Pete Shinnick has said both will see playing time but won't name a starter prior to game time.

Offensive Line Ready For Heavy Load
Head coach Pete Shinnick has said the offense needed to improve its offensive line play after averaging 100 yards rushing in 2016. Most of the players who saw action were in their first or second year of college and had limited experience going against a full GSC schedule. With a strong year of offseason conditioning and practice, the group will be looked upon to provide more strength in the trenches.

The offensive line returns almost completely intact, with starters LG Tomarick Collier, LT Christian Helsel, C Devin Gibson and RT Ethan Cruz retutning to their spots on the line. All four were either true freshmen or redshirt freshmen in 2016. Clifton Flemming - the projected starter at RG, actually has the most in-game experience of the group after appearing in 22 games at Glenville State the past two seasons while earning All-Mountain East accolades in 2016.

Seven Starters Return for New Defensive Coordinator Darian Dulin
Led by a strong front seven, the UWF defense returns seven starters (2 DL, 4 LB, 1 DB) for first-year coordinator Darian Dulin. Of the four newcomers projected to start on Saturday, Austin Dukes split time at DE with Anthony Ryals a year ago, DB Malik Williams appeared in seven games off the bench, while Division I transfers Josh Marshall (senior transfer from Troy) and Jalen Spencer (graduate transfer from South Florida) have seven years of experience at the highest level of college football.

One More Go-A-Round for Reggie Barnes
Senior LB Reggie Barnes is making the most of his final semester of eligibility this fall. The Odessa, Fla. native finished last season as a senior but still had one semester of eligibility remaining. He made the decision to sit out the spring semester and come back this year for a final year of college ball. Barnes started his career at Air Force where he appeared in 21 games in 2012-13 before eventually transferring to UWF for the 2015 redshirt season. He is enrolled in six classes in addition to his participation on the football team.

Argos Looking To Remain Perfect in Openers
UWF is 1-0 all-time in season openers, defeating Ave Maris 45-0 last year. The Argos are also 1-0 in openers on the road and 2-4 all-time in road games.

UWF-Missouri S&T Series History
In the 2016 meeting that took place in Pensacola, UWF defeated Missouri S&T 45-28 in the program's first-ever home game. The Argonauts rode the emotioin of a standing-room only crowd at Blue Wahoos Stadium to a 24-0 lead, including 17 points in the first quarter. Gr. QB Kaleb Nobles threw for a career-high 503 yards and six TD for the Argonauts. UWF never trailed and ended two of the final four S&T drives with an interception and a fumble.

Show Me Connections
While it was a 12-hour bus ride over two days from Pensacola to Rolla, there are two members of the UWF travel squad with history in the Show Me State – head coach Pete Shinnick and graduate kicker Luke Jackson. Shinnick attended high school in Columbia and Jackson – a Pensacola native – was a walk-on at Missouri the past four seasons who graduated in 2017 with one season of eligibility remaining.
 
Pomp and Circumstance
UWF has two members of its team who earned their bachelor's degrees in 2017 and have transferred to UWF for their final season of eligibility. K Luke Jackson graduated from Missouri and DB Jalen Spencer graduated from South Florida.

Six UWF Opponents In AFCA Preseason Rankings
A total of six teams on the 2017 UWF schedule appear in the AFCA Division II Preseason Top 25 poll. GSC opponents North Alabama at No. 6 and Valdosta State at No. 11 are ranked, as is week two opponent Midwestern State who is No. 24. Additionally, West Georgia, Florida Tech and Delta State are among the teams receiving votes.

Year Two Offers Large Upperclass Presence
After having just four seniors and 12 juniors on last season's inaugural team, the 2017 edition has 20 seniors and 14 juniors on the current roster.

Northwest Florida Players Make Up Nearly 25 Percent of Roster
The influx of local talent has been more evident this season, with 23 players from Northwest Florida's six county region from Escambia to Washington and Bay. An additional six student-athletes are within a 2-hour drive of Pensacola.

UWF Will Play Three Games on ESPN3
UWF will appear on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN app three times in 2017, beginning with the Coastal Classic game at Florida Tech on Sept. 30 as part of the NCAA Division II Football Showcase.

Additionally, the Gulf South Conference Game of the Week returns for its 13th season with a 10-game slate featured exclusively on ESPN3 and the ESPN app. Florida's Space Coast Office of Tourism will serve as the title sponsor of the package, which will include in-game features and online promotional contests throughout the season.

The league selected two UWF games in 2017 - the October 28 road contest at West Alabama in Livingston, Ala. and the home game at Blue Wahoos Stadium a week later against 4-time defending GSC champion North Alabama.

ESPN3 will serve as the exclusive carrier of the league's package for the fourth straight season. This year's slate will feature nine Saturday games and one Thursday night contest.

Barnes, Duncombe & Griffin Named To GSC Preseason All-Conference Team
A year after winning five games and finishing in sixth place in the Gulf South Conference in its first-ever season, the UWF football team was picked seventh in the 2017 Preseason Coaches Poll as announced by the league office in July.

Additionally, senior Reggie Barnes, sophomore Andre Duncombe and junior Antoine Griffin were selected to the preseason all-GSC team by the league's nine head coaches. Barnes and Duncombe were among the four linebackers on the team, while Griffin was one of two return specialists chosen.

Barnes ranked third on the team with 67 tackles and added six tackles for loss, six QB hurries and a pass break-up. Duncombe making 51 tackles and was second on the team with 12.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks a year ago. Griffin was a standout receiver for the Argos, finishing with 560 yards on 43 receptions and seven touchdowns. He also returned 18 punts for a 13.33 yard average and eight kickoffs for a 20.5 yard average.

UWF Picked Seventh in GSC Preseason Coaches Poll
A year after being picked eighth as a first-year program before winning three Gulf South Conference contests, UWF was chosen a spot higher at No. 7 in the preseason coaches poll last month.

Four-time defending GSC champion and last year's NCAA Division II national runner-up North Alabama earned seven first-place votes and was picked first. Valdosta State and West Georgia also tallied a first-place vote and were picked second and third, respectively. Florida Tech, West Alabama and Delta State came in at the middle three spots ahead of the Argonauts, with Mississippi College and Shorter picked eighth and ninth, respectively.

2017 GSC FOOTBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
Pl. School – Points (First Place Votes)
1. North Alabama – 62 (7)
2. Valdosta State – 54 (1)
3. West Georgia – 49 (1)
4. Florida Tech – 47
5. West Alabama – 32
6. Delta State – 31
7. WEST FLORIDA – 25
8. Mississippi College – 16
9. Shorter – 8

UWF Ranks 18th in NCAA Division II In Average Attendance
UWF averaged 6,328 fans over five home dates with three sellouts (6,288 capacity) in 2016, ranking 18th among NCAA Division II institutions and second in the Gulf South Conference (UNA was 12th with 7,670). The fan and student-athlete experience at both Blue Wahoos Stadium and at the adjacent Community Maritime Park has been one that is one of the most unique atmospheres in small college football, but nationally.