BY: DAVE COLLINS
Sports Director
CSC's sack master is back, and he might be even better...
All-American junior defensive lineman Hunter O'Connor will lead the Chadron State defense again this fall and he shared his excitement for the upcoming season at RMAC Football Media Day in Denver recently.
He knows a successful fall season is built on the hard work in the off-season and he's been grinding all summer to take his game to an even higher level.
Injuries made it really difficult for the Eagle defense to play to its full potential a season ago, but O'Connor says those guys on his side of the ball are healing up and ready to roar, including starting corner J.J. Hair and starting linebacker Heamasi Latu.
O'Connor set a single-season record with 16 sacks last fall and his goal is 25 this year. Adding to that outlook is a strong group of veterans returning in the defensive line rotation for a group that was second in the RMAC with 42 sacks in 2022.
Rivalry games are the typical answer when I ask the guys about what match-ups they're looking forward to the most in the upcoming season. But for O'Connor there's a pair of games he can't wait to play for entirely different reasons.
One thing is for sure with O'Connor and the schedule - he'll be on a mission to hunt down any and all quarterbacks in any color jersey as he and the Eagles take the field each Saturday.