LEBANON, Ill. – The McKendree University football team was tabbed to finish fifth in the 2021 Great Lakes Valley Conference Football Preseason poll, which was released Friday afternoon in conjunction with the 2021 GLVC Football Kickoff held at the Hettenhausen Center for the Arts on the McKendree campus.
 
In the poll that was voted on by the league's eight head coaches, the Bearcats garnered 24 points. The GLVC will return to eight teams this fall competing for the league championship in 2021, which will mark the 10th season of action in the league.
 
Last season, McKendree went 1-1 in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season that was held during the spring. Head coach Mike Babcock, who enters his ninth season at the helm of the Bearcats' program, welcomes back 71 returning lettermen, including a total of 22 starters, back from a season ago. Babcock's ninth team has 10 starters back on both offense and defense and return two on special teams.
 
Among the top returning offensive starters are redshirt sophomore quarterback Turner Pullen (Shelbyville, Ill./Shelbyville), who was named the GLVC Freshman of the Year in 2019 and enters the 2021 season fifth on the school's career total offense chart (3,039 yards) and fourth in career passing yards (2,733 yards) and career passing touchdowns (26). In addition to Pullen, redshirt senior Jake Stevenson (Ludlow, Ill./Paxton-Buckley-Loda), who was a Second-Team All-GLVC selection in 2019, returns for his fifth season as the starting center, while redshirt junior Austin Huls (St. Charles, Mo./Pattonville) is a two-year starter at left tackle and was named a Second-Team All-GLVC selection in 2018 and senior running back Jace Franklin IV (Springfield, Ill./Minnesota State), who gained 774 yards and scored seven touchdowns in 2019, returns in 2021 after sitting out the 2020 season.
 
Meanwhile, on defense, the top returner is redshirt junior defensive back Devon Myles (Chicago, Ill./Westinghouse College Prep), who led the team with 15 tackles in 2020 and was a Second-Team All-GLVC selection in 2019. Other key returning defensive starters are redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Luca Gualdoni (Johnstown City, Ill./Johnstown City), sophomore defensive lineman Sidney Houston (Cahokia, Ill./East St. Louis), redshirt senior linebacker Iben King (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice) and redshirt sophomore linebacker KeShon Spraggins (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran South). Those four combined for 39 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two pass break-ups and a sack in 2020.
 
The University of Indianapolis has been picked to repeat as the GLVC football championship in 2021. The Greyhounds grabbed five of eight first-place votes and received 47 points in the poll. Lindenwood University, who were the GLVC Champions in 2019, was tabbed second as the Lions earned three first-place votes and 44 points, while Truman State University, who fell 46-29 to Indianapolis in the first-ever GLVC Football Championship game last season, was tabbed third as they earned 37 points.
 
Missouri S&T was just in front of McKendree in the GLVC Preseason poll in fourth place with 32 points. Southwest Baptist University (19 points), William Jewell College (12 points) and Quincy University (9 points) rounded out the league's preseason poll.

McKendree is scheduled to play an 11-game schedule in 2021 as they open the 2021 campaign with a 1 p.m. game on Saturday, Sept. 4 at Leemon Field against Northern Michigan University. Other non-conference opponents for the Bearcats are road games on Sept. 11 at Delta State University and Sept. 25 at Walsh University, while hosting Lake Erie College on Sept. 18. The Bearcats' seven-game GLVC schedule begins on Oct. 2 at home against William Jewell College, while McKendree will host Missouri S&T in its annual Homecoming contest on Oct. 23.