Preparation never wavers for the reigning champion Bulldogs.
With just a short three-month break, Ferris football was back on the field for spring drills to kick off its 2025 season, with hopes of winning back-to-back national championships for the second time under head coach Tony Annese.
Although the team won its latest championship just a few months ago, the goal stays the same, according to sophomore defensive end Tim Allen.
“We had fun and had our time to celebrate,” Allen said. “That season is over with now and as soon as we stepped foot on the field last week, the switch flipped for us. We know the standard we set here, and we are going to work to get back to the championship again this year.”
The Bulldogs lost production through graduation and the transfer portal, such as leading rusher Kannon Katzer, who is still in the transfer portal. Junior linebacker and leading tackler Iosefa Saipaia committed to Bowling Green State University and starting lineman Lawrence Hattar went to the University of Michigan.
Annese is unbothered and knows the talent of his roster. He utilized the spring practices to get the younger guys’ reps and to learn the system better in preparation for the fall.
“Losing guys is a part of the game,” Annese said. “We have a veteran group of players that we trust who have been leaders that we know will step up. The great thing about practices like these is that you get to get the younger guys better acclimated to the system after a lot of them spent their freshman season on the scout team. It’s a lot of learning going on at this point of the year.”
Despite the losses, Ferris will reinsert a few key contributors back into the lineup who went down with injuries last season.
Junior quarterback Carson Gulker, who suffered a broken leg in week two of the 2024 season, and junior slot receiver Deion Small, who did not play at all in 2024, returned to the field for the Bulldogs this past week.
Annese is overjoyed to have such key players back on the field to open up the season.
“Deion has made so many plays this spring it has been incredible,” Annese said. “Carson has been doing what he does in limited fashion, but having both of these talented guys back with the team has been a blessing.”
Gulker, who won GLIAC Freshman of the Year and led the Bulldogs to the national championship in 2022, is ecstatic about his return to the field after his leg injury in just the second week of the season.
“I’ve been looking forward to this the second I broke my leg,” Gulker said. “I’m just ready to have fun again. I’ve been excited about everything, whether it’s just to lift, be with the guys or be out here. I couldn’t be happier.”
One of the leaders the team expects to step up on the defensive end is junior safety Justin Payoute.
Payoute accepts this responsibility and takes it head-on.
“It’s been a dream come true,” Payoute said. “Coming in as a freshman, I didn’t really know anybody. Now, coming into my last year being looked at as the face of the defense, it’s really been all I could ever ask for.”
The Bulldogs will continue their spring schedule, as they plan to hold their annual Crimson-Gold spring practice game on Friday, April 25, in Top Taggart Field.
It will not be until Thursday, Aug. 28, when Ferris opens up their national championship defending season at home versus Pittsburg State. Ferris lost the opening game to Pittsburg State last season by a score of 19-3 before finishing the remainder of the year undefeated.