Johnnie fifth-years look forward to new season

The CSB/SJU athletics departments are seeing the return of some familiar faces, even after graduation.

Due to COVID and its lasting effects on athletics, many athletes have been given a unique opportunity to continue with the sport they love for one final year.

Fall sports like football, volleyball and soccer were either rescheduled to spring or unable to play against other schools.

Winter and spring sports had practice impacted by the large COVID spike right before Christmas and were unable to compete against non-conference opponents.

Last year the NCAA revised its rules on eligibility to accommodate athletes who were unable to play a regular season for their sport. For CSB/SJU, as an NCAA Division III school, this includes athletes in every sport that was supposed to play last year.

This year, there is a return of athletes who want to finish their athletic careers off strong.

Particularly, the SJU football team is seeing quite a few athletes return. Collin Franz, a 2021 graduate, has returned to play one final season while juggling a full-time teaching job.

Other football athletes returning for a fifth year include: Blake Golden, Jarod Fike, Nick Neumann, Kyle Kornovich, Ravi Alston, Tyler Johnson, Adrian Flournoy, Seth Morem, Jacob Christian, Blake Patrick and Jaelen Stephen.

Franz has come back to play one more season after SJU football elected to not play any games against other teams last year. Due to this and COVID, football was only able to play a few scrimmages.

On this unique opportunity to come back and gear up again Franz stated, “This semester is kind of a dream. I get to do both of the things I love every day. I never would have dreamed that I could still play football and teach at the same time.” Franz said.

Franz works full-time as a Spanish teacher at Sartell Middle School and has played a very crucial role on the field this season. He was named a “week 1 hero” by the St. Cloud Times for his game-winning forced fumble against No. 23 Aurora two weeks ago.

“A lot of my students are Johnnie fans and love to come and watch me play. It has been great to see all of the support I have been receiving as well—from all of my students, coworkers, and my administrators,” Franz said.

Juggling a full-time job can be tough to schedule practices around, but the coaching staff has been able to work with Franz, making sure he is still able to do both the things he loves.

“I’m busy all day, every day, but it’s definitely worth it… I’m also very thankful for the flexibility of my coaches for understanding how busy my daily schedule is,” Franz said.

Overall, the NCAA has allowed student athletes a second chance at a season ruined by COVID. These “5th year athletes” have come back faster and stronger to help Johnnie and Bennie athletics out one more time.

It is hard to say goodbye to a sport when time and energy were dedicated to it, but this season has allowed these players to say goodbye to their sport in a special way.