With a season under his belt UNI quarterback Eric Sanders feels more comfortable entering the season and that could be bad news for Panther opponents. As a freshman in 2004 Sanders was impressive after taking over for the injured Tom Petrie. He passed for more than 13 hundred yards and 15 touchdowns as UNI closed the season on a six game winning streak. Sanders says he thinks he has a better understanding now of what defenses do and how they try to disguise what they do.The running game will be productive with Terrance Freeney back after tracking up 11-hundred yards last season. Sanders says his focus right now is to limit mistakes. He says as an offense they’ll be good. Justin Suurency was UNI’s leading receiver in 2004 with 46 catches and feels the offense will put up big numbers this season. He says they’re getting comfortable in practice with their routes, where last year it took a couple of years to get comfortable.Coach Mark Farley believes how well the defense plays will determine how far the Panthers go. Three hundred and 24 pound defensive lineman Charles Johnson will be among those looking to stop the run. Johnson says they were tops in the conference in stopping the run last year, and he says they hope to continue that.UNI opens the season at home September first against Drake.
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