Bulldogs counting on trio of skill players to provide the offensive punch

Published 8:06 pm Monday, August 3, 2026

LOUISIANA, Mo. — Last year was a learning experience for several key players of the Louisiana Bulldogs’ offense.

Those same players enter the 2026 season with a year of experience under their belts and are ready to see their hard work pay off.

That starts under center with junior quarterback A.J. Gschwender, who became starter midway through his freshman season.

“(A.J.) is pretty good,” said Bulldogs senior running back Troy McDaniel. “He reads the plays pretty well. He’s got a good arm on him. He’s young still and the future is pretty bright for him.”

The coaching staff has noticed a difference from Gschwender behind center, as well as players such as junior running back Donnell Griffith.

“A.J. is heavier and he’s more mature,” said Louisiana head coach Steve Gschwender. “He’s gotten a lot better. A.J. and Donnell pretty much grew up together. They’re a lot better at focusing on the smaller things.”

There has also been a long-term connection between Gschwender at quarterback and his snapper — senior center Johnny Miller.

“We’ve been playing together since sixth grade, so we have a pretty good connection,” said Miller. “I’ve snapped the ball to him probably thousands of times over the years we played. So it’s a pretty good connection there.”

Miller leads an offensive line that will open up holes for Griffith, McDaniel and other Louisiana ball carriers.

The Bulldogs also return second team All-EMO Conference lineman Elan King, who is entering his senior season.

“It’s nice to see whenever they get a wide open gap for them to come back and tell us that was a good block on that play,” said Miller. “It’s nice to see that we have good communication going on and we’re able to talk to each other and see what’s going on in the backfield.”

Coach Gschwender is looking to help fill the other offensive line positions surrounding Miller.

“Johnny Miller is going to return as our center this year,” said Coach Gschwender. “Then, we got a couple of younger players — Evan Rose and Faboiola Garcia — sophomore linemen that started getting a lot of reps on varsity toward the end of last year.”

Louisiana has three main running backs that have different styles.

“It’s great,” said Bulldogs senior fullback Ben Settles of the Bulldogs backfield. “It’s very athletic, all around.”

Griffith is the fastest running back on Louisiana and is coming off a second team All-EMO selection.

Griffith can also be a weapon in the passing game.

“We spread (Griffith) out whenever we line up in shotgun,” said Coach Gschwender. “A lot of times it’s trying to use him as a decoy or put him in a spot where he has a matchup where he can get out in space.”

McDaniel is regarded a a physical back and a bit of a change of pace from Griffith.

“We definitely compliment each other,” said McDaniel.

The Louisiana coaching staff is looking for ways to get the best out of its skill players.

“Troy can play fullback and running back,” said Coach Gschwender. “If A.J. got hurt, Troy would be my choice to take over. I would say Troy’s my most valuable one because he can fit in all the backfield positions. Donnell is probably a better runner overall. They have completely different personalities. Troy’s laid back and quiet, and Donnell’s more like a racehorse. Donnell is physical and puts more moves on people, but they are a good one-two punch in the backfield.”