THIBODAUX – The Nicholls State University football team will embark on its 39th overall season, and the first year under new head coach Charlie Stubbs when the club travels to take on San Diego State on Saturday, Sept. 4 in Qualcomm Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT.

The Colonels went 3-8 overall a season ago, while the Aztecs finished 4-8 overall in 2009. Both teams did not participate in post-season play.

“We are very excited to get started. I believe we are at a point in our development as a team that we need to have a test and play against someone other than ourselves. We can only practice and do drills so much, and its time to play a game,” said head coach Charlie Stubbs.

Stubbs is the ninth head coach in the history of the Colonel football program, and is a long-time college coaching veteran with over 30 years on the Division I level. Stubbs has made numerous stops throughout his career, and in one of those stops at Oregon State University, he and San Diego State head coach Brady Hoke worked on staff together for two seasons in 1989 and 1990.

During those two seasons, Stubbs served as the offensive coordinator while Hoke coached the defensive line in '89 and then the inside linebackers in '90.

“I have a lot of respect for Coach Hoke and his staff. We have a history, having coached on the same staff, and coached against each other when I was at Alabama and when he was at Michigan,” added Coach Stubbs. “They have quite a few coaches who are well respected in the coaching profession, and we all started in the business around the same time.”

This will be the first meeting between Nicholls and San Diego State, while also being the second consecutive year that the Colonels have opened up against an opponent of the Mountain West Conference. Nicholls opened at Air Force Academy last season, and fellow Southland Conference member Northwestern State will kickoff their 2010 season there.

Nicholls will have a total of 39 freshmen on the 2010 roster with 29 of them being true freshmen. The Colonels also will debut a new offense, dubbed the 'Multiple-Pro' by Coach Stubbs.

Nicholls returns a total of eight starters between both the offense and defense with sophomore quarterback LaQuintin Caston, senior offensive lineman Brandon Ward, junior Bobby Felder and senior defensive end Marquis Russell returning the most experience. Ward and Felder both were named to the All-Southland preseason teams.

Caston was listed as No. 1 on the depth chart earlier in the week, and finished the 2009 campaign with eight starts under center. Caston and fellow returning offensive players have been quick studies in learning a new offense this past spring and fall.

The defense will look to Felder, who finished last season third on the team in tackles (54), and Russell, who led the squad in sacks in 2009 with 2.5, for guidance.

Notes about the game:

Coming Back to Coach
Assistant coaches Edward Dillon, Adam Gardner, and Dustin Gisclair all played collegiate football at Nicholls. Dillon played on the 1996 squad that finished 8-3 in the regular season and went to the NCAA Playoffs, while Gardner was a member of the 2002 team that finished 7-4 and ranked No. 22 in the final Sports Network Poll. Gisclair was a member of the 2005 team that won the school's first-ever Southland Conference Championship.

A Lot of Louisiana...
Of the 89 student-athletes that are currently listed on the roster, 53 of them (60 percent) are from the state of Louisiana with the next closest contributor to the 2010 team being Texas with nine (10 percent).

Aloha Thibodaux!
Aloha on the bayou? Yep, it's true! Nicholls welcomed its first three Hawaiian born student-athletes in the program's history: No. 51 Pa'a Kamauoha, No. 58 Pio Adams, and 'Olu Naone. They join Coach Keith Uperesa as the Hawaiian contingent on campus.

Good Pedigree...
Nicholls' freshman Beaux Hebert and redshirt freshman Dalton Hilliard both have NFL lineage with their fathers Bobby Hebert and Dalton Hilliard playing in the league. In fact, Bobby and Dalton were with the New Orleans Saints for seven seasons together.

Following the Colonels:

Game Notes: Nicholls vs. San Diego State Release
Colonels on Television: None
Colonels Radio Network: KLRZ 100.3 FM in Larose, 100,000 watts (Flagship), KBZE 105.9 FM in Morgan City, 5,000 watts, KFRA 1390 AM in Franklin, 500 watts, KLEB 1600 AM in Galliano, 500 watts
Broadcast team: Brennan Matherne (play-by-play) and Seth Thomas (analyst)
Colonels on the internet: www.klrzfm.com, www.kbze.com
Live Statistics: www.GoAztecs.com