THIBODAUX  – With the 2011 season now in the books, the Nicholls State University football program has set its sights on strengthening its foundation as the coaching staff begins the offseason recruiting process.

“Right now we are in the contact period where we can actually go to the particular school and sit down with the student-athlete, so that's very important for us in the recruiting process,” said assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator Chuck Hepola. “Prior to this, we were in the evaluation period, which we assessed their academic and athletic ability, and we could talk to their position coach or head coach.”

“Recruiting has been going very well. We have a lot of interest in our program,” said Coach Hepola. “The coaches have been working extremely hard, looking at the recruits' academics, their character and how they conduct themselves and their relationships with their coaching staff and teammates. Those are some of the things that are very important to us.”

Third-year head coach Charlie Stubbs, heading into his second full offseason, knows that the Colonel football program has a lot to offer to student-athletes.

“I believe one strong selling point for our program is that I know our young men are going to be treated right,” said Coach Stubbs. “In saying that, I mean that our coaching staff will do everything we can to help them earn their degree and we will do everything to provide them with a great football experience.”

With several underclassmen playing a significant role for the Colonels in 2011, such as second-team All-Southland running back Marcus Washington and starting safety Siegan Vergenal, Coach Stubbs believes that another appealing aspect is the chance for early playing time.

“We have plenty of opportunity here for young players. I think the recruits see that we have pieces to the puzzle, but we don't have it all, so they can come in and be a real difference maker.”

In 2012, Nicholls' non-conference schedule features three FBS programs, which not many schools at the FCS level choose to do based on the likeliness of acquiring losses. However, Coach Stubbs believes that the challenge of facing top competition can only help the program.

“If you look at our schedule, we'll open up 2012 at Oregon State, and we'll also play Tulsa and South Alabama before getting into our conference schedule, which is always challenging in itself,” Coach Stubbs said. “So I really believe that our prospects will see that we are challenging our players, and I think anyone who's a real competitor will look at our schedule and be excited to see where we stack up against those types of teams.”

While Nicholls football has plenty of interest from recruits, the staff still has a certain criteria that they look for when it comes to adding student-athletes to the program.

“One thing we look at in potential recruits is their work ethic, but of course we are always looking at their athletic ability,” said Coach Stubbs. “We also look for players who come from a discipline-type program where they are required to do certain things. In addition, we look for players that come from winning programs, since they know what it takes to reach that level and we need those types of individuals in our program.”

The recruiting plan this offseason is to have a mixture of possible transfer recruits and high school players from the surrounding area. As far as what positions that Coach Stubbs and his staff our focusing on, he stressed the importance of adding interior linemen on both sides of the ball.

“We are really looking to solidify both the offense and defensive lines. If we can get some mid-year players in year, it would help our tremendously.”

On defense, the Colonels will be looking to shore up the cornerback and linebacker positions.

“We lost two very good cornerbacks, so we'll be focusing on that area. We have some young talent, but they have not proved themselves on the field yet,” said Coach Stubbs. “We also are thin at the linebacker position. We had some injuries and with running a 3-4, we definitely need some depth there.”

On offense, Stubbs is hoping to add a few more receivers as well as another quarterback.

“We would like to find a bona fide speed receiver that can really stretch the defense,” Stubbs said. “Also on that side of the ball, we're also looking for a quarterback. With switching LaQuintin Caston to wide receiver, we only have two quarterbacks with experience in Landry Klann and Beaux Hebert. So we will definitely be searching for another one, but I want to make sure that I find the right one.”