Can East Stroudsburg football's offense be better after historic 2023 season?

East Stroudsburg University football had one of its best seasons in over a decade, winning its most games (nine) since 2008 while going undefeated at home for the first time since 2002.

The Warriors found the heart of their success on the defensive side of the ball, giving up the fewest rushing yards per game while leading the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference with 19 total interceptions. But the offense wasn't far behind, finishing third in the PSAC in rushing offense (167.5 YPG) and fifth in total offense (365.4 YPG).

Now head coach Jim Terwilliger and his staff are in great shape to build upon last year's offensive output as most of the offensive nucleus will be back next fall.

"It makes coaching easy when you have good players, and we do," Terwilliger said. "I don't know if we have any stars, but we got really good team players. When you look at our stat line, you don't see anybody that's in the tops of the league anything. But we had 14 people catch touchdowns last year, and what our quarterbacks have done really well is take what the defense has given them.

"It's been a lot of fun. We've challenged them a lot. We've given them a lot. They've responded really well. And I really look forward to building on last year successes, both running and throwing, to be able to put together a great product in 2024."

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Terwilliger was especially excited about his running back room, where the four key members of the backfield, including leading rusher Tyriq Lewis, will be back in East Stroudsburg. The biggest, question mark, however, will be at the quarterback position, where Sean McTaggart and Charlie McKee are projected to split signal-caller duties.

"You can call everything a competition," Terwilliger said about a potential QB battle. "Around here, a core value is to compete day in and day out. As far as quarterbacks, we have two guys that can play at the top of this league in Sean McTaggart and Charlie McKee. Both will see time this year."

McTaggart, who will be a redshirt junior this fall, spoke on his relationship with McKee, saying, "Charlie and I are like best friends even outside of football, so it's fun competing. If he sees something that I mess up, he'll let me know, and vice versa.

"We're friends on and off the field, but it's great competing with him. He's a great player."

Last season, McTaggart completed 61.4% of his passes for 1,110 yards and 13 touchdowns while McKee completed 63.9%, on 60 fewer throws, for 726 yards and eight scores. ESU played three quarterbacks in 2023, but with Aaron Tobias' graduation, expect the numbers of both McTaggart and McKee to increase.

Regardless of who is throwing the ball, both quarterbacks will have a reliable target in John Siggins, the team's leading receiver with 442 yards and seven touchdowns. At 6 feet, 3 inches, the rising senior is poised for a better 2024.

"John Siggins is the ultimate warrior," Terwilliger said. "He will be a four-year starter for us. He knows and has played every position in the book. He's the glue that makes our offense go. So, I expect him to have a big year.

"It makes my job easy, and it makes my job fun, creating new ways of finding opportunities to get him the ball."

Siggins said he's excited to continue producing next year, along with creating better chemistry with the rest of the offense.

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"Coach always says we're a veteran team," Siggins said. "I think that helps us expand the passing game, because everyone's been around and knows what to do. We're ready to air it out next year."

While Terwilliger, a former ESU quarterback himself, likes to throw the football, his only concern is finding a successful scheme, whether that's running the ball like in 2023 or pushing the ball more through the air in 2024.

"You know, we're not here for numbers. We're not here for statistics, or records," Terwilliger said. "We're here for winning football games, and we're going to do whatever it takes, and we've got some great players to do it."

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Can East Stroudsburg football's offense be better after historic 2023 season?