INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) announced Friday the 16 student-athletes who have been selected to attend the 2021 GLVC Football Kickoff, which will take place in Lebanon, Ill., on Friday, July 30. The GLVC contingent, highlighted by 11 All-Conference returners, will participate in the ninth annual event. The 2021 GLVC Football Kickoff will take place at The Hettenhausen Center for the Arts on the campus of McKendree University from 12:30 to 3 p.m. ET, and will serve both the league's media members and passionate fans through several social media outlets.

The coach and two student-athletes from each of the eight GLVC football institutions will be on hand to help promote the Conference's 10th season.
 
Playing in its second fall football season as a member of the GLVC, Lindenwood University returns 2019 Offensive Player of the Year Cade Brister and 2019 Defensive Player of the Year Drew Seers. Both received All-America honors that season, with Seers earning three First Team nods (AP, AFCA, D2CCA), and Brister snagging a Third Team selection from D2Football.com.
 
Including Brister, the other signal callers in attendance will be University of Indianapolis' Bryce Stancombe, who is returning for his seventh collegiate season, and Missouri S&T's Brennan Simms, who is finishing his five-year career in Rolla. Stancombe tossed for 900 yards and 10 touchdowns during the Greyhounds' three-game, spring 2021 GLVC-title run, including a .753 completion percentage. Simms was under center full-time for S&T in 2019, throwing for at least three touchdowns on four occasions. During the 2021 spring season, he completed 69.4 percent of his air attempts (50-of-72).
 
UIndy's Alec Patch earned the team's Defensive MVP honors this past spring season and was an All-GLVC Honorable Mention choice in 2019.
 
Three offensive linemen will be in attendance for the event, including McKendree University's Jake Stevenson, Quincy University's BJ Wilson, and William Jewell College's Danny Presler. A captain in 2021, Stevenson has started 35-straight games in the trenches for the Bearcats and was an All-GLVC Second Team selection in 2019. Wilson has made 13 starts and appeared in 23 contests since 2018 for the Hawks, recently earning a First Team nod among GLVC o-linemen this past spring. As a redshirt-senior, Presler enters his final season of eligibility after leading an offense in the 2021 spring that broke program records in single-game passing yards and touchdowns.
 
Truman State University, 2021 spring runner-up, returns a promising young core that includes running back Cody Schrader and defensive tackle Robert Greco. Schrader is a two-time All-GLVC selection and overall offensive threat, totaling 405 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in four games in the abbreviated spring season while adding eight receptions. Greco earned All-GLVC First Team distinction following the 2021 spring slate, recording 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
 
Southwest Baptist University sends the only wide receiver to the 2021 kickoff, with Curtis Cuillard joining teammate linebacker Coleton Smith in Lebanon. Cuillard caught four touchdowns on 298 yards and 22 receptions for the Bearcats this past spring to earn First Team recognition, while Smith tallied 12 tackles. During the 2019 season, Smith recorded 21 tackles, including 4.5 for loss and one sack.
 
Quincy's Peyten Chappel is one of three linebackers attending the event, coming off back-to-back All-GLVC First Team honors in 2019 and 2021. Chappel led the GLVC with 12.0 tackles per game this past spring and has recorded 186 career stops.
 
Three defensive backs round out the 16 GLVC football student-athletes attending this year's Kickoff, including a pair of safeties and one cornerback. McKendree's Devon Myles, who returns for his redshirt-senior season, has led the Bearcats in tackles each of the past two campaigns and was named an All-GLVC Second Team choice in 2019. Gianni D'Arienzo, the event's lone corner, is using his final season of eligibility following an All-GLVC Honorable Mention nod this past spring for William Jewell. A four-year starter for Missouri S&T, Justin Onwugbufor led the Miners with 29 tackles in the spring and reached double-figure stops in five of the team's 11 contests in 2019.
 
While the event is for credentialed media only, fans are encouraged to participate in the event through a variety of social media platforms and follow along online with each GLVC school, as they rotate through stations over the course of the 90-minute event. A complete schedule, as well as the official 2021 GLVC Football Kickoff website, will be announced on Tuesday, July 27. 

Media members interested in attending the 2021 GLVC Football Kickoff can apply for credentials by contacting GLVC Assistant Commissioner Lindsey Williams at lindsey@glvc-sports.org.

A complete list of the 2021 GLVC Football Kickoff player attendees follows:
 

School	Offensive Player	Defensive Player
UIndy	Bryce Stancombe, R-Sr., QB (Bloomington, Indiana)	Alec Patch, R-Sr., DL (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Lindenwood	Cade Brister, Jr., QB (O'Fallon, Missouri)	Drew Seers, Sr., LB (St. Louis, Missouri)
McKendree	Jake Stevenson, R-Sr., C (Ludlow, Illinois)	Devon Myles, R-Sr., FS/SS (Chicago, Illinois)
Missouri S&T	Brennan Simms, 5th Year, QB (Punta Gorda, Florida)	Justin Onwugbufor, 5th Year, S (Wichita, Kansas)
Quincy	BJ Wilson, Jr., OL (Florissant, MO)	Peyten Chappel, Jr., LB (Mt. Zion, Illinois)
Southwest Baptist	Curtis Cuillard, Sr., WR (Simi Valley, California)	Coleton Smith, Jr., LB (Appleton City, Missouri)
Truman	Cody Schrader, So., RB (St. Louis, Missouri)	Robert Greco, Jr., DT (Florissant, Missouri)
William Jewell	Danny Presler, R-Sr., OL (Mission, Kansas)	Gianni D'Arienzo, 5th Year, DB (Canoga Park, California)

 

INDIANAPOLIS
Bryce Stancombe, R-Sr., QB (Bloomington, Indiana)
Entering a rare seventh season in the fall 2021, Stancombe is coming off a stellar, if abbreviated, 2020-21 campaign. He racked up nearly 900 passing yards and 10 touchdowns in three games in the spring, directing the Greyhounds to their seventh GLVC title. He put up other gaudy numbers such as a .753 completion percentage and a 186.5 efficiency rating, as he heads into the fall with a striking career touchdown-to-interception ratio of 19-to-1.

Alec Patch, R-Sr. DL (Indianapolis, Indiana)
As the team's 2020-21 Defensive MVP, Patch topped the Hounds with 2.5 sacks, part of four tackles for a loss overall. The former All-GLVC Honorable Mention honoree enters his senior season with 12 career sacks as the team's top returning pass rusher.

LINDENWOOD
Cade Brister, Jr., QB (O'Fallon, Missouri)
Brister, a 2021 Lindenwood team captain, was the 2019 GLVC Offensive Player of the Year and named Honorable Mention All-America by D2Football.com after earning three GLVC Offensive Player of the Week nods. In the same year, he set six school records for a single season, ranked in the top 10 in NCAA Division II across four statistical categories and threw multiple touchdowns in all but two games. He also compiled more than 300 yards passing in five different games, while completing 20 passes in all but one game.

Drew Seers, Sr., LB (St. Louis, Missouri)
Seers, a 2021 Lindenwood team captain, was named the 2019 GLVC Defensive Player of the Year, as well as First Team All-American (AP, AFCA, D2CCA), Second Team All-American (D2Football.com), and a three-time GLVC Defensive Player of the Week. In the same season, he ranked second in NCAA Division II with 13.5 tackles per game, recorded a new school record with 99 assisted tackles, and posted a school record 17.0 tackles for loss.

MCKENDREE
Jake Stevenson, R-Sr., C (Ludlow, Illinois)
Stevenson, who is one of the team's captains, comes into the fall having started 35 consecutive games at center for McKendree the past four seasons, including playing in and starting both games during the 2021 shortened spring season. He was named a Second Team All-GLVC selection as a junior in 2019 after helping lead a Bearcat offensive line that allowed just 12 sacks in 11 games. In 2018, he helped anchor an offensive line that produced a school-record 393 points and paved the way for the program's fourth-ever 1,000-yard rusher in Preston Thompson, who gained 1,073 yards. In his first season as a starter in 2017, he was part of an offensive line that allowed just nine sacks in 11 games, which was the second-lowest total in the GLVC. Stevenson has been a three-time selection to the Academic All-GLVC Team.

Devon Myles, R-Sr., FS/SS (Chicago, Illinois)
Myles, who is another of the team's captains, has led McKendree in tackles the past two seasons, as he recorded 15 total tackles and two pass break-ups during the 2021 shortened spring season, which followed a team-leading 92 tackles as a sophomore in 2019. In 2019, Myles was named a Second Team All-GLVC selection as a defensive back. Along with the 92 tackles, he also led the Bearcats with 48 solo stops and was second on the team in interceptions (two). Additionally, Myles recorded a career-high 16 tackles against Southwest Baptist and recorded double digit tackles in three other games. As a redshirt freshman in 2018, he played in seven games and finished with a total of three solo tackles on the year.

MISSOURI S&T
Brennan Simms, Fifth Year, QB (Punta Gorda, Florida)
In his first season as a full-time starter in 2019, Simms completed 204 of 336 passes (60.7 percent) for 2,721 yards and 21 touchdowns, while also scoring seven times on the ground. He threw for a season-high 371 yards in an overtime loss to eventual GLVC champion Lindenwood and also had a 345-yard passing day in a win over Quincy. Simms had four games in which he threw at least three touchdown passes, including games of four scoring tosses against NCAA playoff entry Miles as well as Southwest Baptist. That same year, he finished fourth in the GLVC in total offense with 2,792 yards (253.8 per game). During the abbreviated 2021 spring season, Simms completed 50-of-72 passes for 468 yards and three touchdowns.

Justin Onwugbufor, Fifth Year, S (Wichita, Kansas)
A four-year starter for Missouri S&T, Onwugbufor led the Miners in tackles in both the 2019 season with 97 and in the shortened 2021 spring season with 29 in three games. In 2019, he accumulated 47 solo stops among his 97 tackles with a season-high of 16 against Eastern New Mexico and UIndy, reaching double figures in the tackle category in five of S&T's 11 contests. During that season, Onwugbufor also made two tackles for a loss from his safety position, had three pass breakups, and forced three fumbles. He had 14 solo tackles among his 29 during the spring campaign, which included three pass breakups and a fumble return of 93 yards for a touchdown in a win over William Jewell, the second-longest fumble return in GLVC history.

QUINCY
BJ Wilson, Jr., OL (Florissant, Missouri)
Wilson was a First Team All-GLVC selection in the shortened spring season, the first of his career, and helped solidify the Hawks offensive line over the past three seasons. Wilson, a former basketball player in high school, has found his niche as the rock of Quincy's offensive line, having appeared in 23 games since 2018 and making 13 starts. 

Peyten Chappel, Jr., LB (Mt. Zion, Illinois)
Chappel was a First Team All-GLVC selection in the 2019 and spring 2021 seasons. He has compiled 186 career tackles, including 120 total tackles in 2019. In the shortened spring campaign, Chappel led the GLVC in tackles per game (12.0) and also tied for third in the league in total tackles with 24 in two contests. 

SOUTHWEST BAPTIST
Curtis Cuillard, Sr., WR (Simi Valley, California)
A First Team All-GLVC selection, Cuillard hauled in 22 receptions for 298 yards and four touchdowns in the spring. He was on his way to a monster game against William Jewell before suffering an injury, catching eight passes for 142 yards and a touchdown in the first half. 

Coleton Smith, Jr., LB (Appleton City, Missouri)
Smith played in all three spring games, making nine solo tackles and assisting on three more. He also recorded a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit. In 2019, Smith played in four games, collecting 21 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and one sack. 

TRUMAN
Cody Schrader, So., RB (St. Louis, Missouri)
Schrader has made two straight All-GLVC teams since his redshirt season in 2018. In 2019, Schrader earned Second Team All-GLVC accolades after backing up Jordan Salima at running back. He gained 605 yards on 96 carries for an average of 6.3 yards per carry and seven touchdowns that season. In addition, Schrader made 12 catches for 231 yards and a score. As the featured back, Schrader led the Conference with 405 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in the four-game spring season in 2021. He posted three-straight 100-yard games to open the spring with 121 at Southwest Baptist, 142 at William Jewell, and 123 against Missouri S&T. For his career, Schrader has 1,010 rushing yards and is averaging 5.6 yards per carry.

Robert Greco, Jr., DT (Florissant, Missouri)
Greco was one of three Bulldog defensive lineman to earn first-team status this past spring. He had 2.5 quarterback sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss in the four-game season. In the 2019 campaign, Greco registered 8.5 tackles for loss, including 1.5 quarterback sacks and 31 total tackles in 12 games. He had a game-high six stops in the Truman's win over Missouri S&T on October 19.

WILLIAM JEWELL
Danny Presler, R-Sr., OL (Mission, Kansas)
Presler was the captain along the offensive line that helped William Jewell finish second in the GLVC West Division with 31 points per game during the abbreviated spring season. He protected a quarterback staff that threw for nearly 400 yards per game and broke Jewell's NCAA-era single-game record for touchdowns and passing yards. He earned First Team All-GLVC honors for his work.  

Gianni D'Arienzo, Fifth Year, DB (Canoga Park, California)
D'Arienzo will utilize his additional season of eligibility this fall after earning Honorable Mention All-GLVC honors last spring. He finished the shortened season with 12 tackles, including one for loss, while breaking up two passes and recovering one fumble.