When Southwestern football takes the field for its season opener on the road against the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen, it will be the first step towards rediscovering some semblance of normalcy in a chaotic year. 

A year ago, the Pirates were limited in their ability to train, practice, or even meet, making the difficult task of getting a roster of over 100 student-athletes on the same page on the field all the more challenging. Those limitations showed up on the field, where Southwestern suffered its first winless season at 0-5 since the program's first season in 2013.

"It was a tough deal. We weren't able to have meetings or lift weights. We had to practice in small groups of 10, which is especially hard for football because you have to have 11 on the field at once," head football coach Joe Austin says. "It was all geared towards safety, but it certainly made our jobs harder. But, against all odds, we were competitive, and I was proud of the resiliency of our bunch." 

Boarding the plane to California to compete this weekend is the first step towards resuming a regular football season, competing against a team that didn't play at all last year. 

"Now, we're back. We're walking that line where we have to bet back to life, but we also have to be safe," Austin declares. "We're back to the weight room and normal practices, but we're doing it safely. We're able to split into smaller groups for meetings. We're able to watch film and prepare. We're definitely going to be in a better place than we were." 

But the plane trip is only the first step in a journey to getting things back to the way Southwestern is used to. In truth, the Pirates have now played two consecutive seasons dominated by so much out of their control. 

The year before the pandemic, the Pirates were plagued by injuries. Southwestern opened the 2019 season expecting to have 11 returning defensive starters and quality experience at the offensive skill positions. Instead, the team changed its schemes weekly to accommodate whoever was left off the injury report. The team's MVP, J.J. Slack, was a wide receiver turned quarterback who eventually started on defense. 

Slack, a two-sport athlete, didn't play football last spring as the season ran concurrently with baseball. However, quarterback Landry Gilpin, who missed most of 2019 with an injury, did return to show flashes of brilliance and inconsistency in a chaotic season. 

This year, Southwestern hopes to harness some of that chaos instead of getting lost in it. 

"Last year was a transition period for our offense. We were trying to figure out who we were and what our strengths were," Austin admits. "Hopefully, Landry can take a step forward with his consistency. He's a freelance player, so what we're doing with our schemes is steering into that. We're going to be able to move the pocket and do things that fit his skillset by design." 

Gilpin was third in passing yards (998) and second in touchdowns (nine) in the American Southwest Conference but threw seven interceptions. Nevertheless, he was listed as a player to watch in this year's ASC preseason poll. 

"The way college football is, the quarterback has to play well. It's just the modern game," Austin says. "You've got to have a quarterback who plays efficiently and consistently. So that's what we're looking for from Landry." 

Once last season ended, Southwestern immediately went into spring ball, tweaking things with the year's lessons still fresh in their minds. 

"What we did in spring ball is install an offense that fits our schemes to our players," Austin says. "We were so much better at the end of spring ball than we were in January because we had limited practices in the fall and a short training camp. In the spring, we went almost every day from April until school ended and got in much better shape." 

Southwestern returns a talented group of receivers, headlined by All-ASC Second Team selection Austin Castilleja, who had a breakout year with 17 receptions for 220 yards and four touchdowns in five games. 

"To be an all-conference receiver in our league means you're elite in the nation," Austin says before going to praise fifth-year senior Eric Ovalle. "He's had an injury-plagued career, but he's healthy now, and I can't wait to see him play a full season. I think he's an all-conference caliber player too." 

The Pirates also return big receiver Ethan Powell and Adrian Garza, who started last year as a freshman. The plethora of skill-position players will buy time for a young group tasked with buying time for the offense.

"Our offensive line is going to look very different. There could be three freshmen starting for us in the middle of the season," Austin says. "We've got a good incoming group of offensive linemen pushing our older players. That's not to predict they'll all be at that level this year, but if they progress, there are definitely three who could be starting as we move through the season." 

On the other side of the ball, Southwestern has plenty of familiar faces, returning five of last year's six leaders in tackles headlined by linebacker Bernard Sencherey and safety Patrick Nicolas, who combined for 63 tackles last year. The Pirates welcome Slack back in the defensive backfield, joining upperclassmen Easton Fehler, Elijah Norris, and Jackson Reece. 

While Southwestern might not get its lost two seasons back, with a sense of normalcy this season, the Pirates could get back to their winning ways.