Jack Sznajder knows full well how different 2015 is going to be from 2014 for Benet.
After all, all he needs to do is look across the hall and notice who isn’t there.
With older brother Brad off to Butler after rushing for 1,583 yards and 14 touchdowns for a Redwings’ team that went 6-4 last year, Jack knows he’ll be asked to do more in his second year as the Redwings’ quarterback.
“Well, it’s definitely going to be different without having Brad there,” Jack said. “He was such a big part of our offense last year, but we got some more running back talent this year. So I don’t think our running game will be anything less than it was last year. I think we’ll still have a very solid game and I think also we’ll start to pass the ball a little bit more this year. So we’ll have a better balance between run and pass, which I think will be a big help for our offense this year.”
Prompted into starting duty as a sophomore because of Western Illinois-bound Jack Beneventi’s transfer to Fenwick prior to last season, Jack Sznajder performed admirably for Pat New’s offense.
In 10 games, the younger Sznajder completed 56 percent of his passes for 1,234 yards to go with six touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
The growing pains that came with playing within the rugged confines of the East Suburban Catholic Conference were there.
But Jack believes it won’t do anything but help him as he enters his junior year.
“Well, getting a year of experience was huge for me,” he said. “I wasn’t really expecting it, but now that I have last summer with the varsity team under my belt, getting used to that whole routine and then getting a feel for the games was a real huge help for me. So I think having last year was a really big step. I think it will really help me for this season, too.”
Junior Marty Dosen has been getting the bulk of the carries in Brad’s stead and will be asked to give the Redwings an added dimension to what Jack will be able to do in orchestrating the offense.
The return of leading receiver Karl Schmidt will undoubtedly help as he had 23 receptions for 260 yards and a TD in 2014.
Will O’Grady and Matt Tromp, who combined for 10 catches for 103 yards, and Robert Bordignon, a transfer from Montini, are three senior wide receivers on which Jack will rely on to help move the ball.
“They’ve been coming out and they’ve been looking really solid so far,” Jack said of the senior quartet at wide receiver.
The 6-foot-1, 170-pound junior quarterback knows that bringing down the number of interceptions will be imperative.
As Benet’s season opener against St. Laurence on Aug. 28 creeps closer, a quick start is on Jack’s agenda.
“I want to really get up my confidence,” he said. “I know, last year, I kind of struggled with that a little bit. So just having confidence in myself and really becoming a leader to the team. You got to know how to lead the offense. So I think if I can do that and really just do whatever it takes to push this offense and get us to where we can be, I think that would be really good for me and especially the team.”
Two years removed from an 11-win campaign and a trip to the Class 7A state semifinals in 2012, expectations will be high.
As New enters his sixth year at the helm at his alma mater, he hasn’t been shy at indicating to his charges how good they can be in 2015.
That’s how Jack conveys it.
“We watch a lot of film from that team,” Jack said of the 2012 team that went 11-2. “(New) showed us a lot of what they did and the success that they had that year. He said that we have a lot of the talent that they did. He thinks we have the potential that they did, but we just have to go back to the way they did things back then and just prepare like they did. I think we can do that.”