As USD's undefeated football team enters the midpoint of its season today against Morehead State (3-2) at Torero Stadium, there are plenty of reasons for its head coach to be happy: His team ranks first in the Pioneer Football League in most offensive categories; his quarterback has yet to be sacked in five games, and the Toreros have the best rushing attack in the league despite losing J.T. Rogan, their top back, in the first quarter of the first game.

The Toreros are through what Caragher considers the easy part of their schedule, and key games against Dayton and Davidson are looming that will determine the league champion.

Five wins into an 11-game season, Caragher breaks down the Toreros position-by-position.

Quarterback Sebastian Trujillo: “I'm pleased as long as Sebastian keeps improving game by game and getting better. I'm not hung up on touchdown passes or pass efficiency. It's making good decisions and getting rid of the ball, things that don't show up in the statistics. He's done a nice job improving that the last couple of games.”

Running backs: “You would have thrown me for a curve if you would have said, 'J.T. Rogan out for the season in the first game.' I wouldn't have known how to adjust. But some young players have emerged. Phil Morelli has stepped up to the plate and our young running back Matt Jelmini has taken advantage of his opportunities. Vince Atofau moved over from defensive line to fullback. He's a 250-pound fullback with his hair flying all over the place.”

Wide receivers: “John Matthews jumps to the front, having a terrific year. An All-American season. But we're not so one-dimensional throwing the ball. (TE) Mitch Ryan and Ben Hannula and Godfrey Smith are all stepping up. But we still get on them for downfield blocking. It can be the difference between a 10-yard run and an 80-yard run.”

Offensive line: “In my 15th year of coaching, I haven't seen a quarterback not get sacked in five games. They are doing a good job identifying all of the fronts we've seen so far. Conrad Smith and Deene Kabiling have played solid. We're trying to rotate still and find the right combination, but overall they are doing a great job.”

Defensive line: “We're still looking for some consistency. We lost Chris Gianelli for a game, Alex Rice missed a game, so we're looking for some consistency on the interior and the defensive ends. Mario Kurn is doing a good job, but like any freshman, it's a growth process. We've had a couple of good goal-line stands.”

Linebackers: “They are doing a great job creating turnovers. Losing Loka Kanongataa (for at least two more weeks) hurts. He was a heck of a player in the first two games, then he gets hurt. We're still trying to find the right combinations. But they are playing within the system and not giving up any big plays.”

Secondary: “Youthful. I would say (senior) Ryan Echer is playing very good. (Junior) Gabe Derricks has had a good, solid year. That's when you know you have an outstanding corner is they don't get much thrown their way. Freshman Al-Rilwan Adeyemi is learning on the job. You can see a mixture of youth and experience. We haven't given up the home run per se.”

Special teams: “A little inconsistent. We haven't punted that much, which is nice, but we moved to Kyle Negrete and he's been more consistent. And he's also a linebacker. Kickoffs have been consistent. Last week, excellent. Field goals, we have a new snapper, new holder and new kicker. We've spent time addressing that.”

Kevin Gemmell: (619) 718-5304; kevin.gemmell@uniontrib.com