UW-Stout football opens up fall camp - WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and Sports

Menomonie (WQOW) -- A week after the rest of its conference foes, the UW-Stout football team opened up fall camp Sunday at Williams Stadium.

Stout starts a week later because the team's bye falls on the first week of the season. Last year the team finished 5-5 overall and 3-4 in the WIAC. The Blue Devils lose only 13 seniors from that team, but many of those players were big contributors, including three-year starting quarterback Ross Carey. Still, Stout will not be lacking experience this season, with 12 starters and 42 letter winners returning.

"We were a little young; with 13 seniors you are kind of a young team. But I think it's good. We're very impressed with how our kids came into camp, in shape and ready to go. We like our incoming freshman as well," says coach Clayt Birmingham.

"We're very experienced, we have a lot of depth," adds senior tight end Josh Peterson. "It's going to help because we know what to do, we know our assignments, we know how to go about things. So we know how to win games and hopefully that's what we'll be able to do this fall."

The Blue Devils open up the season at home against Jamestown College on September 8th.