Last season it seemed like the Pioneers could not catch a break. The offense would struggle late and it seemed like games would slip away in the fourth quarter. The Pioneers could only muster a 5-5 record with what seemed like more questions than answers for a team that went 9-2 in 2023 and 10-2 in 2022 with an appearance in the NCAA Playoffs.
However, 7 games into the 2025 season it seems like Utica is back to their winning ways, with an impressive 5-2 record. Utica has a lot to credit with their hot start to the season, but the obvious one is the new addition of former Division 1 quarterback Tyler Szalkowski, who previously played for UAlbany and Robert Morris.
When Szalkowski first arrived at Utica, it was hard to know what to expect, but the consensus in the locker room last spring when Szalkowski first arrived was that he was “different.” Well, that may be an understatement. Throughout the first eight games, Szalkowski has passed for 2,694 yards and 23 touchdowns while only throwing a total of 4 interceptions. The yards and touchdowns are the most in program history throughout the first eight games to start a season. He currently ranks near the top of all of division-III in each of these statistics. Utica’s offense is currently averaging an impressive 34 points per game, over ten more points than they averaged two seasons ago.
Quarterback has been a question mark the last couple of seasons for the Pioneers. Current Recruiting Coordinator, Strength & Conditioning Coordinator and Quarterback Coach Braeden Zenelovic quarterbacked the team in the 2022 playoff season and had a fantastic campaign. Following that season, the team moved on to current senior Brett Fuller in his sophomore year and he had an up and down two year stint as the Pioneer signal caller. Now Szalkowski has not just brought stability to that position, but he has elevated his teammates around him. Receivers Antonio Cianfarani, Bryce Palmer and Logan Frederick all already have career highs in yards and receptions this season under Szalkowski.
Sports Information Director Jordan Lambert credits the addition of Szalkowski along with an already loaded offensive skill group.
“From an outside perspective, the easy answer to this is the addition of Division-1 quarterback Tyler Szalkowski through the transfer portal to a team that already possessed a top-tier skill position group with amazing receiving targets like Bryce Palmer, Antonio Cianfarani, and Tyshawn Taylor,” Lambert said. “However, you can’t discount the work that the team has done to recruit and grow talent in other areas too, evidenced by the rise of Logan Frederick, who has become one of the best tight ends in the country after barely getting any receptions while listed as a receiver during his first few years.”
Szalkowski’s “Welcome to Utica moment” came right off the bat to begin the season as the Pioneers began the season on the road traveling to Washington, Pennsylvania to take on Washington and Jefferson college. For Szalkowski, he had a game for the ages, passing for a school record 528 passing yards along with 4 touchdown passes and 0 interceptions. Szalkowski had over 100 more passing yards than the previous recordholder and broke this record during the third quarter of play. Numbers aside, the thing that capped off the start for Szalkowski was the 49-31 victory. This is a Washington and Jefferson team that had home field advantage after finishing 9-1 a season ago and losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Randolph-Macon. To beat one of the top teams who wildly enough are coached by the brother of a NFL Super Bowl winning head coach (Nick Sirianni), while setting a franchise record in passing yards and doing all of that on the road, Szalkowski could have dreamed of a better start to his Pioneer career. Senior offensive lineman Gavin Gretch, said that this game was the best moment of the season.
“Washington and Jefferson, because of how good of a team they are, we came in confident and played with a chip on our shoulder,” Gretch said. “It was such a great feeling as we played 60 minutes of nonstop football and put up 49 points on Nick Sirianni’s brother.”
What made the win that much better, was the fact of how confident Washington and Jefferson were that they would emerge victorious. Gretch told me that what made the win that much better was the fact that Washington and Jefferson paid for Utica’s whole trip thinking that they were going to blow the Pioneers out.
For Gretch, this game had an added importance for him as it was his first start of his college career. Gretch has been a part of this team since 2022. Gretch was projected to become a starter last year but after a second ACL tear in the spring of 2023, Gretch was forced to miss all of last season.
