FAYETTE - As first-year head coach Tom Shea begins his latest rebuilding project at Upper Iowa, he'll be looking in his own backyard for the pieces to turn his program into a winner.

"Our goal to turn this thing around is, number one you've got to get your foundation from home," Shea said. "I think if we do that we'll be fine."

As recently as two years ago, there were 14 Iowans on Upper Iowa's roster. That number has climbed to 28 this season.

The Peacocks' head coach says he considers Iowa's north and south border extended to Lake Michigan, including southern Minnesota and St. Louis, as his target area. He'd like to have at least 70 percent of his roster within that region in four year's time.

"We want to draw a circle around it, and we recruit kids where mom and dad - it might be a long day - but they can drive here from Milwaukee and Chicago in the morning and watch the ballgame and have the opportunity to go home, too," Shea said. "Same way with western Iowa. I think that's important to get the families here and make it a family atmosphere."

When Upper Iowa takes the field at 5 p.m. Saturday for its season-opener at Lincoln University, several Northeast Iowa players could serve as difference-makers.

West Union's Kirby Hovden transferred in from Winona State after playing two seasons on a baseball scholarship. He'll challenge incumbent Ben Curran, a junior from Cedar Falls, for starting duties at quarterback.

"They're battling like crazy," Shea said. "Right now you can't go wrong with either one of them.

"If we had to start today, I'd start Ben, but I wouldn't hesitate bringing Kirby off the bench."

Curran's twin brother, Nate, returns as the team's tackles leader from a year ago and will make the move from cornerback to strong safety. He'll be joined in a strong defensive backfield by Northern Sun Conference preseason player to watch Dominique Jackson.

At running back, the team's second preseason player to watch, Sam Epsteen, returns after rushing for 868 yards on 181 carries during an injury-plagued season. He'll be surrounded by area talent in Jordan Otdoerfer, who set a Class 1A rushing record at Starmont, and Mike Moser, a physical running back from North Fayette. Kinon O'Neal is also expected to be in the mix.

"Mike Moser and Kinon O'Neal are bigger backs, so they're more pounders," Epsteen said. "Jordan is faster and when he hits a seam, he's gone. I'm more of the slasher type of running back. We all complement each other pretty well."

Up front, the Peacocks return four of their five offensive linemen, and multiple newcomers will also compete for starting duties.

Lucas Sharp, a freshman from Charles City, is among the new faces Shea predicts will make an immediate impact. Sharp wrestled at 215 as a high school senior and is now up to a muscular 285.

"We've got a diamond in the rough and he's not very rough. He's an unbelievable kid," Shea said of Sharp.

"We'd like to redshirt him, but we can't afford to. He's got to play. He'll be an All-American before he's done. He's that good."

The Peacocks will be running a no-huddle spread offense this season and will use four to five wideouts at the same time.

The receiving corps is led by La'Mont Williams, who caught a team-high 40 passes for 222 yards a year ago. Former Waterloo Columbus prep Zach Schaeffer returns with the second-most catches.

Promising newcomers include transfer John Baldwin, along with Mike Reddick, who is playing collegiate football for the first time after completing four years of eligibility on the Upper Iowa basketball team.

Similar to the offense, Upper Iowa returns eight of its 11 starters on defense. Shea will look to improve on a unit that ranked 128th out of 148 Division II schools last season in total defense.

Among the incoming difference-makers on the defensive line is Javier Rendon from West Liberty.

"He's one of the strongest kids on the team," Shea said. "He's a whale of a ballplayer, and you'll see him make an impact on our program this year."

At linebacker, seniors Shane McComb, Justin Michaels, Aaron Miller and Tramian Johnson bring plenty of experience.

Despite being picked to finish 13th out of 14 teams in the Northern Sun, Shea believes the Peacocks can exceed expectations this season.

"I'm an eternal optimist," he said. "Our league is tough, but I think these kids are coming together, and our biggest thing right now is we've got a very well-conditioned ballclub. This is probably one of the best conditioned ballclubs I've had this early in a season."