Huskies football picked for third in GLIAC
Trending
HOUGHTON -- Following back-to-back seasons finishing in a tie for third in the GLIAC, the Michigan Tech football team has been tabbed to finish third in the GLIAC preseason coaches poll.
The Huskies tallied 34 points, trailing defending GLIAC and NCAA national champion Ferris State, which earned 49 points and seven first-place votes, and Grand Valley State, which collected 43 points and one first-place vote.
The Huskies finished just three points ahead of fourth-place Davenport (31), while Saginaw Valley State (28), Northern Michigan (18), Roosevelt (11), and Wayne State (10) completed the poll.
The Huskies have played to a 4-3 record in league play the previous two seasons, finishing in a tie for third in the conference standings while going 7-4 overall, marking the first time the Huskies have had back-to-back seasons with seven or more wins in a decade.
Dan Mettlach returns for his fourth season at the helm following a successful year three that saw him awarded GLIAC Coach of the Year honors.
Norway graduate Phil Milbrath enters his seventh year at Tech and was recently promoted to assistant head coach/special teams coordinator.
Michigan Tech will host six home games at Kearly Stadium this season with the home opener set for Sep. 5, against Lone Star Conference affiliate Midwestern State before capping the nonconference home slate with a tilt against Upper Iowa for Homecoming on Sep. 19.
The Huskies will have four exciting GLIAC showdowns at home starting with a matchup against Grand Valley State on Oct. 10, for Alumni Day before welcoming rivals Northern Michigan to Houghton for the 24th Miner's Cup game on Oct. 17.
The Huskies wrap the regular season at home with the final two contests being against Davenport (Nov. 7) and Wayne State (Nov. 14) for Senior Day.
Junior receiver Nic Nora of Kingsford returns to the Huskies following a 2025 season in which he led the team in all-purpose yards with 1,157. Nora, a First Team All-GLIAC selection, led the team in scoring with 72 points.
The 2026 Tech roster includes players from:
-- Hermansville-Powers, junior Luke Gorzinski, and sophomores Lane Gorzinski and Dylan Plunger.
-- Crystal Falls, sophomore Kevin Giuliani.
-- Iron Mountain, junior Matthew Colavecchi.
-- Norway, junior Ian Popp and freshman Maddex Burklund.
-- Kingsford, freshman Jack Kriegl.