Football will be put aside this weekend for University of Northern Colorado’s Hudson Voggesser, a linebacker from Loveland High School and Fort Collins.

Voggesser, a redshirt sophomore, is trading the summer workouts for the great outdoors and camping with his family in Wyoming.

“Put away the phones and technology,” Voggesser said. “A little reset.”

The Bears wrapped a portion of their offseason training Tuesday morning. UNC has an eight-day break around the July 4 holiday, which is standard for college football teams, according to head coach Ed Lamb.

The NCAA gives football programs nine weeks of summer training at eight hours per week. There must be one week of discretionary time off and most coaches designate this period around July 4.

The Bears will return to campus late next week for additional workouts — running, lifting and padless football drills — before training camp starts in late July.

UNC’s season opener is Friday, Aug. 28 against Big Sky Conference opponent Weber State in what will be the first night game at Nottingham Stadium in Greeley. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Bears have a 12-game regular season schedule with four of the first five games at home into late September.

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But first, time off for Voggesser and the Bears. They’ve been working out on campus for about a month. The team had time off in May after the end of spring practices.

The guys gathered again in early June for the football activities and summer school. Freshmen arrived about two weeks later. Two of those freshmen are in-state quarterbacks — Zeke Andrews from Ralston Valley High School and Caeden Reeder from ThunderRidge.

UNC players also have been volunteering at the Greeley Stampede during concerts.

One of UNC’s position battles this year will be at quarterback, where the Bears have to find a successor to Eric Gibson Jr. Gibson Jr. was productive in his only season in Greeley last year, taking over early for Peter Costelli. Both Gibson Jr. and Costelli left the program during the offseason. Costelli went to Middle Tennessee State of Conference USA. Gibson Jr. transferred to Division II California University of Pennsylvania.

University of Northern Colorado football linebacker Hudson Voggesser, who is from Loveland High School and Fort Collins, plays Montana State in a November 2025 Big Sky Conference game at Nottingham Field in Greeley. (Greeley Tribune file photo).

Lamb said as of the break transfer Kenny Lueth was QB1. Lueth was No. 1 coming out of spring ball too. The coach said there has been a rotation in the last few weeks with transfers Brayten Silbor and Keegan Patterson and sophomore Gavin Lockett all getting good repetitions.

Silbor and Patterson both came to UNC during the offseason. Silbor is a redshirt junior from Scottsdale, Arizona. He played at Lehigh and Southwestern College before UNC. Patterson is from Longmont and Longmont High School. He played the past two seasons at Indiana State. Patterson went to the University of Southern California out of high school, but did not play for the Trojans. He spent the 2023 season at Northwest Mississippi Community College.

Lockett is from Pueblo and Pueblo West High School, where he was a two-time first-team all-state selection and the Class 4A player of the year in 2024.

Quarterback Gavin Lockett lifts weights during a Northern Colorado Bears winter workout at the Empower Center on the campus of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)

Voggesser, Lamb and running back Mathias Price are all quite positive and optimistic in evaluating the offseason and the state of the team now. That’s great and to be expected. It’s still only summer after all, a point that Price noted in looking ahead.

Price and Voggesser are two of six UNC nominees for the Big Sky Conference preseason team. Media will select from team nominees among all 13 Big Sky schools to determine the preseason all-conference team. Southern Utah and Utah Tech join the Big Sky as of this summer with Sacramento State out for the Football Bowl Subdivision level of Division I.

Player nominees were selected by head coaches and-or a sports information director, according to the Big Sky. At UNC, new director of strategic communications Aiden Tank worked with Lamb and offensive coordinator Justin Walterscheid and defensive coordinator Preston Hadley to set the Bears’ nominees.

The other nominees are long snapper Maddox Broughton, defensive lineman Ezra Ekuban, offensive lineman Levi Johnson and offensive lineman-center Jack Ziebell.

“As of right now, when it comes to preseason nominations, it’s an honor, of course,” Price said. “Everything isn’t set in stone yet. I’m not going to be riding on a nomination yet. I want to be able to hold my end of the bargain.”

University of Northern Colorado football running back Mathias Price catches a ball in front of an Idaho State defender during the teams' Big Sky Conference game Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025 at Nottingham Field in Greeley. (Greeley Tribune file photo).

An important note, while Price appeared to have a strong spring and should make a case to be the No. 1 back, Lamb has said in the past that he likes a rotation of running backs and depth because of the physical demands of the position.

Broughton, Voggesser and Ziebell were Big Sky honorable mention picks at the end of the 2025 season.

Lamb, starting his fourth season with the program, took a position similar to Price when asked about the preseason all-conference nominees. Saying the honors are well deserved, the coach then asked, “now what?”

Lamb said the team is “exponentially better” this year from the same point in 2025. There is a deeper commitment to the program among the players with a more serious approach from the recent past, the coach said.

UNC finished last year with a 4-8 overall record and 2-6 in the Big Sky Conference.

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“Players are holding each other accountable, and it’s more than a lump sum of each individual player getting better,” Lamb said. “They’re inspiring each other.”

In late July, around the time of the start of training camp, Lamb and two players will represent UNC at the annual Big Sky Football Kickoff Weekend. The event will be held July 25-27 at the Northern Quest Resort & Casino in Spokane, Washington.

Johnson, the offensive lineman, and defensive lineman Blake Weslin will be with Lamb in Spokane where the weekend will include the conference's Hall of Fame ceremony on Saturday, July 25 and media day Monday, July 27.