Football 8/25/2023 8:37:00 AM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Football to Begin Tyrone Wheatley Era Sept. 2 At Slippery Rock

GAME STORYLINES
Wayne State will be looking for a rebound campaign after a 1-9 season in 2022. WSU's lone win last year was a 30-22 victory over Shaw on September 10 at Tom Adams Field. The Warriors will open the season at No. 15-ranked Slippery Rock for the second consecutive season on September 2.

Last season's match-up at Slippery Rock was the first game in Pennsylvania for the Wayne State football team since September 15, 2007, at Mercyhurst. In last year's contest, Manny Harris notched 72 all-purpose yards, Drake Reid recorded a game-high seven solo tackles, and Griffin Milovanski kicked a 36-yard field goal.

This will be the fifth time, and fourth consecutive, that WSU and SRU have played each other to begin a season. The Rock have won the last three games consecutively in 2019, 2021 and 2022, while the Tartars defeated Slippery Rock 14-13 at Michigan Stadium in 1981.

The Warriors' most recent season-opening victory came in a 31-0 blanking of visiting Walsh on August 30, 2018.

A NEW BEGINNING
Saturday's contest at SRU will be the first game in the Tyrone Wheatley era. Wheatley was announced as the 20th head coach in program history on January 26. The Inkster native and University of Michigan alum previously served as head coach at Morgan State from 2019 to 2021. Wheatley is a 16-year coaching veteran, including five years of coaching running backs in the National Football League (NFL).

He played in the NFL for 10 seasons with the New York Giants and Oakland Raiders, rushing for 4,962 yards and 40 touchdowns, while adding 900 receiving yards and 705 kickoff returns yards in his professional career. He also played in the Super Bowl XXXVII as a member of the Raiders.

Wheatley will be looking to become the first Wayne State football head coach to be victorious in his first game leading the program since the 1992 squad coached by Brian VanGorder, a span of four head coaches.

SCOUTING SLIPPERY ROCK
The Rock had another successful 2022 campaign, posting a 10-3 record and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs. Last season was the 13th straight season in which Slippery Rock recorded a winning ledger, dating back to 2009. SRU is led by head coach Shawn Lutz, who is beginning his eighth season (58-17, .773). He has twice been named PSAC West Division Coach of the Year, receiving the honor in back-to-back seasons (2018 and 2019).

The Rock will have a new signal caller, as last season's starting quarterback Noah Grover completed his final campaign in 2022. Grover's backup, junior Brayden Long, looks to be the top option for SRU. Long completed 25 of 44 passes (.568) for 241 yards and one touchdown in six games (one start) last year.

The two leading rushers from a season ago, junior Chris D'Or (827 yards) and senior Isaiah Edwards (334 yards), both return for Slippery Rock. They were two of the four SRU players that rushed for over 200 yards a season ago.

Of the seven receivers to score a touchdown in 2022, five return for The Rock, including their leading receiver Kyle Sheets. The senior hauled in nine touchdowns and 887 yards, over 200 more yards than the next target, returning senior Cohen Russell (six touchdowns and 679 yards).

RECEIVING VOTES
The Warriors received five votes in the preseason edition of the AFCA Division II Coaches' Poll, released on August 14. This marks the first time that WSU has garnered votes since the 2021 preseason coaches' poll, when they also played Slippery Rock to open the season.

GLIAC preseason coaches poll
1. Ferris State (34 points, five first-place votes)
2. Grand Valley State (31 points, one first-place vote)
3. Davenport (27 points, one first-place vote)
4. Saginaw Valley State (21 points)
5. Michigan Tech (16 points)
6. Wayne State (10 points)
7. Northern Michigan (8 points)

ALL-TIME SERIES
Slippery Rock has won the last three contests between the two schools to grab a 4-2 advantage in the series. The Rock posted the first 21 points of the game en route to a 42-10 victory in the 2022 edition. The first-ever contest between the two programs occurred at The Big House (Michigan Stadium) in 1981. 34,876 fans witnessed WSU notch a 14-13 victory.
Highest Scoring Season Openers
Within the all-time series, Wayne State and Slippery Rock played the highest scoring season opener in WSU history, a 62-37 SRU victory on September 5, 2019, at Tom Adams Field.
   99 points - #10-Slippery Rock 62, at Wayne State 37, Sept. 5, 2019
   93 points - at #21-Wayne State 69, Urbana 24, Sept. 3, 2011
   84 points - at Mercyhurst 49, Wayne State 35, Sept. 4, 1999
   83 points - Indianapolis 43, at Wayne State 40, Sept. 1, 1990
   83 points - at #17-Carson Newman 55, Wayne State 28, Sept. 5, 2013

EARLY SEASON SUCCESS
Since the start of the 2008 season, WSU has a 34-26 record for games played in August and September. The Warriors are 30-32 in October during that same time period, 15-17 in November and 2-1 in December.

The Challenging past and present
Wayne State played the toughest schedule in all of Division II football a season ago. WSU's 10 opponents in 2022 posted a combined 66-28 ledger for a .702 winning percentage. The team with the second most difficult schedule, fellow GLIAC member and Division II National Champion Ferris State, faced competitors with a .644 winning percentage. Two other GLIAC schools were in the top six, including Michigan Tech (.631) and Davenport (.588).

Despite the challenging schedule, Wayne State remained competitive in many games a year ago. Of the squad's nine defeats, five were by one score. The Warriors also held a lead in all five contests that were decided by seven points or fewer.

Coach Wheatley and the Warriors will have plenty of opportunities to make some noise on the national stage in 2023. Three teams on WSU's upcoming schedule appear in the Top 25 of the AFCA Division II Coaches' Poll for the preseason, including No. 1-ranked and two-time defending national champion Ferris State, No. 3-ranked Grand Valley State, and No. 15-ranked Slippery Rock. Three more teams (Davenport, Truman State and Saginaw Valley State) garnered votes from the association.

WSU's 11 opponents in 2023 combined for an 86-41 record (.677) in 2022, with eight teams finishing .500 or better. According to the Massey Ratings (masseyratings.com), the Warriors are slated to play the second-toughest schedule in Division 2 this fall.

AWARD WINNERS RETURN
Matt Buschman and Kendall Williams, WSU's Defensive and Offensive Most Valuable Player recipients for last season, respectively, are both back for another season in the Green and Gold.

Buschman's debut season with the Wayne State defense in 2022 was one to remember. The linebacker led the nation and broke the school record with five fumble recoveries for a team that paced the GLIAC and ranked sixth nationally in the category with 13. Buschman was also the conference leader with four forced fumbles (fourth nationally), fifth in the league in solo tackles per game (4.1) and eighth in total tackles per game (6.7). The linebacker paced his team in all the previous statistics, as well as in quarterback hurries (5).

Running back and kick returner Kendall Williams will be looking to build off a 2022 season that saw him place 12th in the country and second in the GLIAC in all-purpose yards (157 yards per game), fourth in the league in both rushing yards per game (67.0) and in kickoff return average (21.0 yards), and fifth in total rushing yards (670) and receptions per game (3.6).

OTHER RETURNERS
Despite losing many of their defensive starters from the 2022 team, the Green and Gold have many key contributors returning on both sides of the football. Joining Buschman among defensive returnees are a pair of cornerbacks, graduate student Drake Reid and sophomore Elijah Fowlkes. Reid was third on the 2022 team with 44 tackles, while Fowlkes tied Buschman for the team lead with two interceptions.

Offensively, signal caller Josh Kulka returns for his junior campaign. He will be protected by six returnees on the offensive line who started at least six games a season ago.

The Green and Gold will also return kicker and punter Griffin Milovanski for his junior season. Milovanski has made his last 26 extra point attempts, including going a perfect 25-of-25 on extra point attempts in the 10 contests last fall.

DON'T MISS ANY OF THE ACTION
For the 22nd season, every contest can be heard live on WDTK - The Patriot (1400 AM / 101.5 FM) or online at PatriotDetroit.com. Veteran Detroit broadcaster Sean Baligian returns for his 15th season calling Warrior football. Former Warrior defensive end Brady Beedon will serve as the color analyst for nine games and also handle the Locker Room Report and Senior Spotlight features for WDTK. WSU Hall of Fame tailback and kick returner Josh Renel will join Baligian in the booth for a pair of home contests. Renel provided color commentary for one game in 2012 and nearly every game for seven seasons (2013-22).

The radio pre-game show will start 15 minutes before a road contest and 30 minutes prior to a home game.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Matt Buschman: OLB; 6' 2"; Graduate Student

#2 Elijah Fowlkes: CB; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#1 Manny Harris: WR; 5' 9"; Redshirt Sophomore

#12 Josh Kulka: QB; 6' 2"; Senior

#38 Griffin Milovanski: PK; 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior

#3 Drake Reid: CB; 5' 9"; Graduate Student

#4 Kendall Williams: RB/KR; 5' 8"; Redshirt Senior

Players Mentioned

#10 Matt Buschman
: 6' 2"; Graduate Student
: OLB

#2 Elijah Fowlkes
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: CB

#1 Manny Harris
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Sophomore
: WR

#12 Josh Kulka
: 6' 2"; Senior
: QB

#38 Griffin Milovanski
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior
: PK

#3 Drake Reid
: 5' 9"; Graduate Student
: CB

#4 Kendall Williams
: 5' 8"; Redshirt Senior
: RB/KR