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Wayne State University Athletics

Missouri S&T Preview Graphic

Football Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Football Home Opener Is Slated For Saturday At 1 PM

Missouri S&T Miners visit Tom Adams Field.

GAME STORYLINES
Wayne State returns to Detroit for its home opener this Saturday, September 9.  The Warriors welcome the Missouri S&T Miners to Tom Adams Field for the first time in program history.  This weekend's contest will be the first of six home games in 2023 for the Green and Gold.

WSU began the season with a 28-17 loss at No. 15-Slippery Rock last Saturday.  Jayden Waddell (three yards) and Manny Harris (25 yards) scored the two Warrior touchdowns, while Griffin Milovanski kicked a 47-yard field goal.

In home openers over the last 15 seasons (2007-2022), Wayne State holds a 9-6 record, including a span of eight victories in nine home-opening games between 2008 and 2016.  The squad's last win in a home opener came in a 31-0 triumph over Walsh on August 30, 2018.

A NEW BEGINNING
Last weekend's contest at Slippery Rock was the first game for Tyrone Wheatley at the helm of the WSU football team.  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.

SCOUTING MISSOURI S&T
The Miners suffered a 48-20 setback in their Week 1 contest vs. No. 10-ranked Delta State, despite possessing the football for nearly 20 minutes longer than the Statesmen.

Quarterback Tyler Gioia threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns on 20-of-33 passing, while also rushing for a score on an eight-yard run in the opening quarter.  Both touchdown passes were from the sophomore signal caller to fellow sophomore tight end Justis Braden, who caught seven passes for 112 yards.  The contest marked the collegiate debut for both players after each redshirted in 2022.

The Miners bring a steady rushing attack to Detroit, as they ran 45 times for 238 yards on the ground in Week 1.  Junior Josh Sanders and projected starter, junior Cameren Smith, each garnered over 10 carries.  Smith led all Miners on the ground in 2022 with 819 yards and eight of the 12 rushing touchdowns scored by the team.

Returnees CJ Jarmon and Blaize Klossner make up the bulk of the receiving corps.  They hauled in six of the 11 touchdowns through the air, and Jarmon led the squad with four.  Junior CJ Wiggins (four catches in Week 1) also factors into the passing game.

On the defensive side, the squad is led by a pair of veteran players in senior Nick Mattli and graduate student Aidan Hurtado. Mattli, a linebacker, notched a team-high six tackles and a 16-yard sack, while Hurtado, a defensive lineman, had two tackles for loss, including an 11-yard sack against Delta State.  The Miners returned just two of their six leading tacklers from last season – Mattli and junior defensive back Carson Prenger. 

Missouri S&T recorded a 3-7 mark a season ago, including a victory over Division I FCS member Drake University.  The team also posted wins in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) over Quincy and William Jewell.  The 2022 season was the first for head coach Andy Ball after previously serving two stints on the coaching staff as an assistant coach and associate head coach.

ALL-TIME SERIES
The two programs have played head-to-head just once, on September 18, 2021, in Rolla, Mo.  Missouri S&T won a high-powered 51-45 battle in overtime to claim the victory.  The Miners scored the game-winning touchdown after the Warriors turned the ball over on downs during their drive.  Both teams scored in all four regulation quarters and WSU broke its 1967 school record in total offense with 673 yards.

It was not only the most recent overtime contest for the Green and Gold, but also the second-highest scoring OT game in program history (96 points) behind WSU's 58-50 loss (108 points) in triple-overtime at Mercyhurst on September 15, 2007.

WHEATLEY'S FIRST WSU CAPTAINS
Prior to the Slippery Rock contest, coach Wheatley named his first captains' group as Wayne State head coach.  The two defensive captains are graduate student Drake Reid (Rochester Hills, Mich.) and redshirt senior Dalen Peeks (Akron, Ohio).  Offensive captains are graduate students Noah Nicklin (Davisburg, Mich.) and Chrishoun Roberts (Garfield Heights, Ohio), while redshirt junior Griffin Milovanski (Saugatuck, Mich.) represents the special teams unit.

EARLY SEASON SUCCESS
Since the start of the 2008 season, WSU has a 34-27 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).

Coach Wheatley and the Warriors have two more opponents nationally ranked via the AFCA Division II Coaches' Poll in No. 1-Ferris State and No. 7-Grand Valley State, while also battling three other teams (Davenport, Truman State and Saginaw Valley State) that have 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) prior to the campaign, the Warriors were slated to play the second-toughest schedule in Division II this fall.

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)

SLIPPERY ROCK BY THE NUMBERS
Of the 53 players seeing action at Slippery Rock, 13 made their collegiate debut, and another five made their WSU debut.  Thirty-five (35) had seen action for the Green and Gold in previous seasons.  The 13 included Devon Brown, Joe Clark, Jr., Nico Davis, Will Edwards, Dahmir Farnum, Ke'Waun Farnum, Maxx Fisher, Ethan Gates, Colby Horn, Brayden McKenna, Eli McLean, Nick Ostas, and Quincy Salter with Davis and the Farnum brothers being true freshmen.  The five transfers to see action were Jaden Davis (Ellsworth C.C.), Gamon Howard, Jr. (Lincoln, Calif.), Jace Parrish (Northwood), Jayden Waddell (Davidson), and Carl Ware (Madonna).

WADDELL'S INSTANT IMPACT
Graduate transfer Jayden Waddell (Union Mills, N.C.) wasted little time in making his presence felt on the program, as he garnered 143 yards of total offense in his WSU debut at Slippery Rock.  Waddell completed five of his six pass attempts for 60 yards, including a 28-yard strike to John Rayba (Rochester Hills, Mich.).  He also ran for 83 yards and a score, a three-yard carry for the first touchdown of the 2023 season and of his Warriors' career.

HARRIS FINDS THE END ZONE
Redshirt sophomore running back Manny Harris also found the end zone at SRU, bouncing off defenders and spinning his way into the end zone for a 25-yard score late in the contest.  It was the second career rushing touchdown for Harris, after a 13-yard carry in last season's game at Grand Valley State on November 5, 2022.

MILOVANSKI CONTINUES STREAK
Kicker Griffin Milovanski connected on both extra point attempts in the Slippery Rock game, extending his streak to 28 consecutive made PAT tries.  The redshirt junior went 25-of-25 on extra points in the 10 contests last fall.  He has not missed since having a kick blocked in the 2021 season finale at Ferris State on November 13.

AWARD WINNERS (AND OTHERS) RETURN
Linebacker Matt Buschman and running back/kick returner 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 led the nation and broke the school record with five fumble recoveries last season, while Williams finished second in the GLIAC in all-purpose yards (157 yards per game) and fourth in both rushing yards per game (67.0) and kickoff return average (21.0 yards).

Despite losing many of their defensive starters from the 2022 team, the Green and Gold have many key contributors returning, including graduate student and captain 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.

WEEKLY WITH WHEATLEY
Join head football coach Tyrone Wheatley and Brady Beedon each Wednesday at Woodridge Pub prior to a home football Saturday for the Weekly with Wheatley podcast.  The remaining shows will be taped on Sept. 20, Sept. 27, Oct. 4, Oct. 11, and Nov. 1.  A different assistant coach will join Wheatley and Beedon each week.

The podcast will be added to the Wayne State athletics website every Friday morning for those unable to be at Woodbridge that week.

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 is in his 15th season calling Warrior football.  Former Warrior defensive end Brady Beedon is in for his third season and will serve as the color analyst for nine games and 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 nine seasons (2013-22).
 
The radio pre-game show will start 15 minutes before a road contest and 30 minutes prior to a home game.

New for the 2023 football season, all Wayne State University football games will be streamed via FloSports.  The games will be produced via The PreP in a partnership between the two entities.  The stream will simulcast the radio call of each home football contest. 


 
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Players Mentioned

Devon Brown

#32 Devon Brown

CB
6' 0"
Redshirt Freshman
Matt Buschman

#10 Matt Buschman

OLB
6' 2"
Graduate Student
Joe Clark, Jr.

#90 Joe Clark, Jr.

DE
6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
Will Edwards

#62 Will Edwards

G/C
6' 3"
Redshirt Freshman
Maxx Fisher

#27 Maxx Fisher

H/P/PK
5' 11"
Senior
Elijah Fowlkes

#2 Elijah Fowlkes

CB
5' 10"
Sophomore
Ethan Gates

#76 Ethan Gates

T
6' 6"
Redshirt Freshman
Manny Harris

#1 Manny Harris

WR
5' 9"
Redshirt Sophomore
Colby Horn

#55 Colby Horn

DE
6' 7"
Redshirt Freshman
Gamon Howard, Jr.

#6 Gamon Howard, Jr.

CB
6' 1"
Redshirt Fifth Year

Players Mentioned

Devon Brown

#32 Devon Brown

6' 0"
Redshirt Freshman
CB
Matt Buschman

#10 Matt Buschman

6' 2"
Graduate Student
OLB
Joe Clark, Jr.

#90 Joe Clark, Jr.

6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
DE
Will Edwards

#62 Will Edwards

6' 3"
Redshirt Freshman
G/C
Maxx Fisher

#27 Maxx Fisher

5' 11"
Senior
H/P/PK
Elijah Fowlkes

#2 Elijah Fowlkes

5' 10"
Sophomore
CB
Ethan Gates

#76 Ethan Gates

6' 6"
Redshirt Freshman
T
Manny Harris

#1 Manny Harris

5' 9"
Redshirt Sophomore
WR
Colby Horn

#55 Colby Horn

6' 7"
Redshirt Freshman
DE
Gamon Howard, Jr.

#6 Gamon Howard, Jr.

6' 1"
Redshirt Fifth Year
CB