Football 9/25/2024 5:10:00 PM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Football Visits Truman State for Final Non-Conference Game

GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University football team begins a two-week 2,300-mile road trip this weekend travelling to Kirksville, Mo. to face Truman State (Sept. 28), before embarking on an 1,100-mile round trip to Houghton, Mich. (Oct. 5).

WSU and the Bulldogs have two similar opponents already this year. The Warriors lost 42-30 at home to Findlay and 30-6 at home against Indianapolis, while Truman State was upended 37-21 at home to Findlay in week one prior to a 41-34 setback at Indianapolis in week two.

Wayne State's next home game will be an October 12th matchup with Ferris State.

SCOUTING TRUMAN STATE
The Bulldogs enter week four 0-3 after falling at Saginaw Valley State 37-14 last Saturday. This is the first time since 2018 that Truman State has opened the season 0-3. In that season, the Bulldogs would win six of their final eight games to finish with a 6-5 record.

After serving as the team's defensive coordinator for the past 14 years, Kellen Nesbitt has assumed the position of head coach. The Nesbitt name should be familiar as Kellen's father, Gregg Nesbitt, was the head coach the last 14 seasons.

Sophomore quarterback Dylan Hair is in his first year as the Bulldogs starting signal caller. Hair has totaled 678 yards through the air with four touchdown passes. On the ground, the sophomore has 142 rushing yards and one score.

The top pass catcher for TSU is redshirt freshman Jackson Overton, who has caught 15 passes for 206 yards and has found the end zone three times. The receiver's top performance came in week two against Findlay where he had six receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns.

Through three games, Denim Cook has rushed 43 times for 184 yards and two touchdowns. The experienced back has played in 17 games during his three seasons for the Bulldogs and has totaled 632 rushing yards.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Truman State has a 5-3 lead in the all-time series. The Bulldogs have prevailed in each of the last three meetings by a combined score of 103-28. The Warriors most recent series victory came in 2015 as they claimed a 21-20 victory at Tom Adams Field.

LEWIS IMPRESSES IN FIRST WARRIOR APPEARANCE
Senior JoShawn Lewis led the WSU receiving corps with 76 yards on three receptions vs. Indianapolis in his Wayne State debut. All three of his receptions went for first downs.

MILOVANSKI CONTINUES SUCCESS
Griffin Milovanski connected on both field goal attempts vs. Greyhounds extending his streak of consecutive field goals made from inside 50 yards to 10. He made a 46-yard attempt in the second quarter against UIndy, followed by a 25-yard attempt in the fourth period. Milovanski has made 49 straight PAT attempts since a kick was blocked on Nov. 13, 2021, at Ferris State. He ranks fourth in school history in scoring among kickers with 177 points. The graduate student currently ranks sixth among all active NCAA Division II kickers with 35 career field goals made.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES
Through three games, WSU has outscored its opponents 44-32 in the second half, including 30-9 in the final stanza. Conversely, the Warriors have been outscored 71-9 in the opening 30 minutes.

EDWARDS SETTING QUARTERBACK STANDARD FOR RUSHING
Champion Edwards rushed for 146 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries against Findlay. He became the first WSU quarterback with a 100-yard rushing effort since Doug Griffin rushed for 112 yards at Michigan Tech on Nov. 16, 2013. The previous 100-yard games by a signal caller were when Randy Hutchison gained 116 on the ground at Michigan Tech on Oct. 19, 2002, and 101 vs. Gannon on Aug. 30, 2003. It is believed to be the most rushing yards in a game by a WSU quarterback since Ed Skowneski rushed for 203 yards on Oct. 4, 1975, against Valparaiso.

McKATHERINE PUTTING SIX ON THE BOARD
Redshirt senior wide out Myles McKatherine caught an 18-yard pass from Edwards for his second touchdown in as many contests. The last wide receiver to have a touchdown reception in back-to-back games was Trevonte Davis in 2021 (Sept. 18 at Missouri S&T [2] and Sept. 25 against Saginaw Valley State). Tight end Nick Poterack had touchdown catches in consecutive games in 2022 - Sept. 3 at Slippery Rock and Sept. 10 at home vs. Shaw.

HARRIS FINDS END ZONE WITH FIRST TD RECEPTION
After scoring his first two career touchdowns on the ground, junior wide receiver Manny Harris hauled in a 20-yard touchdown pass from Champion Edwards late in the third quarter against Findlay. It was Harris' first TD at home having scored rushing touchdowns at Grand Valley State (Nov. 5, 2022) and at Slippery Rock (Sept. 2, 2023).

HART MAKES MOST OF FIRST CAREER START
Redshirt junior linebacker Justin Hart made his first collegiate start in the Findlay contest and responded with a game-best 11 tackles (4 solo, 7 assisted), plus a pass break-up. He played on special teams and as a back-up linebacker in the first three games of 2023 before suffering a season-ending injury. Hart was credited with eight assisted tackles against Indianapolis, along with a quarterback hurry.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
A low snap on a punt attempt forced Findlay kicker Owen Clevenger to throw the ball resulting in an intentional grounding penalty which statistically is a sack for WSU's Dahmir Farnum, who was the closest Warrior to Clevenger when the pass was thrown.

WARRIOR DEBUTS
Through the first three games of 2024, 72 players have been on the field for WSU, including 16 who have made their collegiate debut and 17 who made their Warrior debut.

Two student-athletes made their collegiate debut in the Indianapolis contest (Amauri Haller and Steven McCrary, Jr.), while another four student-athletes made their WSU debut (Avery Burch, Colin Gardner, Xzavier Goldsby-Rogers and JoShawn Lewis) vs. the Greyhounds.

Four players made their collegiate debut in the Findlay contest (Max Edwards, Cane Mack, Will O'Brien and Da'Carion Taylor), while transfers Clifton Buchanan, Jr. and Jeremiah Drake made their WSU debuts against the Oilers.

Of the 69 players who traveled to Tiffin for the season-opener, 56 saw game action. Ten (10) Warriors made their collegiate debut in the contest vs. the Dragons (Jobe Benschoter, Amarion Brownlee, Kejuan Houston, Jordan Hutchinson, Kristian Kilpatrick, Jayden Lewin, Roshuan McGee, Raymond Payne, Jasir Rahaman, and Richardo Wourman). In addition, another 11 Warriors made their WSU debut (Jaylon Banks, Mekhi Battle, Kaleb Coleman, Champion Edwards, Will Fennema, Shamilyn Joppy, Jordan Lewis, Myles McKatherine, Lester McManaway, Jonathan Tillman, and Justyz Tuggle).

VETERAN OFFENSIVE LINE CONTINGENT
Arguably the most experienced position group for the Warriors in 2024 will be the offensive line with two returning starters in redshirt junior Aidan Tweedy (15 career starts, including the last 14 games at center) and redshirt senior Charles Wesley (18 career starts from three different spots). Another five student-athletes who have started games also return in redshirt sophomore Tomi Bisiriyu (three starts at left tackle); redshirt sophomore Will Edwards (five starts at right guard); redshirt sophomore Ethan Gates (one start at right tackle); redshirt junior Owen Salingue (two career starts); and redshirt senior Tyler Schompert (15 career starts).

Tweedy was a Second Team All-GLIAC selection in 2023 and was very durable as he saw action on every offensive play in eight games a season ago. Wesley was named WSU's Offensive Most Valuable Player last fall, while earning Honorable Mention All-GLIAC recognition. He is WSU's nominee for the AFCA Good Works Team (based on community service) this fall.

The five additional offensive linemen that have started boosted the number of career starts for this group to 61. Schompert is the most veteran of this group with action in 22 contests and starting at left tackle (11 times), left guard (three) and right tackle (once). Salingue is in his fourth year in the program, while Bisiriyu, Edwards and Gates all are in their third year with the Warriors.

TOUGH ROAD AHEAD
After a 2023 season that saw Wayne State play the toughest schedule in Division II, according to the NCAA, the Warriors will face another challenging task in 2024. Of the 11 teams that the Warriors will compete against this fall, 10 finished the 2023 season at or above .500. In all, WSU's opponents had a combined record of 80-41 (.661).

Wayne State will cross paths with three teams that appeared in the preseason top 25 poll, those being Ferris State (No. 3), Grand Valley State (No. 4), and Indianapolis (No. 16). The Warriors will also face three teams that have been pegged to win their conferences, the aforementioned Indianapolis and Ferris State of the GLVC and GLIAC respectively, along with Findlay representing the G-MAC.

LETTERWINNERS RETURNING
Wayne State has just 30 returning letterwinners from 2023 (including 2022 if missed all of last year due to injury). As mentioned previously, place-kicker Griffin Milovanski is the lone three-year WSU letterwinner on the squad. There are nine two-year letterwinners and 20 student-athletes with one letter for the Warriors.

A FAMILY AFFAIR
WSU currently has three sets of brothers:
Champion and Max Edwards
Devon and Donovan Isaac
Shamarr and Shamilyn Joppy

There are four younger brothers of former Warriors in Ben Griskie (older brother Jackson was a kicker), Aaron Mass (older brother Jacob was also a defensive end), Gabe Mendoza (older brother Manny was a wide receiver), and Mekhi Battle (older brother Tiroca was also on the defensive line).

Jeremiah Sterling and Jordan Bell are cousins as Jordan's dad Joique and Jeremiah's mother Ambie are brother-sister. Redshirt freshman wide receiver Tyler Swick is the younger brother of defensive graduate assistant coach Trey Swick.

WARRIORS BY THE NUMBERS
Of the 116 players currently on the roster, 88 came directly from high school, 15 played at another four-year college, 11 played at a junior college, and two attended another school (one four year and one two year) but did not see any playing time.

Football student-athletes represent 12 states with a majority (88) coming from Michigan. The other states include Ohio (9), Illinois (5), Virginia (3), California (2), New York (2), and Pennsylvania (2), along with one each from Indiana, New Jersey, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

With only 14 players in their final year (six graduate students, seven redshirt seniors, and one senior), the Wayne State roster is loaded with inexperience. There are 19 redshirt juniors, five juniors, 16 redshirt sophomores, four sophomores, 24 redshirt freshmen and 34 true freshmen on the squad.

GLIAC PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
1. Ferris State (46 points, four first-place votes)
2. Grand Valley State (44 points, three first-place vote)
3. Davenport (38 points, one first-place vote)
4. Saginaw Valley State (30 points)
5. Michigan Tech (26 points)
6. Wayne State (20 points)
7. Northern Michigan (13 points)
8. Roosevelt (7 Points)

DON'T MISS ANY OF THE ACTION
For the 23rd 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 16th season calling Warrior football. Former Warrior defensive end Brady Beedon will serve as the color analyst for seven games and will handle play-by-play duties in three contests. He will also conduct the weekly 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 the road game at Michigan Tech. Warrior basketball broadcaster Kevin Brechmacher will serve as the color analyst for the road contests at Truman State, Davenport and Grand Valley State. In addition, Tony Ortiz will serve as the Sideline Reporter for all six home games.

The radio pre-game show will start 15 minutes before a road contest and 30 minutes prior to a home game. Beedon will also host the Weekly With Wheatley show every Wednesday prior to a home a game. The show will take place at Woodbridge Pub starting at 5:30 p.m. The second show of 2024 will be held on September 18th.

All six home games, plus the road GLIAC contests will be streamed on FloSports. The home games will be via The PreP with the radio announcers broadcast being simulcast on FloSports.

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Players Mentioned

#83 Jordan Bell: WR; 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman

#89 Jobe Benschoter: TE; 6' 2"; Redshirt Freshman

#77 Tomi Bisiriyu: OL; 6' 5"; Redshirt Sophomore

#62 Will Edwards: OL; 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore

#13 Dahmir Farnum: RB; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#80 Colin Gardner: SL; 5' 11"; Redshirt Senior

#76 Ethan Gates: OL; 6' 6"; Redshirt Sophomore

#59 Ben Griskie: DT; 6' 1"; Junior

#1 Manny Harris: WR; 5' 8"; Senior

#48 Justin Hart: MLB; 6' 2"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#83 Jordan Bell
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman
: WR

#89 Jobe Benschoter
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Freshman
: TE

#77 Tomi Bisiriyu
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Sophomore
: OL

#62 Will Edwards
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore
: OL

#13 Dahmir Farnum
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: RB

#80 Colin Gardner
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Senior
: SL

#76 Ethan Gates
: 6' 6"; Redshirt Sophomore
: OL

#59 Ben Griskie
: 6' 1"; Junior
: DT

#1 Manny Harris
: 5' 8"; Senior
: WR

#48 Justin Hart
: 6' 2"; Senior
: MLB