Football 8/29/2025 3:22:00 PM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Football Readies For Home Opener Vs. Tiffin on Sept. 4

GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University football squad will host Tiffin University this coming Thursday (Sept. 4) at 6 p.m. to kickoff the 2025 campaign. The two squads met in last season's opener as well, with the Dragons collecting a 31-17 triumph. The Green and Gold will aim to start the year with a win for the first time since 2018, when the Warriors earned a 31-0 shutout victory over Walsh University.

The contest with Tiffin marks the first time since the 2021 season that Wayne State has been home for the first game of the year.

WSU found its stride late in the 2024 season as the squad nabbed two home victories over Roosevelt University and Northern Michigan University to close the season with a 2-9 mark. The Green and Gold will aim to bring last year's momentum into this fall.

SCOUTING TIFFIN
The Dragons enter the 2025 campaign after compiling an 8-4 record during 2024. TU has finished above .500 for nine consecutive seasons and holds a 71-25 ledger from 2016-2024.

Last year, Tiffin led the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) in points per game (32.7), yards per game (402.4), yards allowed per game (257.8) and interceptions (15), while ranking second in points allowed per contest (19.2).

At the helm for the Dragons is second-year coach Brett Ekkens. In his first year with TU, Ekkens helped the squad to a second-place finish in the G-MAC and an appearance in the America's Crossroads Bowl. Prior to his current position, Ekkens served as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for Saginaw Valley State for a pair of seasons and was the offensive line coach, run game coordinator, and head strength and conditioning coach at Indiana Wesleyan prior to SVSU.

Alex Johnson returns for Tiffin after winning the 2024 Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Offensive Player of the Year award. Last season, the Bellevue, Wash., native passed for 2,954 yards on 241-of-357 (68 percent) with 27 touchdowns, while adding a pair of scores on the ground. In last year's meeting with the Warriors, Johnson went 20-of-27 (74 percent) for 229 yards and four touchdowns.

Javier Wills and Ethan Holbrook enter 2025 as Tiffin's top-returning receivers from a season ago. Wills hauled in 37 passes for 478 yards, while finding the end zone twice. Holbrook notched 30 receptions for 454 yards and a half-dozen scores. Tight end Joey Zalewski was productive last season as well with 28 catches, 441 yards, and five touchdowns.

The Dragons' top rushing threat is Ronald Blackman. The reigning G-MAC Player of the Year ran for 1,417 yards on 241 carries for a team-leading 12 scores. In the air, Blackman caught 40 passes for 274 yards and added five more touchdowns.

Tiffin returns its three leading tacklers from 2024 as well, as Jacob Tueimeh, Khris Walton, and Malik Baker are all back for the Dragons. Tueimeh notched 72 tackles (38-34) forced two fumbles, and nabbed one interception. Walton finished second on the team in tackles with 63 (38-25), including 18 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks (both team-bests). Baker was credited with 58 tackles, while leading the squad in solo tackles with 42.

Sophomore kicker Ben Rudolph connected on 13-of-15 field goals a season ago, with a long of 43 yards. Meanwhile, punter Joseph Weiers averaged 39.5 yards on 40 attempts in 2024 with 11 inside the 20. Junior Ethan Holbrook averaged 10.9 yards on 25 punt returns a year ago, taking one back for a touchdown. Blackman is the top returning kickoff person after taking back six kicks for 136 yards last season.

ALL-TIME SERIES
WSU leads the all-time series, but TU has prevailed in the most recent three meetings, including last year's season opener that saw the Dragons claim a 31-17 win over the Green and Gold. Wayne State has out-scored Tiffin 370-215 across 12 meetings.

GLIAC PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
1. Ferris State (47 points, six first-place votes)
2. Grand Valley State (41 points, one first-place vote)
3. Saginaw Valley State (38 points, one first-place vote)
4. Davenport (31 points)
5. Michigan Tech (28 points)
6. Wayne State (16 points)
7. Roosevelt (12 points)
8. Northern Michigan (11 points)

FRESH FACES
Despite having 127 players on the roster, WSU only has 52 returners, including 18 letterwinners. In total there are 75 newcomers (49 freshmen, four mid-year transfers, and 22 summer transfers). In addition, the coaching staff features seven new hires including four full-time coaches and three graduate assistants along with the promotion of Mustafa Khaleefah to full-time Tight Ends Coach from Offensive Line Graduate Assistant Coach.

HIGHEST SCORING SEASON OPENERS
   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

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ahead of the 2025 football season, the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) released its players to watch for each team. From the Green and Gold were defensive ends Jaiden Acker and Colby Horn, quarterback Champion Edwards, and safety Elijah Fowlkes.

Acker led the squad in sacks a season ago with 4.5 and totaled eight tackles for loss, which ranked second on the team (Carl Ware - 9.5). The Grand Rapids native had his best performance in last year's season finale against NMU with eight total tackles (3-5), including one for loss (a sack).

Horn, now a redshirt junior, has played in all 11 games each of the last two seasons and has totaled 35 tackles, 21 of which were solo. The Menomonee Falls, Wis., product has notched six tackles for loss and forced one fumble in his career.

Edwards burst onto the scene in his first season with WSU, becoming the first Warrior to lead the squad in both passing yards (899) and rushing yards (570) since 1975, while being responsible for a team-best eight scores. The dual-threat quarterback became the first WSU signal caller since 2013 to rush for over 100 yards in a game after a 146-yard effort on the ground against Findlay in the second week of the 2024 season.

Fowlkes enters the 2025 campaign as the squad's lone three-year letterwinner, playing in 24 games through his first three seasons. The senior was most effective in 2024 as he garnered 62 tackles, snagged one interception, and recovered one fumble.

DIVISION II WIN STREAKS
Wayne State is one-of-28 squads that enter 2025 with a current win streak of two or more contests, having triumphed in its final two games of 2024. WSU is joined by GLIAC rival and defending national champion, Ferris State, who has the longest streak of victories at 15 following its season-opening victory over Pittsburg State on Aug. 28.

TOUGH ROAD AHEAD
WSU played the third-toughest schedule in NCAA Division 2 during the 2024 regular-season with its opponents combining for a .615 winning percentage (67-42). After playing the toughest schedule in 2023.

The Green and Gold face yet another tall task for the 2025 campaign. Of the 11 opponents on the docket, nine finished the 2024 regular season with a record above .500. In fact, WSU will not see a foe that had a sub-.500 record until the 10th contest of the year when the Warriors travel to Arlington Heights, Ill. to compete at Roosevelt.

In addition, Wayne State will see action against five squads that appear on the AFCA D2 Coaches Preseason Poll in No. 1-Ferris State, No. 3-Grand Valley State, No. 31-Saginaw Valley State, No. 38-Findlay, and No. 40-Davenport. WSU's lone Division III opponent, Wisconsin-La Crosse, is tabbed as the No. 10-ranked team according to the AFCA.

WARRIORS BY THE NUMBERS
Of the 127 student-athletes on the 2025 WSU football roster, 92 came from high school, 12 joined the squad after playing for a junior college, 17 transferred in after playing for another four-year college, and six more came from a four-year college but did not play.

The 2025 Wayne State football team has representatives from 15 states and one Canadian Province with the majority of football student-athletes coming from Michigan (91). Ohio (10), California (7), Texas (4), Florida (2), Virginia (2) and Washington (2) all have multiple student-athletes, while Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, North Carolina, Utah, Wisconsin, and Ontario all have one.

A FAMILY AFFAIR
WSU currently has three sets of brothers:
Champion and Max Edwards
Malachi and Matthew Evans
Devon and Donovan Isaac

Other Warriors with family ties include Evan Bainbridge (father Matthew was an offensive tackle) and Jordan Bell (father Joique is a WSU Athletics Hall of Fame running back).

COMING BACK STRONGER
Torrence Greene saw action in three games in 2023 and finished second on the team in tackles among true freshmen with six. After missing the entire 2024 campaign due to an injury sustained during the 2024 spring game, Greene aims to make an impact in his comeback season.

Nahji Mabry dressed for six contests in 2022 and earned Scout Defensive Player of the Week honors twice before pursuing a career as a fitness instructor, while attending the University of Michigan-Flint. After over two years removed from WSU football, the linebacker has returned as a redshirt junior for the 2025 campaign.

WEEKLY WITH WHEATLEY
Join head football coach Tyrone Wheatley and Brady Beedon each Wednesday prior to a home football Saturday for the Weekly with Wheatley podcast. Beedon is entering his fifth season as WSU football analyst and also serves as the host for the Locker Room Report and Senior Spotlight interviews each week for the football broadcast.

There will be five shows in 2025, each with a different assistant coach and student-athlete. The shows will be taped on Sept. 2, Sept. 24, Oct. 1, Oct. 15 and Oct. 29 in front of a live audience at Woodbridge Pub starting at 5:30 PM.

Each episode will be added to the Wayne State Athletics website for those unable to attend.

DON'T MISS ANY OF THE ACTION
Wayne State enters a new era for the broadcast of its football games with the launch of the Warrior Sports Network. Veteran Detroit broadcaster Sean Baligian is in his 17th season calling Warrior football. Former Warrior defensive end Brady Beedon will serve as the color analyst for eight contests, while Kevin Brechmacher will handle color commentary for the other three contests. In addition, Tony Ortiz will serve as the Sideline Reporter for all five home games.

Every Wayne State GLIAC football game will be on Flo Sports, plus the home non-conference contests against Tiffin and Quincy as well as the road game at Findlay. The FloSports broadcast of home games will be via The PreP for the third consecutive year.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Carl Ware: OLB; 5' 11"; Graduate Student

#97 Jaiden Acker: DE; 6' 4"; Redshirt Sophomore

#83 Jordan Bell: WR; 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore

#17 Champion Edwards: QB; 6' 1"; Junior

#33 Max Edwards: Star; 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman

#2 Elijah Fowlkes: S; 5' 10"; Senior

#23 Torrence Greene: S; 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore

#55 Colby Horn: DE; 6' 5"; Redshirt Junior

#14 Donovan Isaac: WR; 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman

#30 Matthew Evans: CB; 6' 3"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#4 Carl Ware
: 5' 11"; Graduate Student
: OLB

#97 Jaiden Acker
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Sophomore
: DE

#83 Jordan Bell
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore
: WR

#17 Champion Edwards
: 6' 1"; Junior
: QB

#33 Max Edwards
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman
: Star

#2 Elijah Fowlkes
: 5' 10"; Senior
: S

#23 Torrence Greene
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore
: S

#55 Colby Horn
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Junior
: DE

#14 Donovan Isaac
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman
: WR

#30 Matthew Evans
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: CB