“I think the thing that I am most excited about this upcoming season is our senior class,” opens Wheaton College head football coach Mike Swider when discussing his 2011 Thunder football team that will begin its season on September 10 when Albion College visits Wheaton's McCully Stadium.

Swider continues, “We have 26 young men in the senior class that are very committed to Wheaton football. You want to have seniors that are talented; that is critical because the more seniors you have on the field, the better off you are. But, just as critical is how passionate that group is about football. Collectively this senior class is as serious about football as any senior class we have had. Football is important to the entire group – every single one of them. They are a tight group that has bonded well together as a class and hold each other accountable. These seniors demand excellence from everyone and they have been a great example to our football team, serving as great teachers and leaders.” Swider concludes, “When you add to all of that the amount of talent in the group, it is very exciting. They will give us a chance to be successful in 2011.”

Wheaton's deep and skilled senior class, as part of 71 returning players coming off of a 10-2 season in 2010. Last year's edition of the Thunder advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs, Wheaton's sixth playoff appearance since 2002. Swider's 2010 team posted a 9-1 record in the regular season to earn an at-large bid to the postseason. The Thunder earned a come-from-behind 31-21 victory against Coe College in the playoffs' first round before falling to Bethel University, 15-10 in the second round.

Swider notes of his team's expectations for 2011, “The confidence and enthusiasm is obviously always higher coming off of a playoff season. Whenever you win a playoff game, especially in football, it gives your program substantial credibility. We lost a second-round game that very much could have been won and we ended the year ranked 11th in the country by D3football.com. So there is a great deal of confidence for this upcoming year, based on how we did in the 2010 season.”

DEFENSE: “Our defense has considerable experience. Our huddle will have some poise in it this fall,” notes Swider. Wheaton returns seven starters on the defensive side of the ball from a unit that held opponents to just 16 points per game last season and finished the campaign ranked fourth in Division III in interceptions. He continues, “There is no question that we return a lot of talent on defense. Last year our defense made a number of big plays, and big stops to help win football games. That unit played exceedingly well in both of the playoff games last year. We will have some serious playmakers that play with confidence.”

Defensive ends JD East and Robert Ramsay are returning starters who will be teamed with returning regular Brandon Dykstra at nose guard to form the core of a formidable defensive line. As Swider comments, “Those three kids are really, really good Division III football players. In that group you have two guys with speed that are just relentless and Dykstra is a prototype nose guard and very active for his size.” East recorded 57 total tackles, including a team-best 12 tackles for loss (-59 yards) in a junior campaign that saw him earn First Team All-CCIW honors. Ramsay was a Second Team All-CCIW selection as a junior in 2010, recording a team-high six quarterback sacks in his 59 total tackles. Dykstra had a breakout freshman season at nose guard as he increasingly saw playing time throughout the fall. Swider adds, “Grant Tallon and David Seamon are a pair of seniors who give us depth on the defensive line.”

Swider notes of the inside linebacker position, “We have two seniors that are tough kids and good football players in Jordan Chapman and Austin Driggers. You can add a junior like Pat Dansdill, who is an athletic kid, to the mix as well to give us a strong core at inside linebacker.”

Chapman earned Second Team All-CCIW honors in 2010 after leading the team with 77 total tackles, including six tackles for lost yardage (-28 yards). “Chapman is the leader of our defense. He is a really smart player who knows the defense and understands the game,” notes Swider. He adds, “Driggers is a hitter. He is a hard-nosed football player who can make plays. Pat Dansdill has good speed, giving us a real solid group.” Both Driggers and Dansdill saw action in every game last fall with each player recording more than 30 tackles on the season.

Continuing on at linebacker, Swider comments, “When you look at the outside linebacker position, Richard Jacobson is a key returning player who comes back for us. Then we have two guys in John Carnegie and Sam VanHeest who are going to be competitive players at the other outside linebacker position.” Ben Johnson also provides good depth at that position.

“Jacobson made many big plays for us last year,” states the longtime Thunder head coach. Jacobson was second on the team last fall in tackles with 62, including 8-1/2 tackles for loss (-37 yards). Swider adds, “Nobody has had a chance to see what John Carnegie can do. He has been plagued with injuries and now he is healthy and will have a chance to show people how good he is.”

Swider notes, “Our two senior safeties will be three-year starters. Brian McMullen and Jordan Langs are what we call 'downhill safeties'. They will hit you hard.” He adds, “Ryan Foster is a great backup safety. He is a senior who has played on special teams and can finish games for us if need be. Garrett Cook, Sam Burt and Tony Vargyas also give us good depth at that position.” McMullen is a two-time all-conference honoree coming off of a junior campaign that saw him record 59 tackles, including seven for lost yardage (-15 yards) and adding three interceptions. Jordan Langs made 47 tackles as a junior in 2010, with four interceptions to his credit.

Wheaton's head coach concludes his defensive assessment at cornerback, “If there is one position where we are inexperienced, you could probably say it would be at corner.” Swider continues, “We have to find a few new athletes to step up this year. Micah Markley played a lot for us last year. He and Matt McReynolds are the front runners. They are both seniors who have excellent speed. We have some younger kids like Oskar Cadena, Jackson Edwards and #C.J. Nightingale# that will be competing for playing time.”

OFFENSE: Last season Wheaton's offensive put up an average of nearly 32 points per game and racked up more than 390 yards per game. The Thunder offense reached the end zone 38 times last season, scoring 30 or more points in six games.

“Our biggest need offensively is to replace three starters on the offensive line,” notes Swider. He continues, “We lost three good football players up front in Nick Biggee, Tommy Burggraff and Luke Griffith. However; we have some young players coming back that are going to be good players.”
Swider states, “We have two experienced linemen in Charlie Bell and Sean Ramsey coming back and they will be key to our line this year. Charlie Bell will probably move to center for us this year, and we moved Jesse Peterson from tight end to tackle; we are very excited about him. He is 6' 5” and 275-pounds and had a great spring for us.” He continues, “We need guys like [Peterson], Matt Dumond and Nolan Randall to come in help us fill the tackle position. Nathan Hodges and Tyler Friedl need to compete at guard. Carson Gray, Bradley Hahn and Chris Kragthrope are also expected to compete on the offensive line.”

Swider moves behind the offensive line when continuing his discussion of his offense, “We have an excellent quarterback in Jordan Roberts. It's pretty impressive that he set our school-record for completion percentage as a just sophomore. He can run, as well as throw the ball well and he is a big, strong kid.” Roberts completed 66.4% (140-for-211) of his passes last season, throwing for 1,575 yards, with 14 touchdown passes. As a sophomore, Roberts also ran for an additional 493 yards, averaging 5.8 yards per carry with a pair of touchdown runs to his credit. Swider notes of Roberts' backups for the upcoming season, “It helps that Garrett Meador has been around the block and seen some playing time and Griffin Kuhn is a good quarterback too. We have some real depth at the quarterback position.”

The Thunder mentor notes, “At wide receiver, we have guys like Teddy Watkins and Justin Zeller who are seniors with some great experience. Additionally we have seniors like EJ Hibbler and Kolby Kemp, along with a junior like Morgan Cook to give us a nice group.” Watkins was second on the team last season with 36 receptions for 430 yards. Zeller caught 26 passes in his junior campaign for 263 yards.

“JJ Clark played at both fullback and tight end in the past. He will be solely at tight end from now on,” comments Swider on the senior. He continues, “Hunter Thorson will be backing him up and could see some playing time. He is a big strong kid who can do some good things. We may put two tight ends out there at times.” Clark averaged 13.7 yards per catch on his nine receptions in 2010.

“Peter Jarrett returns as the 'the man' for us at tailback this year. He is a big, strong, physical, athlete who is also very fast,” states the Thunder head coach. Jarrett ran for 505 yards on 112 carries last season. He averaged 4.5 yards per carry and reached the end zone three times during his sophomore campaign. Swider continues, “The biggest thing for Peter is that we are going to have to keep him healthy. If we can keep him healthy we will be able to run the football regularly.” He adds, “Justin Swider is going to have to show up ready to compete. He may be a sophomore, but we will need him to come in and get some carries so we can keep Peter from getting banged up.”

The Wheaton mentor concludes his analysis of the offense at fullback, “We have two solid fullbacks in Brannen Dorman and Davis Skinner. It is great to have Dorman back this year, after being out all of last year with an injury. Skinner played most of last season with Brannen being out, so we have a lot of experience with some mature kids at that position.”

SPECIAL TEAMS: Scott Roche returns for his senior season as the Thunder placekicker. Roche booted a school-record 18 field goals in 2010, a number that was the most of any kicker in Division III. Last season he recorded a team-best 87 points for the Thunder. Swider comments, “We have a real weapon at kicker in Roche. It helps us a lot to have a talented kicker. When we get the ball to the 30-yard line we are pretty confident that we can get some points. It definitely shortens the field up some.”

Tony Vargyas moved into the role as Wheaton's punter in 2010. As a freshman last year, he averaged 33.6 yards per punt, with 12 of his 46 punts landing inside the 20-yard line. Swider notes, “Tony Vargyas has a world of potential. He has a great leg and stepped in last year as a freshman punter for us. He is a very talented and poised kid.”

Swider notes of his team's option in the punt and kick return game, “Micah Markley has a chance to be a big returner for us. We used him some last year, but he will take over for Tyler Langs as our punt returner this year. He is hard to knock down and very good at changing directions.” He concludes, “Teddy Watkins leads a group of players who will serve as kick returners.”