Veteran Wheaton head football coach Mike Swider remarks of his team's upcoming campaign, "At the start of the season, your football team is measured by your returning players. Upperclassmen and returning players are the ones that win games for you. When I try to project the kind of team we will have this season, I look at the senior, junior and sophomore classes - and I am real excited about this year."
 
Swider states, "We have five fifth-year seniors and five transfers. I believe when you add those kids to our senior, junior and sophomore classes it is very exciting. Their desire to be here defines Wheaton football. Some players are coming back because they want to remain a part of this and others because they want something better. That is 10 spots that would be filled by freshmen on a lot of teams. It creates a very competitive environment and our spring evidenced that.

  Swider expands on fifth-year players, "One of the things that makes Wheaton football special is the number of fifth-year athletes that come back. A fifth-year player will usually be highly motivated, highly trained, and more experienced." Corey Kennedy, Carson Lien (PICTURED LEFT), Patrick O'Connell, Stone Watson and Joe Paolina are fifth-year players that return to the program for their final year of eligibility.
 
Swider notes of five transfers making the decision to play football at Wheaton, "As the world and culture changes, our coaching staff cannot soft-sell our core values. We are a conservative, Christian college that is reserved for people that want to pursue their faith in Jesus. The young men who initially experienced the difference are those that first decided to play at other schools. Our Christian community not only attracts players to transfer, but it also attracts players to stay for a fifth year. Once they have been here they realize the distinctiveness of Wheaton and determine it is worth coming back." The five transfers joining the roster for 2019 are: quarterback Luke Anthony (University of Dayton), defensive end Braeden Anthony (University of Dayton), linebacker Wyatt Lee (Lawrence University), offensive lineman Kevin Spencer (University of Nevada) and defensive lineman Dimitrie Skakavac (Butler University).
 
The head coach notes of his team's upcoming preseason camp, "I am excited about the competition we will have at a lot of our positions. Competition breeds greatness. For those positions that have been vacated by a graduating player, there is competition for that spot and it will be between upperclassmen that have been around the block. We have depth and there will be players fighting for jobs on the field."
 
CJ Nightingale, a 2014 Wheaton graduate and four-year letterwinner for the Thunder in the defensive backfield, rejoins the program as its new defensive coordinator. Nightingale returns to Wheaton after coaching stints at Greenville University and Indiana Wesleyan University. Swider mentions of the transition to Nightingale as a coordinator, "The beauty of CJ as our defensive coordinator is that he is a Wheaton guy and he runs our system. However, there will still be a transition as our players become accustomed to him. I think a lot of that work occurred in the spring practice, but training camp will also be key for that."
 
Swider notes of a key position for his offfense, "Tailback is an area that we are very deep. TJ Williams (PICTURED RIGHT) returns after sitting out the 2018 season. He is a game changer and a special athlete. Everyone saw that when he took snaps behind Sola Olateju in 2017." Williams averaged 10 yards per carry on 43 attempts as a freshman in nine games during the 2017 campaign. He scored seven touchdowns in his debut season, rushing for 431 total yards behind the record-setting Olateju.
 
"Stone Watson (PICTURED LEFT) is a fifth-year player with significant experience at tailback. Will Smith was a transfer two years ago and he now has experience in the program," says Swider. He adds, "Sam Singleton came on strong at the end of the year." Watson averaged 6.1 yards per carry last season on 31 attempts. Smith and Singleton each played in eight games in 2018 with more than 20 carries for each player.
 
The Wheaton offense will need to replace the graduated Curtis McWilliams at quarterback for the upcoming season. Swider mentions, "We have four returners and a transfer that will compete in training camp for the starting quarterback job, and that is a good thing. They are five good players, with talent." He continues, "The exciting thing about our quarterback situation is that we have options. However, when there are five competing players for the job, and not a lot of time to give them adequate reps to make our decision. So we have to work hard to find a quarterback and find that quarterback by game one."
 
"At receiver we have Phillip Nichols (PICTURED RIGHT), Adam Terrini, and Carson Lien. Those three are returning starters, but there are others that will create great depth for us at that position," notes Swider. He adds, "We all know about Phillip Nichols, he is a fierce competitor and is as good a receiver as there is in this conference."  Nichols picked up All-CCIW recognition at receiver for the second-consecutive year in 2018. He led the Thunder with 63 receptions, averaging 14.1 yards per catch, and tallied 888 receiving yards with four touchdown catches.  
 
"Terrini (PICTURED LEFT) was banged up some last year and wasn't consistently on the field. We look forward to having him healthy this year, he is a vertical threat," mentions Swider. Terrini averaged 15.3 yards per catch with five touchdowns as he battled through injuries in 2018.
 
Swider says of Lien, "Carson Lien is a good player and an excellent target." Lien's 23 receptions in 2018 ranked third on the team and his 16.0 yards per catch ranked second on the squad. He totaled 369 receiving yards last season with four touchdown catches.
 
Swider notes of the tight end position, "We lost three excellent tight ends in Tyler Pace, Luke Van Dyke and Noah Frazier. However, there are three or four players competing for that position and that competition will be good."
 
Swider mentions, "Clay Wagner, Jake Hibben, Drew Smith and Gabriel McGill are returnees with time as starters on the offensive line. They are excellent football players and critical contributors. They will be joined by several others competing for playing time." Wagner (PICTURED RIGHT) picked up All-CCIW and D3football.com All-Region recognition last season as a junior.
 
The Thunder defense returns a significant amount of talented players for the upcoming season.
 
"We return four players that were either starters or saw significant playing time on the defensive line in Patrick O'Connell, Dallas McRae, Jake Holaday and River Shindeldecker," notes Swider. He concludes, "They are all big strong kids who can run."
 
O'Connell (PICTURED LEFT) earned All-CCIW and All-Region accolades in 2018 with a team-leading 15 tackles for lost yardage (-46 yards) and 5.5 quarterback sacks (-19 yards). He ranked fourth on the defense with 49 total tackles and was second on the defense with five quarterback hurries. The three-year starter has 17.5 quarterback sacks (-89 yards) and 35.5 tackles (-137 yards) for lost yardage in his career.
 
McRae (PICTURED RIGHT) joins O'Connell as a returning All-CCIW and All-Region performer. McRae recorded 41 total tackles last year on the Thunder defensive line. He tallied 8.5 tackles for loss (-45 yards), including five sacks (-36 yards).
 
Holaday recorded 16 tackles in 2018 with four tackles for loss (-10 yards), including one quarterback sack (-6 yards). Shindledecker appeared in eight games last season with seven total tackles, including one tackle for lost yardage.    
 
Swider says, "At linebacker, Daniel Herber (PICTURED LEFT) and Ryan Schwartz are returning starters that can flat out play." He continues, "For the third linebacker spot we have a number of guys that will compete for that remaining position."
 
Herber earned All-CCIW recognition as a junior in the Thunder linebacking corps in 2018. He was second on the Thunder defense last season with 59 total tackles. He tied for the team lead in solo tackles with 41 and registered 4.5 tackles for loss (-12 yards), including 1.5 sacks (-5 yards), with one interception.
 
Schwartz (PICTURED RIGHT) tallied 48 total tackles last season for the Thunder. He tied for third on the team in tackles for lost yardage with 8.5 (-37 yards), including four quarterback sacks (-27 yards).
 
"In the secondary Caden Sigler, Corey Kennedy, Spencer Rowland are returning guys that have experience as starters," notes Swider.
 
The Thunder head coach states, "Corey Kennedy (PICTURED LEFT) is a special athlete and difference maker in our secondary." Kennedy earned All-CCIW and D3football.com All-Region recognition last season. He led the squad with six passes broken up and nine pass deflections. Kennedy tied for the team lead with three interceptions (-177 yards) and recovered three fumbles, forcing a pair of fumbles. He registered 33 total sacks in 2018.
 
Sigler (PICTURED RIGHT) battled injuries in 2018 as he played in seven games with 10 tackles to his credit. Rowland tallied 18 total tackles, including 16 solo stops last season.
 
Kicker Griffin Bowes (PICTURED LEFT) will key the Thunder special teams in 2018. "Griffin Bowes is a good kicker with a great leg, he can really boot it," notes Swider. He adds, "We do have to find a punter and we have several guys that will compete for that position." Bowes converted six of his seven field goal attempts in 2017, with a season long of 33 yards.
 
Swider notes the strength of the Thunder return game for 2019, "Stone Watson, Phillip Nichols and Adam Terrini all have experience as returners." Nichols earned First Team All-CCIW recognition as a returner last season as he had a team-high 23 punt returns, averaging a team-high 9.0 yards per return. He averaged 19.3 yards per kickoff return last season on his 13 returns.