At the conclusion of the 2019 football season the Wheaton College football team was 12-1, ranked fifth in Division III by D3football.com, had advanced to the Quarterfinals of the 2019 NCAA Division III Football Playoffs and tied the program's single-season record for victories. Wheaton was 9-0 in CCIW play, winning the CCIW Championship. A lot has happened since 2019.

Wheaton will return to the field at McCully Stadium on September 4 for the season-opener against University of Northwestern (Minn.). It will be the first game for the Thunder since December 7, 2019 in a Division III Playoffs' matchup against St. John's (Minn.). Wheaton did not compete against opponents in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the NCAA and CCIW's cancellation of the 2020 traditional fall season. Instead, the Thunder used the 2020-21 school year for training, conditioning, and practices to improve and prepare for the 2021 season.

The Thunder will take to the field on September 4 under the guidance of a new head coach for the first time since 1996. Jesse Scott replaced Mike Swider in January of 2020 following Swider's announcement of his retirement in December of 2019.

There is a great deal of anticipation and excitement for the 2021 Thunder football season. "There is not one single 'most exciting thing' as we prepare to start the season," notes Coach Scott. He continues, "When we take the field on September 4 it will have been 500-plus days since our last game against St. John's in 2019. The first opportunity to compete for so long will be special." He adds, "We've got a lot of guys that made decisions to stick around for that extra year to compete this season and have been training maniacally over the course of the last 12 months to be ready." Scott concludes, "We are excited about our personnel and also excited from a program perspective to just be back on the field competing and doing what Wheaton football is here to do."

Wheaton has more than 70 players returning from its 2019 team, an impressive accomplishment considering the nearly two years that have passed. Even more remarkable is the 23 fifth-year and sixth-year players that will compete for the Thunder in 2021. Scott states, "We have people that have decided to pause life after graduation in order to be a part of this season - it is absolutely remarkable." Scott continues, "One of the reasons they have returned is the relationships that exists with their teammates and coaches. The bond among players here is really special. Those guys love playing football and they are excited for the opportunity to compete for a CCIW Championship." Scott says of the returning players, and the bond among all the players and coaches and the desire to play and compete for each other, "It clarifies purpose. The fact that we have a player like Adam Terrini (PICTURED LEFT) who in the summer before this year kicks off decides, 'I can't miss out on this' is significant because of his impact on the field, but more importantly because of what it says about our program off of it."

"Our oldest players in the program need to take a critical leadership role, but the reality is we have more players that have a substantial amount of time in the program who are ready to do the same. Cultivating cohesion will be critical to our success. Doing so will be different this year because of the dynamic of our team, but our players are ready for the challenge," states Scott.

Scott reflects on a senior that perfectly reflects the bond among Wheaton football players and their commitment to each other, "Reid Ljungholm is a fifth-year wide receiver whose career has been injury plagued. For that reason he hasn't played many snaps for us. Yet, he has chosen to come back for his fifth year, one that promises him nothing from a playing perspective. When you talk about what makes Wheaton Football special this is it.  Reid is excited to compete in a wide receiver room that has a lot of talent, but it's his embodiment of our program mission and desire to invest in it that make his decision to return so telling."

Scott says of his team's approach to the start of the season, "We have to push really hard in training camp to get situationally prepared. Historically we have struggled to be efficient in our first intra-squad scrimmage and scrimmage against an opponent. Whether it is clock management, five-yard penalties, we have to be on it with those things from day one."

The Thunder head coach notes of one key that he believes will benefit his program as it prepares to open the 2021 season. "The continuity we have had in our staff is huge. This past year interrupted the flow for a lot of different programs. For us to have our coaches remain intact, committed and excited about this team and to have them with this team through the entire time - that has been enormous."

The Thunder offense returns several key players from 2019, including three starters on the offensive line. Jake Hibben (PICTURED RIGHT) was a Second Team D3football.com All-American at center in 2019. "Jake Hibben is as talented of a center as we have had here," states Scott, himself a former All-American on the offensive line for the Thunder in 2008. He adds, "Jake is going to do a lot of things for us. You will find Jake in multiple roles on Saturday afternoons, much like in 2019."

Gabriel McGill (PICTURED LEFT) was a Second Team All-North Region pick at guard for the Thunder in 2019. Scott states, "Gabriel McGill began playing significantly midway through his sophomore year and obviously he started in a big capacity for us in his junior year. Gabe's development physically has been great, and he has also taken a big step forward as a leader for us. He will serve as a team captain and he embraces that responsibility."

Wyatt Southall is another returning starter for the Thunder line. Scott states, "Wyatt is a talented guard for us and he is as thick as they come. We are excited about him having a big season. Wyatt can move anybody at any point in time and we are looking forward to a big year from him."

Paul Fay and Graham Wall are the most experienced amongst a group of returners that will compete for time on the offensive line, including for the two open starting spots. Other players that will be competing for jobs and time on the offensive line are Elijah Nitz, Sam Rogers, Trevor Gabrielle, Keiyon Walton and Derek Johanik.

Quarterback Luke Anthony (PICTURED RIGHT) returns after an outstanding first season with the Thunder in 2019. He threw for 2,915 yards, completing 67.8% of his passes with 35 touchdown tosses. Scott says of the quarterback, "Luke Anthony is a special player. Luke will be a captain on our team this season. Obviously, he returns with a ton of experience and grew a lot over the course of his first year. We are excited for him to take steps forward in some areas of growth both in terms of performance and also in leadership. We have an expectation that he will do that."

Scott notes, "Jeremiah Tucker returns at quarterback and he has next most amount of experience after Luke. We used Jeremiah in a number of different packages in 2019 and he will be on the field for us this fall." Tucker played in eight games in 2019, completing 67.7% of his 31 passing attempts."

Adam Terrini returns to lead Wheaton's receiving corps on the perimeter. Terrini graduated from Wheaton in May of 2020. He returns this fall as a graduate student using his final year of athletic eligibility because he wanted to be part of the Thunder football team this season.

Terrini led the Thunder in receiving yards in 2021 with 1,013 yards on 61 catches. His 16.6 yards per catch average led the team, as did his 12 touchdown catches. Scott says, "Our expectation is that Adam will have a great year even though he decided to return to the team in the beginning of June, he has been training with the intent to return for a long time. Having him on our perimeter will help us, both in the wide receiver room generally and what he brings to the team individually."

Matthew Tucker caught 18 passes for 222 yards in 2019. Terrelle Brown had two touchdown receptions in that season, averaging 25.4 yards per catch. Coach Scott notes of them, "Terrelle Brown and Matthew Tucker both got a lot of experience in 2019, they caught several touchdowns for us. Both improved significantly through the course of the year and have had good off-seasons.

Scott says of additional spots at the wide receiver position, "There is a ton of competition in the wide receiver position group.

Three returning players highlight Wheaton's experience at tight end as Scott notes, "We have three seniors in Spencer Peterson, Bert McJunkin (PICTURED LEFT) and Michael Gehl at tight end. Michael and Bert have the most experience in that position group and there will be competition which will be great for them and for our team. We are excited about what those guys bring to the table, but beyond those older guys there are some guys that have made a ton of strides over the course of this past year."

McJunkin played regularly for the Thunder in 2019, with several games as a starter. He averaged 12.9 yards per catch with three touchdowns. Gehl averaged 13.5 yards per catch in the season. Peterson moves to tight end after time at quarterback and under center in the wildcat formation for the Thunder.

Coach Scott says of the offensive backfield, "There is a lot of competition at running back." He adds, "Sam Singleton will return with the most experience among the guys in that position group. Sam had some injuries his sophomore year that kept him out of some of our games. However, he has a lot of talent and is as quick as can be at the line of scrimmage and does a great job of making people miss." He continues, "Kyle Carter and Jack Allen are sophomores who both had a lot of experience in their freshman year. They each scored a couple of touchdowns and ran for a couple of hundred yards. Additionally, Giovanni Weeks is coming off an ACL tear. He made a lot of progress and benefitted significantly from the past year." He concludes, "Henry Brown is a freshman that is going to be in the mix to contribute."

The Wheaton defense returns several key players from its 2019 unit, the top-ranked defense in Division III. The Thunder led Division III in total defense (202.7 YPG) and scoring defense (8.9 PPG) in 2019.

"We have some exceptionally gifted interior defensive linemen in Dallas McRae (PICTURED RIGHT) and Jake Holaday. Dallas was the 2019 Defensive Player of the year and is a great player. Jake has continued to improve by leaps and bounds year over year. Those guys are obviously very special," states Scott

In 2019 McRae was the first Wheaton player to be named the national Defensive Player of the Year by D3football.com since the website created the award in 2005. He was a unanimous Division III All-American that season. He registered a team-best 18.5 tackles for loss (-102 yards), including 8.5 quarterback sacks (-72 yards). He recorded 52 total tackles, including 36 solo stops. McRae registered a team-high eight quarterback hurries, forced one fumble and recovered a fumble on the year.

Holaday (PICTURED RIGHT) was a Second Team All-North Region honoree from D3football.com in 2019. He ranked third on the Thunder defense with 63 total tackles, including 34 solos. He recorded 15 tackles for loss (-50 yards), including 5.5 quarterback sacks (-33 yards).

River Shindledecker (PICTURED RIGHT) returns at defensive end. He was an All-CCIW honoree in 2019 with 42 total tackles, including 12 tackles for loss (-66 yards) and seven sacks (-52 yards). Scott notes, "River obviously had a ton of impact in our games in 2019. He is as big as he's ever been and has not lost a step - if anything he has gotten more explosive. He is a guy in our practices that routinely disrupts the offensive point of attack – we know he will do that again this fall."

Coach Scott adds of remaining spots on the defensive line, "There will be plenty of other opportunities for other defensive linemen to contribute. There are four or five guys in the mix competing to start and for substantial time."

2019 starters Ryan Schwartz (PICTURED LEFT), Wyatt Lee and Daniel Herber all return at linebacker for the Thunder.

Scott states, "Ryan Schwartz is a gifted player that has made strides over the past year. We are really excited about the season he will have." D3football.com named Schwartz a Third Team All-American at linebacker for the Thunder in 2019. He led the Wheaton defense in 2019 with 80 total tackles, including 57 solo stops. The linebacker had six tackles for loss (-25 yards), including one quarterback sack (-8 yards). He had two interceptions, forced one fumble and recovered one fumble.

Wyatt Lee (PICTURED RIGHT) earned All-CCIW recognition for the Thunder in 2019. He was second on the team with 66 total tackles, including 39 solo stops. He registered 13 tackles for loss (-55 yards), including four sacks (-33 yards). Scott says of him, "Wyatt Lee plays as hard as anyone that I have ever seen wear an orange and blue jersey. He is a great tone setter for our team, in terms of the discipline and passion people should bring to everything that they do."

Daniel Herber's (PICTURED LEFT) 2019 season was cut short due to injury and returns in 2019. Scott states, "Daniel Herber is coming off an ACL tear during the 2019 season. He is back to feeling completely healthy and will play a dynamic role for us." He adds, "Daniel will be seen in a lot of different roles and capacities on the field … some linebacker-like, some defensive-back like, and some on the line of scrimmage at the point of attack - differentiating him from a linebacker in the traditional sense." Herber registered 31 total tackles, including 21 solos, in 2019 before his season was cut short.

Scott notes of another returnee at linebacker, "Fielding Davis has invested a ton here. He will be a staple on special teams and will play meaningful snaps at linebacker as well."

Luke Gammichia played in every game for the Thunder in 2019. He tallied 26 total tackles, including 15 solo stops. He added 4-1/2 tackles for loss (-19 yards), including one sack (-11 yards), with three passes broken up and a fumble recovery.

The Thunder head coach says of the defensive backfield, "The secondary is the spot where we are going to see the most change from 2019. No Robby Schwartz, Corey Kennedy, Caden Sigler or Spencer Rowland; all guys who were key to our secondary in the previous season. He continues, "Multiple guys have competed well in the spring for us. Stephen Watson improved a ton through the course of last year.  Caleb Egbert is someone that is a known name to people that know our team well. He had an outstanding spring. He is a big, long corner who can run." Egbert made 17 tackles in 2019, including 13 solo stops.

"Caleb Grotelueschen earned a lot of time for us on special teams in 2019. He is in prime position to compete as a safety for us," notes Scott. Grotelueschen made 18 tackles in 2019 with two interceptions. Scott adds, "Jackson Schmid is a veteran in that group who has gotten quite a few reps on special teams and played meaningful time on defense." He concludes, "there will be competition all over our defensive backfield."

Wheaton's punter in 2019, John Bickle returns for the Wheaton special teams unit this season. Bickle recorded 50 punts on the season for an average of 40.6 yards per punt. He booted 28 punts that landed inside the 20-yard line, more than half of his efforts on the year. Scott states, "John Bickle had an All-American quality season in 2019. People tend to look at who punts it the farthest and that isn't necessarily the most important metric for your punter. There were plenty of times when the field was too compressed for John to let it go. John is really gifted and does great job of putting the ball in the corner and pinning people inside the 10-year line."

Scott says of the kicker position, "Tommy Gallagher is a fifth-year kicker for us. He has been injured for some of his career. Tommy has invested a significant amount of time to get healthy and be ready to compete this fall."