Western Wayne Today

The Wayne State University football team will play its first road game of the 2025 season against the University of Findlay in Ohio, following a 34-7 loss to Tiffin at home. The Warriors aim to recover from their opening defeat as they face an Oilers squad that recently secured a win over No. 17-ranked Indianapolis.

Last year, Wayne State and Findlay met in week two, with WSU falling 42-30 despite a strong second-half performance where the Warriors outscored Findlay 27-7 after halftime and limited them to just nine total yards in the fourth quarter.

Findlay enters this matchup after posting 427 yards of offense and forcing two turnovers against Indianapolis. Under head coach Kory Allen, now in his fourth year, the Oilers have achieved a 24-10 record. Last season, Findlay finished with a 9-2 record and ranked among Division II leaders in third down conversions and passing offense.

Chase Harrison has taken over as quarterback for Findlay after transferring from Marshall and Ball State. In his debut, he threw for 155 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Bryan Hunt and Mitch Nielsen led receivers in the opener, while Christian Davis paced the running game with 109 rushing yards.

Defensively, Christion Stokes leads Findlay with nine tackles so far this season. Freshman kicker Zachary Barzd was perfect on extra points and field goals in his first outing.

Wayne State holds an all-time record of 11-13 against Findlay but has won eight of the last eleven meetings since 2005.

Redshirt junior linebacker Logan McGraw made an immediate impact for WSU in his debut, recording twelve tackles (including three-and-a-half for loss) and forcing two fumbles—both marks tied for first nationally in Division II after week one. “The two forced fumbles and 3.5 tackles for loss both rank tied-for-first in D2, while his 12 tackles ranks 15th.”

Senior Angel Carrillo also stood out as kick returner after being named one of three team captains, returning six kickoffs for a total of 123 yards.

Seventeen student-athletes made their collegiate debuts against Tiffin, while thirteen others played their first game as Warriors. The roster features seventy-five newcomers among its total of one hundred twenty-seven players; only fifty-two are returners from last season.

The coaching staff includes seven new hires this year—four full-time coaches and three graduate assistants—with Mustafa Khaleefah promoted to full-time tight ends coach.

Players highlighted by the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) ahead of this season include defensive ends Jaiden Acker and Colby Horn, quarterback Champion Edwards, and safety Elijah Fowlkes. Edwards led Wayne State last year in both passing (899 yards) and rushing (570 yards), becoming the first Warrior since 1975 to do so.

This season marks a new era for broadcasting Wayne State football games through the Warrior Sports Network. Veteran broadcaster Sean Baligian returns for his seventeenth season calling games alongside analysts Brady Beedon or Kevin Brechmacher depending on the contest; Tony Ortiz serves as sideline reporter at home games. All GLIAC matchups will be available on FloSports streaming service.

According to the GLIAC preseason coaches’ poll, Wayne State is picked sixth out of eight teams entering this season.

After facing one of NCAA Division II’s toughest schedules last year (.615 opponent winning percentage), Wayne State’s upcoming schedule remains challenging: nine out of eleven opponents had winning records last season; five appear in national preseason polls including Ferris State (No.1), Grand Valley State (No.3), Saginaw Valley State (No.31), Findlay (No.38), Davenport (No.40). Wisconsin-La Crosse is ranked tenth nationally among Division III teams.

Wayne State’s roster draws from fifteen states plus Ontario; most players hail from Michigan but several come from Ohio, California, Texas, Florida, Virginia, Washington, Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, North Carolina, Utah or Wisconsin.

Family connections are present on this year’s team: three sets of brothers—Champion/Max Edwards; Malachi/Matthew Evans; Devon/Donovan Isaac—as well as players whose parents played college or professional football.

Several athletes return after missing time due to injury or other pursuits—including Torrence Greene who missed all last year but aims to contribute again this fall—and Nahji Mabry who returns following more than two years away from football at WSU.

Head coach Tyrone Wheatley will host five episodes of “Weekly with Wheatley” podcast throughout the fall alongside analyst Brady Beedon featuring assistant coaches and student-athletes; shows will be taped before select home games at Woodbridge Pub and posted online via Wayne State Athletics.