By Bryan Bloodworth
BLOOMINGTON – Illinois Wesleyan football coach Norm Eash feels good about his team’s defense heading into Saturday’s 12:30 p.m. season opener at Franklin, Ind.
And he should.
The Titans return 11 players, who started at least two games at some point last season, including four all-conference performers in Kyle Venhuizen, Sean Garvey, Kevin Slawkowski and Tyrell Bolden.
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“Again, we had a lot of injuries in the secondary and defensive front last year and we have a lot of those kids coming back,” said Eash.
The defense will be led by an experienced and deep front seven. The line includes senior end Will James, who Eash said has the potential to be one of the top players in the conference, along with senior tackle Will Hardgrove, juniors John Shipman, Jamal Jackson, senior Justin Krzeczkowski and Venhuizen.
Returning starters Luke Roth and Garvey, both juniors, head up the linebackers. Garvey led the conference in tackles last year 107 (72 solo, 35 assists).
Adding depth will be seniors Sean Flaherty and Darrow Traylor; juniors Stephen Rudicil and Joe Faso; sophomores Jordan Hassan and Josh Akin along with junior transfer Tyler Fahey.
The secondary might have the most depth and experience of any during Eash’s 29-year coaching career.
The Titans have six starters back, led by all-conference performers Bolden and Slawkowski. The other returning starters are Ben Bouie, Zach Till, Briton Wilkey and Matt Campbell. Wilkey and Campbell started as freshmen.
“The secondary might be most talented and deepest I’ve ever had,” said Eash. “The team defensive speed is very, very good,” added Eash. “It’s a smart defense, a fast defense and an experienced defense.
“You might see a little more pressure from us because of the speed we have and the veterans we have. You need good corners when you do that and we have good corners.”
IWU also has experience in the special teams area where four-year starter Mikey Kelly returns as the kicker along with sophomore long snapper James Burnell.
“We have high expectations,” said Eash. “These kids did not like the feeling of going through a 4-6 season last year. Even though we had a reason for that because of injuries and things beyond our control, it still affected our kids mentally. They know they were a good football team.”
Bryan Bloodworth can be reached at [email protected]
