2016 Wittenberg football recruiting class
Name, High School, Position
Corey Dieringer, Versailles, CB
Marcus O’Neal, Kettering Alter, CB
Will Peterson, Westland, CB
Torrell Richardson, Lake Wales, Fla., CB
Kris Thompson, New Albany, CB
Phillip Golden, Indian Lake, DE
Collin Martin, Hamilton, DE
Ryan McNerny, Monroe, DE
Tony Mitchell, Walnut Hills, DE
Micah Vann, Fairfield, DE
Kyle Wheat, Brookville, DE
George Williams, Colerain, DE
Trent Clark, Trotwood-Madison, DL
George Beard, Middletown, DT
Aaron House, Springfield, DT
T.J. Mack, Bowsher, DT
Joshua Paul, St. Thomas Aquinas, Fla., DT
Ryan Tracy, Franklin, Mich., DT
Nick Treboni-Hogan, Dublin Scioto, DT
Nathan Andorfer, Kenton Ridge, K/P
Jordan Ernst, Greenville, K/P
Fredrick Bradbury, Hamilton Badin, LB
Mason Chapman, Alexander, LB
Daniel Claudio, Belleview, Fla., LB
Connor Curtis, Monroe, LB
Kyle Dieringer, Versailles, LB
Trevor Good, Brookville, LB
Devin McWilliams, Palmetto Ridge, Fla., LB
William Nibert, Greenville, LB
Thomas Scholl, Hilliard Darby, LB
Jonathan Seay, Miramar, Fla., LB
Jakob Staggs, Chillicothe, LB
Danny Barren, St. Francis DeSales, OL
Nick Eiland, Bartow, Fla., OL
Travis Keechle, Troy, OL
Bryson Owens, Bartow, Fla., OL
Chris Reisiger, Covington Catholic, KY, OL
Justin Rolfes, Fairfield, OL
Hayden Thompson, London, OL
Logan Walton, Loveland, OL
Steven Cunningham, Hamilton Badin, QB
Gynson Robley, Indian Creek, Ind., QB
Dante Lewis, Columbus Northland, QB
Hamilton Scott, Covington Holy Cross, Ky., QB/P
Connor Cotterman, Riverside, RB
Joey Barnes, Alexander, RB
Brandon Dlabik, West, Orange, Fla., RB
Jake Gilmore, Columbus St. Francis DeSales, RB
John Harris, Newport Central Catholic, Ky., RB
Troy Jones, Bartow, Fla., RB
Nick Kendall, Highlands, KY, RB
Ben Kidwell, Buckeye Valley, RB
Freddy McCoy, Bloomingdale, Fla., RB
Cole Merritt, Indian Lake, RB
Jaheem Washington, Palmetto Ridge, Fla., RB
Jordan Cain, London, SAF
Rondrea Gales, Trotwood-Madison, SAF
Joshua Mahan, Cincinnati Purcell Marian, SAF
Marcos Pimentel, Palmetto Ridge, Fla., SAF
Aron Childers, Fairborn, SAF
Zach Siliac, Orange, Park, Fla., TE
Vashawn Walker, Columbus Bishop Hartley, TE
Wes Ewing, Kettering Fairmont, TE
Erik Anderson, Newport Central Catholic, Ky., WR
Colton Bachman, Piqua, WR
Davon Burgelin, Miramar, Fla., WR
Mitchell Cain, Highlands, Ky., WR
Tylor Clont, Cypress, Bay, Fla., WR
BJ Cole, Brandon, Fla., WR
Michael Diaz, Cardinal Gibbons, Fla., WR
Cody Dinan, Fort Wayne Carroll, Ind., WR
Danny Foster, Pickerington Central, WR
Austin Gatwood, Logan Elm, WR
Bronz Jackson, Cleveland Lincoln West, WR
Tim Marsalis, Triad, WR
Dylan Miller, London, WR
Keonte Million, Middletown, WR
Jacob Myers, Perrysburg, WR
Dushan Shepard, Indianapolis Cathedral, Ind., WR
Landon Williams, West Liberty-Salem, WR
Jake Winters, Columbus Bishop Watterson, WR
Jarod Olade, Fairborn, WR
The Wittenberg football program has taken advantage of the lack of Division III schools in Florida for years, mining the state for talent such as quarterback Zack Jenkins and wide receiver Zach Culvahouse, two of the stars of the offense the last two years.
Joe Fincham’s staff, led by Tom Mescher and Nate Wilson, took Florida recruiting to a new level this year. Seventeen of the 82 recruits in the new class are from the Sunshine State.
“I always warn them, I don’t expect you coming back with suntans,” Fincham said. “They’re going down there to work.”
One of the recruits is Joshua Paul, a defensive tackle from St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale. That’s the same school that produced former Ohio State defensive lineman Joey Bosa and his brother Nick, a freshman at Ohio State.
Defensive line was an area of need for the Tigers, who finished 8-2 last season. They graduated Greenon graduate Josh Bannick and another starter, William Norelia.
Fincham mentioned Paul, Fairfield’s Micah Vann, Springfield’s Aaron House, Toledo Bowsher’s T.J. Mack and Monroe’s Ryan McNerny as the top defensive line recruits.
With the loss of seniors Jimmy Dehnke and Sean Gary, the coaches also emphasized recruiting running backs. Among the standouts in the class are three players from Florida — Jaheem Washington, of Palmetto Ridge, Freddy McCoy, of Bloomingdale; and Troy Jones, of Bartow — and one from nearby Riverside, Connor Cotterman.
The class also includes a two-sport start. Wide receiver Colton Bachman, of Piqua, will also play basketball for Wittenberg. He will miss his freshman football season because of an injury, but Fincham said he should be healthy by the time basketball season begins.
Among the other top players in the class, Fincham said, are: offensive lineman Justin Rolfes, of Fairfield; tight end Vashawn Walker, of Columbus Bishop Hartley; Hayden Thompson, an offensive lineman from London, Ohio; Bryson Owens, an offensive lineman from Bartow, Fla.; offensive lineman Chris Reisiger, of Covington Catholic; and Alter cornerback Marcus O’Neal.
“I am happy with (the class),” Fincham said. “I think our staff and our players did a really good job going out and beating the bushes for kids. We found some not only good players but good students and good kids.”
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