The players witnessed the rise of the building during the recruiting process. Coach Joe Fincham has seen the effect of the facility in recent recruiting classes.
“I think progressively they’ve become more and more affected by it,” Fincham said. “You have an announcement, and you walk out in recruiting with a bunch of pictures laying there and that perks up interest. The next year when they start coming on campus and they see bulldozers and backhoes, that helps. Coming in this year, they got to see the structure when they came in on first visits, and by the end of it, they got to be able to walk into the thing and see the size of it. Really the cycle started back up again because we had our prospect camp last week, and the kids walking into the stadium, they’re starting to get the full effect now.”
» RECENT CLASSES: 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
Two years after an 89-member class, the size of Wittenberg’s recruiting group has returned to normal. The Tigers had 71 last season. Fincham shoots for a class in the 60s.
The 2019 group includes 12 players from Florida, an area Wittenberg has recruited hard for years. The recruits join a program that finished 9-1 last season and shared the North Coast Athletic Conference championship with Wabash and Denison. The Tigers have won or shared the title six times in the last seven years.
“I think it’s a well-rounded group,” Fincham said. “There’s some balance in how the talent’s dispersed. They’re from good families. The incoming GPA of the group is right around 3.4 or something like that. It’s a good bunch of guys. I think they’re going to be good Wittenberg guys.”
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Included on the list are two recruits from Clark County schools: Mykah Eichie. a defensive back from Catholic Central; and Levi Morrison, a defensive end from Greenon.
Five quarterbacks join the Tigers, including Hillard Bradley’s Griffin Veil, a first-team All-Ohio selection, and Grayson Timms, of Worthington Kilbourne.
As for what the coaches focused on in recruiting this year, Fincham said, “We need running backs. We’ve got four seniors on our team right now. We felt we needed linemen, which you almost always do in Division III. The other side of it would be our kicking game. We lost almost all of our specialists from last year, whether it’s our kicker, our punter, our longsnapper, our returners. All those guys graduated. Our specialists were certainly important to us.”
Wittenberg football 2019 recruiting class
Bryce Anderson, Lawrence Central, RB, 5-6, 185
Jalen Benjamin, Hillard Darby, CB, 5-6, 135
Darrius Billingsley, Union-Endicott (N.Y.), RB, 6-0, 190
Jaidon Billingsley, Liberty Union, WR, 6-2, 180
Riley Blankenship, Waynesville, WR, 6-3, 180
Dakota Blum, Loveland, Nickel, 6-0, 175
Ryan Boval, South Lake (Fla.), LB, 6-0, 210
Nick Bowman, Fort Thomas Highlands (Ky.), K, 5-10, 190,
Lashon Bright, Lawrence Central (Ind.), WR, 5-7, 175
Connor Bunts, Fairmont, OL, 6-0, 265
Blake Burton, Troy, Nickel, 6-0, 195,
Luke Capehart, Grove City, DB, 5-11, 175
Anthony Carmichael, Waynesville, QB, 6-3, 200
Justin Chambers, Southport (Ind.), OL, 6-4, 240,
Devland Culliver, Villa Angela-St. Joseph, RB, 5-11, 195
Samuel Diehl, Franklin Central, WR, 5-11, 155
Brysen Dykes, Wharton (Fla.), WR, 6-1, 180
Mykah Eichie, Springfield Catholic Central, DB, 6-1, 185
Jace Fette, Harrison, WR, 6-2, 165
Logan Fisher, Jackson, TE, 6-1, 215
Dane Flatter, Carlisle, LB, 5-11, 200
Hunter Fletcher, Little Miami, OL, 6-1, 255
Jordan Grimes, Lawrence Central (Ind.), SAF, 5-9, 180
Bryson Holland, King, SAF, 5-10, 160
Grant Hollinger, Hilliard Darby, LB/DE, 6-0, 225
Alex Hooton, Perry Meridian (Ind.), QB, 6-4, 250
Wyatt Hutchins, Tri-County North, DT, 6-1, 240
Roy Jensen, Valley (Iowa), DB, 5-9, 180
Eli Kennedy, Athens, OL, 6-3, 270
Cole Komlosi, Hilliard Bradley (Ashland University), SAF, 6-1, 200
Francis Kostzer, St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.), DL, 5-11, 250
Sam Lockwood, Xenia, DT, 6-2, 250
Zakaree Luna, Riverdale (Fla.), SAF, 6-0, 180
Jared Magoteaux, Sidney Lehman Catholic, LB, 6-1, 205
Liam Malsy, St. George’s (R.I.), WR, 5-9, 165
Justin Maynard, Pickerington Central, P, 6-4, 205
Christian Meyers, Valley View, K, 5-10, 200
Chase Miles, Hilliard Davidson, OL, 6-0, 235
Levi Morrison, Greenon, DE, 6-0, 210
Mark Peterangelo, Fairborn, DB, 5-9, 170
Dennis Peterson, Gateway Charter (Fla.), OL, 6-1, 240
Marion Pritchett, Sycamore, WR, 6-0, 185
Kacey Prospere, Miami Norland (Fla.), OL, 6-0, 272
Kalyn Purter, West Port (Fla.), WR, 5-9, 165
Matt Render, Miami Norland (Fla.), DL, 5-11, 195
Djim Rene, Olympia (Fla.), WR, 6-0, 170,
Isaiah Russell, Marion Harding, OL, 5-10, 250
Jaden Sarragua, Palmetto Ridge (Fla.), LS, 5-9, 225
Christian Seger, Simon Kenton, K/P, 5-10, 150
Ben Sipos, Vandalia Butler, OL, 6-1, 260
Drew Sterett, Huron, QB, 6-2, 165
Rider Stock, Athens, K, 6-5, 187
Christian Sweet, Hilliard Davidson, WR, 5-9, 170
Jace Tarpley, Lorain, OL, 6-2, 300
Grayson Timms, Worthington Kilbourne, QB, 6-5, 220
Griffin Veil, Hilliard Bradley, QB, 6-1, 195
Michael West, Piper (Fla.), DE, 6-0, 215
Elijah Williams, Edgewood, RB, 5-11, 215
Nick Willis, Xenia, Nickel, 5-11, 195
Max Yost, Springboro, CB, 6-0, 180
Hunter Kobylanski, Cape Coral (Fla.), RB, 6—0, 190
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