“I thought Max (Milton) had a great year, but we graduated Miles Johnson,” Collins said, “and we didn’t have a ton of depth, so we just felt like we’ve got to go get not just a couple good quarterbacks, but more than a couple. We feel like we really hit the mark on that and should have great competition.”
Among the quarterbacks are:
• Peyton Molter, of DeSales High School in Louisville, Ky.: He threw 31 touchdown passes as a senior.
• Steve Lauterbach, of Oakwood: He threw nine touchdown passes last season.
• Peter Breidenbach, of Madeira: He’s the all-time leading passer in school history with more than 5,000 yards.
• JJ Miller, of Williamsburg: He threw for 3,529 yards and 47 touchdowns last season.
• Josiah Smith, Fr., of Southern Local: He threw for more than 5,000 yards in his career.
• Parker Stirnkorb, of Zephyrhills Christian Academy in Palm Harbor, Fla.: He threw for 2,070 yards and 28 touchdowns last season.
Wittenberg had 98 recruits in its 2023 class and 77 recruits in its 2022 class, which was the first for Collins, who was hired after the 2021 season. Collins’ predecessor Joe Fincham’s largest class in 25 years numbered 89.
The 2024 class includes five graduates from Clark County:
• Pierson Baker recorded 64 tackles as a defensive tackle at Springfield last season.
• Christian Kern-Dubois had 60 tackles as a defensive end at Springfield.
• T.J. Meeks rushed for 2,287 yards and 33 touchdowns last season for Shawnee. His dad Rick Meeks, the longtime head coach at Shawnee, graduated from Wittenberg in 1992.
• Braden Smith, of Kenton Ridge, made 66 tackles as a senior linebacker.
• Caleb Smith was a kicker and punter at Northeastern last season.
The class also includes transfers from Florida International, Heidelberg, Ferris State and the University of Indianapolis. Collins expects to add more transfers to the list.
“A couple of the transfers, they had buddies on our team,” Collins said, “and they were at Division II schools and weren’t getting the playing time they wanted. We were able to contact players on the team, and those guys referred them to us, and we wound up getting them.”
Wittenberg opens the season Sept. 7 against an old rival, Baldwin Wallace. The programs dominated the Ohio Athletic Conference in the 1980s but have not played since 1999. BW will play at Wittenberg in 2025.
The Tigers improved to 7-3 last season after a 5-5 finish in Collins’ first season. Milton returns as the starting quarterback after throwing 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions in his first season as a starter as a junior.
“He doesn’t take a day off,” Collins said. “He works so hard, and he got pushed. Our backup in the spring was Luka Garver, who was a freshman this past year. Luka pushed him because Luka’s got that same type of drive and work ethic that Max has. Every day was super competitive in practice, but Max did everything in the spring to prove why is the number one guy.”
2024 Wittenberg football recruiting class
Name, Class, High School, Hometown
Pierson Baker, Fr., Springfield, Springfield, Ohio
Demeitrus Barnes Jr, Fr., North Atlanta, Atlanta, Ga.
Latrevion Bates, Fr., New Haven, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Peyton Bell, Fr., Paint Valley, Sabina, Ohio
Jeffrey Bishop, Fr., Portsmouth West, W. Portsmouth, Ohio
Quatrell Black, Jr., University of Indianapolis, Memphis, Tenn.
TJ Blackburn, Fr., Little Miami, Morrow, Ohio
Landon Blount, Fr., DeSales, Louisville, Ky.
Izak Bowman, Fr., Franklin, Franklin, Ohio
Peter Breidenbach, Fr., Madeira, Cincinnati, Ohio
Gavin Brinkmoeller, Fr., Delaware Hayes, Delaware, Ohio
Gage Brown, Fr., West Holmes, Killbuck, Ohio
Zyion Brown, Fr., Mansfield, Mansfield, Ohio
Bryce Calvert, Fr., Southport, Indianapolis, Ind.
Cameron Capen, Fr., John Glenn, Wayne, Mich.
Dom Chambers, Fr., Paint Valley, Bainbridge, Ohio
Mikey Clark, Fr., Hilliard Davidson, Hilliard, Ohio
Cy Conrad, Fr., Dalton, Dalton, Ohio
Logan Crabs, Fr., Lake Wales, Avon Park, Fla.
Nikhai Daniel, Fr., Locust Grove, Locust Grove, GA
Chris’Jen Dickey, Fr., Cincinnati College Prep, Cincinnati, Ohio
Will Dix, Fr., Holy Name, Cleveland, Ohio
Drew Dossman, Fr., Amanda-Clearcreek, Amanda, Ohio
Drake Durst, Fr., Tri-Valley, Dresden, Ohio
Jacob Estes, Fr., Troy, Troy, Ohio
Ora Farlow, Fr., Winter Haven, Winter Haven, Fla.
Jayden Forte, Fr., Durant, Valrico, Fla.
Joshua Francois, Fr., Locust Grove, McDonough, Ga.
Kyle Gabbert, Fr., Briggs, Columbus, Ohio
Antonio Givens Jr., Fr., TRU Prep Academy, Deerfield Beach, Fla.
Anthony Gleason, Fr., John I. Leonard, Greenacres, Fla.
Josh Gonzalez, Fr., Wayne, Dayton, Ohio
KC Hale, Fr., Tanner, Athens, Ala.
Keylin Hampton, Fr., Ben Davis, Indianapolis, Ind.
Korin Harris, Fr., New Haven, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Corbin Herald, Fr., Ludlow, Ludlow, Ky.
Matthew Herr, Fr., Lakota East, Liberty Township, Ohio
Declan Hitte, Fr., Edgewood, Trenton, Ohio
James Holloway, Fr., Lakota East, West Chester, Ohio
Alex Holmes-Gaines, Fr., Lawrence Central, Indianapolis, Ind.
Jahmir Hutsell, Fr., Roger Bacon, Cincinnati, Ohio
Keegan Jacks, Fr., Lakewood, Newark, Ohio
Jett Jones, Fr., Bloom-Carroll, Carroll, Ohio
Antonio Jordan, Fr., Locust Grove, Locust Grove, Ga.
Jaylan Justice, Fr., Southeastern, Detroit, Mich.
Cameron Keels, Fr., Oviedo, Oviedo, Fla.
Christian Kern-Dubois, Fr., Springfield, Springfield, Ohio
Brayden Koeller, Fr., Twin Valley South, W Alexandria, Ohio
Mason Labrecque, Fr., East Lake, Palm Harbor, Fla.
Ammaar Lakes, Fr., Cleveland Heights, Cleveland, Ohio
Steve Lauterbach, Fr., Oakwood, Oakwood, Ohio
Joey Lee, Fr., Roger Bacon, Cincinnati, Ohio
Gerinho Lima, Fr., Eisenhower, Houston, TX
Matt Lyons, Fr., Little Miami, Maineville, Ohio
Noah Mangold, Fr., Carroll, Dayton, Ohio
Michael Marrero, So., Florida International, Lehigh Acres, Fla.
Kylen Meadows, Fr., Edgewater, Orlando, Fla.
Kalen Meadows, Fr., Wekiva, Orlando, Fla.
TJ Meeks, Fr., Shawnee, Springfield, Ohio
Braylan Metcalfe, Fr., Ben Davis, Indianapolis, Ind.
JJ Miller, Fr., Williamsburg, Amelia, Ohio
Ian Mohler, Fr., Vinton County, New Plymouth, Ohio
Peyton Molter, Fr., DeSales, Louisville, Ky.
Will Morgan, Fr., Groveport-Madison, Columbus, Ohio
Nathan Noe, Fr., Hedgesville, Martinsburg, WVa.
Eli-Daniel Ogionwo, Fr., TRU Prep Academy, Miami, Fla.
Gary Oglesby, Fr., Colerain, Cincinnati, Ohio
Cameron Osborne, Fr., North Union, Richwood, Ohio
Michael Padgett Jr., Fr., Chapel Hill, Douglasville, GA
Kaden Padilla, Fr., Gulf, New Port Richey, Fla.
Ivan Pagan, Fr., Cardinal Gibbons, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Brock Penrod, Fr., Wayne, Huber Heights, Ohio
Jason Pitts Jr., Fr., Sprayberry, Marietta, GA
Dorian Pollard, Fr., Reynoldsburg, Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Jayden Ramos, Fr., Zephyrhills Christian Academy, Wesley Chapel, Fla.
Sean Raymond, Fr., Palm Beach Central, Wellington, Fla.
Will Reid, Fr., Milford, Loveland, Ohio
Brycen Robertson, Fr., Edgewood, Hamilton, Ohio
Justin Russell, Fr., Shaker Heights, Cleveland, Ohio
Luke Schieber, Fr., Simon Kenton, Elsmere, Ky.
Alex Scott, Fr., Armwood, Tampa, Fla.
Bennett Seays, Fr., Olympia, Gotha, Fla.
Andrew Shifflette, Fr., Thomas Worthington, Westerville, Ohio
Sumner Shroyer, Fr., Summit Country Day, Cincinnati, Ohio
Elijah Simmons, Fr., Groveport-Madison, Canal Winchester, Ohio
Tyrese Simon, Fr., TRU Prep Academy, Lake Worth Beach, Fla.
Garrett Slater, Fr., Buckeye Valley, Sunbury, Ohio
Braden Smith, Fr., Kenton Ridge, Springfield, Ohio
Josiah Smith, Fr., Southern Local, Pomeroy, Ohio
Caleb Smith, Fr., Northeastern, South Vienna, Ohio
Brayden Spitler, Fr., Lucas, Lucas, Ohio
Shae Springer, Fr., Solon, Solon, Ohio
Christopher Stewart, Fr., New Haven, New Haven, Ind.
Parker Stirnkorb, Fr., Zephyrhills Christian Academy, Palm Harbor, Fla.
Quincy Tarver, Fr., Fairborn, Fairborn, Ohio
Michael Terrell, Fr., Hurricane, Hurricane, W.Va.
Nakosi Thomas, Fr., Tavares, Apopka, Fla.
Gary Toran, Fr., Princeton, Cincinnati, Ohio
Landon Torroll, Fr., Ramstein American High School, Germany
Keyshon Upchurch, So., Heidelberg University, Columbus, Ohio
Jack Varner, Fr., Bellefontaine, West Liberty, Ohio
Owen Veith, Fr., Triad, Cable, Ohio
Jaquavious Washington, So., Ferris State, North Port, Fla.
Jamison Watts, Fr., National Trail, New Paris, Ohio
Reed Wehr, Fr., Tri-Village, Greenville, Ohio
Bradley Weller, Fr., Riverview, Sarasota, Fla.
Brailon White, Fr., Northwest, Cincinnati, Ohio
JJ Wilson, Fr., Oakwood, Oakwood, Ohio
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