Wittenberg preparing for start of Jim Collins era

Collins’ first season as Wittenberg head coach starts with three road games. His team doesn’t play a home game until Oct. 1 against Wabash.

Wabash was picked to finish second in the North Coast Athletic Conference preseason poll and received the most first-place votes (four) from the nine league coaches. DePauw, the defending champion, was picked to win the league and received three first-place votes. One coach voted for Wittenberg to win the title, and the Tigers were picked to place third.

The Tigers, who open the season Sept. 3 at SUNY Cortland in New York, held their eighth practice of the preseason Thursday. They’ll travel to Muskingum University in New Concord for a scrimmage next Wednesday.

“We’ve still got work to do,” said Collins, who was hired in November days after Joe Fincham retired after 25 seasons. “Obviously, the whole country’s got work to do. I think the big thing right now is keep getting better and stay healthy. You can’t back off the intensity. You just have to keep guys safe.”

That was one reason Collin Brown, the returning starter at quarterback, didn’t practice Thursday. He wore full pads and stood right next to Collins for much of the practice, but he took a day off. The coaches have been cautious with Brown, who underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason.

“He’s had a really good camp,” Collins said. “But it’s a competition. Nothing’s sewn up for anybody yet at that position. He’s got experience. Miles Johnson, from Northmont, who transferred in from Tiffin is in the mix, as is Max Milton, who took every snap in the spring.”

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Brown, a junior from Mason, threw 14 touchdown passes and five interceptions in seven appearances last season.

Johnson (6-0, 200) started in his final two seasons at Northmont (2017 and 2018). He appeared in seven games last season at Tiffin University, a Division II program.

Milton (5-10, 170) is a sophomore from Carmel, Ind., and the Heritage Christian School in Indianapolis. He was part of a 61-man recruiting class in 2021.

Brown didn’t practice in the spring after undergoing surgery but made the most of his time on the sideline.

“Talk about a guy who has a good grasp on the new offense, he’s got it,” Collins said. “It probably helped more than anything in the spring. He was signaling and really had to listen to the calls and interpret what was going on out there.”

Brown suffered injuries and left the game in two losses last season: 38-16 to SUNY Cortland and 21-16 to Denison. He didn’t play in Wittenberg’s other loss — 17-14 to DePauw — because of an injury. The Tigers had a 16-0 lead on the road against Denison when he left the game.

“He’s athletic,” Collins said. “He’s got really good feet and a strong arm, and he’s accurate. I’m impressed. Watching film from last year, when guys were open down the field, he rarely missed. We’re doing some things where he’s got to throw the ball down the field, and he can do that.”

While Wittenberg’s offensive players are learning a new system, the defensive players will work under the same coordinator, David Marquis, who has been with the program since 2019 and also coached under Fincham in 2015 and 2016.

“We’ve got some really good leaders there,” Collins said. “(Defensive tackle) Mike Knock is coming back. He had a really good season. (Linebacker) Cameron Snurr is coming back. Then (defensive back) Anthony Pedro in the back end, played a lot. At all three levels, we’ve got some guys who have experience. Then we’ve got some guys who are going to be in that situation for the first time. (Defensive back) Christian Sweet’s a great example. He’s replacing Jordan Burkey. He’s been a special teams guy. backing up a great player. His opportunity to back up a guy as good as Jordan has really prepared him.”