1. Mary Hardin Baylor
2. North Central
3. Wisconsin-Whitewater
4. Mount Union
5. Muhlenburg
1. MHB
2. North Central
3. Mount Union
4. Whitewater
5. Wheaton*
*a lot of this depends on which players with eligibility return. I'm making some assumptions here that Wheaton returns a few guys...
Quote from: HOPEful on July 15, 2022, 10:42:15 AM
1. MHB
2. North Central
3. Mount Union
4. Whitewater
5. Wheaton*
*a lot of this depends on which players with eligibility return. I'm making some assumptions here that Wheaton returns a few guys...
As much as I'd like to have Wheaton as the #5, there are still too many unknowns with the Thunder to put them this high. They do return some talented players, including a stable full of talented all-purpose RBs led by All-American Gio Weeks and 3 starters from their steller O-Line. They also return their backup QB, Jeremiah Tucker, a legit dual threat that I'd love to see in the backfield with Weeks. If not Tucker, there are two D-1 transfer QBs on the roster as well. Tucker's brother Matthew is Wheaton's top receiver who's coming back. He had 35 receptions last year.
On the defensive side, Wheaton only has 1 of their starters along with 7 of their 2's coming back. Their lone returning starter, DE Braydon Anthony, had 29 tackles and 5.5 sacks last year will anchor their D-Line. Also, 5th year senior All-Region Special Teams Specialist Jalen Shaffer is the most experienced LB coming back and should start at MLB. He led all of the NCAAs with 6 blocked punts last year, along with 19 tackles. The Defensive backfield may end up being the strength of Wheaton's defense and could quite possibly be better than last year's defensive backs as this year's 1s and 2s defensive backs have more size and athleticism than last years (with about the same amount of experience).
While Wheaton doesn't have the depth and experience that they had last year (except at the O-Line and RBs) when they had 40some 4th, 5th, and 6th year Seniors, they are still loaded with talent. I would place them somewhere between 10-15 at this point.