Ohio Wesleyan University | Battling Bishop Athletics

2008 Season Preview

Seven starters, including three All-North Coast Athletic Conference selections, return on defense for Ohio Wesleyan.

[ Tommy Saunders ] Senior middle linebacker Tommy Saunders (Gallipolis/Gallia Academy), who led the team with 115 tackles on the way to honorable mention All-NCAC status, returns at the hub of the Bishop defense.

Senior outside linebacker Matt Weisman (Solon/Gilmour Academy), who compiled 34 stops, also returns. Looking to fill the other outside spot are senior Jason Chitwood (Toledo/Bowsher) and junior Sam Bixler (Denver, Colo./South).

Senior tackle Julian Strother (Warren/Kennedy), senior end Britan Tolliver (Croton/Johnstown Northridge), and sophomore nose guard Taylor Smith (Marengo/Highland) will anchor the Bishop line.

Strother, an honorable mention All-NCAC pick last year, led Bishop linemen with 48 stops last year and returned an interception for a touchdown. Tolliver contributed 29 tackles, including 3½ for loss, while Smith emerged late in the season and finished with 27 tackles.

[ Rylan Mitter-Burke ] Junior Justin Saunders (Gallipolis/Gallia Academy), a 2-year letterman, also returns on the line.

Junior free safety Rylan Mitter-Burke (Marlborough, Mass./Marlboro) leads the backfield as another 2007 honorable mention All-NCAC pick. Mitter-Burke led Bishop defensive backs with 66 tackles and shared the team lead with 2 interceptions last season.

Junior strong safety Daniel DeLay (Pine, Colo./Conifer) and senior cornerback Preston Osborn (Edgerton) will look to reprise their starting roles. DeLay led the Bishops with 6 pass breakups and shared the team lead with 2 interceptions last year, while Osborn, an all-conference sprinter for the Bishop track & field team, had 42 tackles and 4 pass breakups.

[ Matt Heinrich ] Offensively, senior tackles Mark Wall (Delaware/Buckeye Valley), a second-team All-NCAC pick in 2007, and Matt Heinrich (Rochester, Mich./Adams) serve as bookends of an experienced and talented line.

Sophomore Jimmy Willison (Reynoldsburg) returns at center, while seniors Brian Adams (Maple Heights) and Paul Hardin (Urbana) will be at guard.

Sophomore Tim Schmidt (West Springfield, Mass.) gives the Bishops more size and depth.

Senior Corey Turner (Cleveland/Marshall), who ranked third on the team with 12 catches last year, has starting experience at tight end. Further bolstering the tight end position are junior Ryan Prince (Cleveland/Marshall), who moves over from the defensive line, and sophomore Danny Flanegan (Mansfield/Ontario).

[ Kyle Adams ] Halfbacks Kyle Adams (North Canton/Hoover), Mickey Gies (West Palm Beach, Fla./Seminole Ridge), Zach Rojek (Buffalo, N.Y./City Honors School), Jerrell Cephas (Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial) and Steven Brown (Redford Township, Mich./Redford) return in the backfield. All had significant playing time last season; Adams piled up a team-leading 506 yards rushing and led Bishop running backs with 9 catches, Gies saw action in 9 games, Rojek led the Bishops with 3 rushing touchdowns, Cephas scored twice in 11 carries, and Brown, an all-conference sprinter and hurdler who adds a dimension of speed, was third on the team in rushing.

Sophomore Mike Fisher (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) returns at quarterback. Fisher, who had opened the season as the Bishops’ starting free safety, moved over to quarterback after the first game and turned in an impressive season, throwing for nearly 1000 yards with only one interception. He ranked third among NCAC starting quarterbacks in pass efficiency.

Senior Grant Geib (Brecksville/Brecksville-Broadview Heights), who made 5 catches last season, is the top returnee at split end.

[ Chris Kras ] Senior Chris Kras (Aurora) returns as the kicker and punter. He ranked second in the conference in field goals, fourth in kick scoring and eighth in punting last season.

Senior Mark Apsega (Uniontown/Akron Hoban) is back as the long snapper, junior John Romano (Hightstown, N.J./Peddie School) returns as the holder, and DeLay was the team’s top punt returner a year ago.

The Bishop schedule opens with non-conference opponent Carnegie Mellon. Ohio Wesleyan opens its NCAC schedule at Wooster before hosting 2007 runner-up Wittenberg. A game at Oberlin follows before the Bishops host Kenyon. Ohio Wesleyan takes a midseason break from NCAC action by hosting 2007 NCAA playoff team Case Reserve, then visiting Washington (Mo.), before finishing league action with a home game against Hiram and games at Earlham and Allegheny.