Wittenberg Football Looking Forward to More Improvement in 2025
Led by fourth-year head coach Jim Collins, class of 1988, Wittenberg Football is looking for more good fortune in 2025. Coming off a 6-4 overall record in 2024, Wittenberg has plenty of bright spots returning to the lineup heading into the season opener against Baldwin Wallace at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, at Edwards-Maurer Field.
The Tigers posted a 5-3 record in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) a year ago, good for fourth place in the final standings. The Tigers will kick off NCAC action in the 2025 season at Ohio Wesleyan at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, followed by a huge early-season showdown with defending league champion DePauw, this year’s opponent for Wittenberg's Homecoming, Reunion & Family Weekend festivities. Kick off for the game is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27 at Edwards-Maurer Field.
Collins has compiled records of 18-12 overall and 15-9 in the NCAC since taking the reins at his alma mater in November 2021. Among the highlights of his tenure was a win over visiting Howard Payne last year that made Wittenberg just the second NCAA Division III program to reach the 800-win plateau.
Last year’s offense averaged 33.5 points per game, thanks in part to a spark provided by quarterback Jayden Miller (Amelia, OH / Williamsburg), who completed 66 percent of his passes for nearly 1,600 yards as a freshman who started the last six games. Miller, who threw 17 touchdown passes without an interception, will be joined in the backfield again by junior running backs Christian Manville (Westerville, OH / New Albany) and Omar Holloway (Dayton, OH / Stebbins), the team's leading rushers in 2024.
The Tigers' defense will be led by junior Dalton Allen (Delaware, OH / Hayes), a defensive end who enjoyed a breakout 2024 campaign as he earned first-team All-NCAC and third-team All-Great Lakes Region honors. Junior linebacker Tyre Smith (Sarasota, FL / Riverview) has ranked among the team's top tacklers each of the last two years en route to a pair of all-conference awards, and senior safety Luke Jackson (DeGraff, OH / Riverside) also made the All-NCAC honor roll in 2024.
Written By: Cindy Holbrook
Graphic By: Ally White '26