With more than 20 players returning who had starting experience last season, this year's Western Michigan University football team is already light years ahead of the 2023 team, according to second-year head coach Lance Taylor.
Which is good, because the Broncos (4-8 overall, 3-5 Mid-American Conference in 2023) open with road games against college football bluebloods Wisconsin (Friday, Aug. 30, 9 p.m. EDT, Bronco Media Network and FS1 TV) and Ohio State (Saturday, Sept. 7, 7:30 p.m., Bronco Media Network, BTN).
''We are much further ahead fundamentally than we were at this time last year,'' Taylor said. ''That's the biggest jump from last season to this season.
''And it's a big jump athletically for us, too. We look like a different football team than last year and it's a testament to the way we recruited and our strength and conditioning staff, who have done a great job. We retooled our offseason program and we saw the gains this summer.''
The offensive returning starters are senior quarterback Hayden Wolff; linemen, junior John Hofer and seniors Jacob Gideon, Addison West, Jack Sherwin and Ted Kushi; running backs sophom*ore Jalen Buckley and senior Zahir Abdus-Salaam; junior tight end Blake Bosma and senior wide receivers Kenny Womack and Anthony Sambucci and junior Malique Dieudonne.
Buckley was the MAC freshman of the year and earned Freshman All-America honors from The Athletic after gaining 1,003 yards and scoring 10 touchdowns. Womack led the MAC in receptions (76) for 691 yards. Wolff played in eight games, starting four and throwing for 1,505 yards and eight touchdowns.
There is a new offensive coordinator in Walt Bell who came to WMU from Indiana.
''Coach Bell has great experience at the Power 4 conference level,'' Taylor said. ''He really assessed what we did well and what ways we could improve, like really explosive plays are what he and I talked about.
''We ran the ball well last year, but he has even added more wrinkles to our run game, has added value in quarterback development and the ability to take shots down the field to make explosive plays. That's going to be highly noticeable to our fans.
''Coach Bell kept the things we did well, retooled some of the things we needed to do better so we won't go as fast with no huddle, but have a more methodical approach.''
The defense is right with the offense in the experience department. Returning are junior linemen, Corey Walker, Tyson Lee, Mason Nelson, Isiah Green and Marcel Tyler; senior linebackers Damari Roberson, Boone Bonnema, Jacob Wahlberg and Donald Willis; senior cornerback Bilahl Kone; and safeties, senior Tate Hallock and junior Aaron Wofford. Added to the returners list is junior kicker Palmer Domschke and sophom*ore long snapper RJ Todd.
Hallock led the team in total tackles with 75, followed by Wofford with 71, Roberson with 68 and Wahlberg with 65. WMU also returns players who made 75 percent of the team's sacks. Domschke led WMU in scoring with 62 points, making all 35 of his extra-point attempts. Buckley was second with 60 points.
Of course, the big loss is lineman Marshawn Kneeland, who was drafted in the second round by the Dallas Cowboys.
''We lost the best player on our team, one of the best in the conference in Marshawn,'' Taylor said. ''However, the sum of our parts is better this year.
''We have a strong, talented and deep line with eight players who can rotate up front, all four linebackers have started for us and in the back end, we have guys who have experience, but just not here.''
With all the veterans comes leadership, and Taylor feels his team has a lot of captains.
''Our core group of leaders have bought in to taking ownership of the team,'' the head coach said. ''The best teams I've been on, you have multiple guys leading from the front, and in case of injuries, you have guys who can step up and lead where needed.''
The transfer portal is here to stay and Taylor has used it well, bringing in 13 players from other schools to go along with a good incoming freshmen class. Wide receivers Bugs Mortimer (Louisiana Monroe) and Jordin Parker (New Mexico State) have already made an impression with Parker being the fastest player on the team. Defensive linemen Anterio Thompson (Iowa), Popeye Williams (Louisville) and Rodney McGraw (Louisville) could play into the eight-man rotation up front. Also coming to WMU from the portal are safties Armani Adams (Florida Atlantic) and Ryan Raybuck (St. Anselm), quarterback Broc Lowry (Indiana), punter Ryan Millmore (Iowa State), running back Jaden Nixon (Oklahoma State), linebacker Domanick Moon (Purdue), offensive lineman Quinn Murphy (Notre Dame) and tight end Chris Toudle (North Carolina State).
''This year, we were much more dialed in what we needed when we looked at the portal,'' Taylor said. ''We knew we needed defensive linemen and some secondary people, for example, and as long as they fit what we do, they were good character players with a high football IQ, we were going after them.
''One thing I'm proud of is we haven't lost our best players to the portal. We've kept our starters, which shows a commitment, buy-in and belief in what we are doing and that we can be good this year.''
A huge asset from the portal and recruiting freshmen is depth.
''We need valuable depth with injuries, the length of the season and amount of attrition,'' the head coach said. ''A lot of guys we have brought in for added depth are going to wind up either starting or playing a lot of football for us.
''That depth at this level is hard to create and I think we made our roster deeper while getting good players.''
Besides a new offensive coordinator, WMU has a new defensive coordinator (Scott Power, Louisiana Tech) and special teams coordinator Dan Sabock (Temple). New assistant coaches are Darren Paige (running backs, coached at Army last season), Drew Moulton (tight ends, Slippery Rock), Brandon Lacy (defensive ends, Southern Miss) and Sean Spence, who is coaching linebackers after being a special team's analyst on WMU's staff in 2023.
''Coach Power has done an excellent job of keeping it simple, allowing our players to play fast and be fundamentally sound,'' Taylor said.
Before going to Temple, Sabock coached the special teams unit at Northern Illinois. In 2018, NIU blocked five kicks and was ranked fifth in the country in route to winning the MAC title.
As for the identity of the Broncos, Taylor said they are still searching for it.
''As we have gone through training camp, one of the things is this is a team of togetherness, not about offense or defense or special teams,'' the head coach said. ''They believe in each other and want to win and do whatever it takes to win.
''They talk a lot about family, togetherness and brotherhood and I believe that people will see that bond when we play.''
The bond will be on display against a couple of heavyweights to start the season.
''Our guys are thrilled to play two blueblood programs,'' Taylor said. ''Our guys take it as a great challenge.
''They are excited about it, and for me, it helps us prepare for the MAC schedule and make sure we are battle tested by the time we get to our biggest games.''
Print Friendly Version
