BLOOMINGTON, Ill - After a first week bye, the Illinois Wesleyan University football team will begin its 2023 campaign as host to Central College Saturday, Sept. 9 at Tucci Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.
Illinois Wesleyan, coming off a 6-4 season that saw the Titans go 5-4 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play, will take the field for the first time in 301 days. Meanwhile, Central enters the non-conference bout with a game under its belt. The Dutch fly into Tucci following a 34-24 victory at. St. Olaf College.
    Fans can tune into a video broadcast with Eric Stock calling the action on the field alongside Joel Swanson, while live stats will also be available for the contest. Links can be found on the football schedule page of iwusports.com.

TIP OF THE CAP: The 2023 season will be quite different than the last 40+ years, as for the first time in several decades Jim Benson will not be covering Titan football. Benson, a longtime sportswriter for The Pantagraph, retired this past spring. During his exceptional career, he told countless stories of Titan student-athletes and coaches as well as many in the Bloomington-Normal community.

OLD FACES, NEW PLACES: Illinois Wesleyan fans will see a familiar face roaming the Central sideline Saturday, as IWU veteran head coach Norm Eash goes toe-to-toe with one of his former assistants. The Dutch are led by Jeff McMartin, who served as IWU's defensive line coach for the 1992 and 1993 seasons. He was also the interim head track and field coach for IWU in 1994.
    McMartin is not the only common bond between the two institutions, as two members of the Titan athletic department are former Dutch student-athletes. Second-year athletic communications graduate assistant Meredith Mahoney was a four-year member of the Central softball team, while IWU men's basketball assistant coach Bobby Wheet was a kicker on the Dutch football team.

NICE TO MEET YOU: Saturday will mark the first-ever meeting between Illinois Wesleyan and Central. That said, the Titans have played members of the American Rivers Conference a total of 10 times. The Green and White is 4-6 against the league all-time. IWU is 2-0 against Nebraska Wesleyan, 2-4 against Simpson, and 0-2 against Coe.

HOME COOKING: The Titans are 125-50 (.714) at home since Norm Eash became head coach in 1987. IWU has won 24 of its past 30 home games dating back to the 2016 season. In fact, Illinois Wesleyan has posted a winning record at home in each of the past five seasons dating back to the 2017 campaign, including a 5-1 mark last season.

WITH A WIN…: With a win, Illinois Wesleyan will win its season opener for the second straight season. In the last 14 full seasons, IWU boasts a 11-3 record in lid lifters with a 6-2 mark when opening the season at Tucci Stadium during the stretch.

WINNING TRADITION: Veteran head coach Norm Eash is one of just two active coaches nationally in NCAA Division III with 200-or-more career wins. Eash, who has won 225 games as the head man at his alma mater, ranks second in the country among active Division III head coaches. Across all NCAA divisions, Eash is seventh trailing Alabama's Nick Saban (281), North Carolina's Mack Brown (275), Columbia's Al Bagnoli (274), LSU's Brian Kelly (273), Sam Houston's K.C. Keeler (259), and Bethel's Steve Johnson (244).

LONGEVITY IN LEADERSHIP: Illinois Wesleyan Head Coach Norm Eash is one of the longest tenured head coaches in all of college football across the NCAA. Now in his 36th season at the helm of the Titans, Eash is the second-longest tenured head coach in the nation behind only Al Bagnoli (Columbia - 40 seasons). Notably, of the most experienced coaches nationally, Eash is the only one with 34+ years of experience coming at one institution.

DEFENSIVE FRONT FRIGHT: The Titan defensive line, led by Second Team All-CCIW returner Josh Hlavacek, is poised for a big season in opponents backfields. Hlavacek returns alongside Zach McNees, Owen Phaby, and Joel Baer as IWU's top front-four.
Hlavacek led the Titans and was 12th nationally with 1.05 sacks per game, while McNees was 63rd nationally at 0.75 QB takedowns per contest. McNees was IWU's TFL leader, ranking fourth in the CCIW and 31st nationally. Hlavacek finished 2022 slotted 42nd in the country in the category.
In all, IWU returns 71.5 of its 86.0 tackles for loss from a year ago as well as 31.5 of its 34.0 sacks from 2022.

NEW LOOK SPECIAL TEAMS UNIT: With the loss of Andrew Stange and Jonathan Rukujzo to graduation, IWU will see a new duo handling kicking and punting duties for the first time since 2019. Replacing the four-year specialists will be Scott Abramson and Bryce Reese. Abramson, a former soccer goalkeeper, will handle kickoffs and field goals, while Reese will step take on punting duties. Freshman Zach Hansen is slated to serve as the long snapper for the Titans.

COACHING CHANGES: Illinois Wesleyan welcomes a new offensive coordinator in 2023 in Aaron Young. A former quarterback at Wyoming and Indiana State, Young joined the Titans after serving as the quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator at Indiana State.
Also joining the staff are Jermaine Burket, Dayne Llamas, and Shane Negele. Burket will coach the defensive backs, while Llamas will work with both the DBs and linebackers. Negele enters his first year as IWU's running backs coach.

AIRING IT OUT: The Titans were the fourth-best passing offense in the CCIW in 2022, good for 74th-best nationally. IWU looks to build on that foundation this season with Jay Lemenager back for his second go-around. The Clifton, Ill. native completed 98-of-175 passes for 1161 yards with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions.
    IWU's QB1 will have plenty of weapons to choose including Myles Kee and Kevin Graham, who return after injuries ended their seasons prematurely a year ago. In just six games, Kee hauled in 42 catches for 553 yards and four scores, finishing second on the squad in all three categories. Graham, who was limited to eight games, burst onto the scene as one of the top tight ends in the league. He snagged 10 passes for 176 yards with three touchdowns.

GROUND GAME: The Green and White welcome back a talented group of running backs, led by senior captain Seth Albin. One of the top-five returning rushing threats in the CCIW, Albin rushed for 556 yards on 138 carries with four touchdowns as a junior.  Albin will lead a running back group that also includes Danny Kent, Jahari Scott, and Melchizedek Woodson.

YOUNG TO OLD: Illinois Wesleyan's defense has been looked at as "young" the past two seasons, but after two years that saw a two-deep full of freshmen and sophomores that Titan defense is full of juniors and seniors. In fact, only three underclassmen appear on  the season-opening two deep - freshman Matt Hansen and sophomores Dominic Covington and Nick Edelen.

CAPTAINS CALL: IWU heads into the 2023 season with five captains, as voted by the team during the spring season. Serving in the role for the Titans this season are Seth Albin, Joel Baer, Kevin Graham, Joshua Klein, and Connor Sweeney.

CCIW PRESEASON POLL: Illinois Wesleyan was predicted to finish fourth in the annual CCIW Preseason Coaches Poll. IWU's 49 points were behind North Central (81), Wheaton (71), and WashU (67). Augustana tied for fourth with 49 points, while Carroll was sixth with 48 and Millikin (25) ranked seventh. Elmhurst and North Park tied for eighth with 15 points apiece.

ON THE HORIZON: The Titans remain at home next weekend, Sept. 16, as CCIW play begins with a bout against the nationally-ranked Thunder of Wheaton College. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.