Experienced Scots get season underway at home Sept. 7
Junior quarterback Chanden Lee will start for The College of Wooster this year after throwing for 1,845 yards and 17 touchdowns as a sophomore. The Scots open Sept. 7 at home against Wilmington.
An increased level of excitement surrounds The College of Wooster football program heading into the 2024 season. Wooster’s starting offense is fully intact with all 11 starters back, and an aggressive defense has its goals set on causing even more takeaways than last year’s unit did. Those two combined have Wooster poised to contend within the challenging North Coast Athletic Conference.
“Our outlook is enthusiastic and excited,” said head coach Frank Colaprete, who starts year 12 leading the Fighting Scots on Sept. 7 at home versus Wilmington. “We have numerous returnees at just about every position and are coming off a really good spring.”
On offense Colaprete said having the line come back and your quarterback back is a significant leg up because it helps to figure what goals you can set for those positions. He said the continuity makes things easier to work through in preseason, and that is even more significant with having the offensive line back.
Senior offensive linemen Tyler Ellsworth, Jacob Johnston, Bryce Kamphues, Logan Pugh and Seth Robinson have a combined 11 years of starting experience, giving Wooster one of the most game-tested units in all of college football. Classmate Roman LaBrosse is a sixth member of the class who possesses starting experience while six sophomores and a junior also return.
“Our line is not content and consistently strives to be better,” Colaprete said. “They worked very hard throughout the spring.”
Chanden Lee earned the starting quarterback job last fall and totaled nearly three touchdowns per game played and over 2,000 yards of total offense. Now fully recovered from a late-season injury, Lee has Colaprete excited for the fall.
“I could not be more proud of the effort he put into earning the starting role,” Colaprete said. “Chanden still has that hunger that he did trying to earn that spot. That excites you as a coach. We are throwing some more different kinds of opportunities his way to continue to elevate his overall play at the position.”
Wooster returns nearly every skill player on offense, and that will give the unit an immediate leg up with chemistry. Colaprete said the plethora of returnees allows them to know going in where they are at and what they need to improve on.
Senior Brazos Gadler is one of the NCAC’s top playmakers at both receiver and returner. He’s part of a group with experience that includes starter Andrew Hammer, Will Harris II, two-way player Tate Journell, and juniors Jordan Lewis, Michael O’Brien and Mike Spadero. Senior Carter Warstler rejoins the team this fall and is an electric playmaker at both receiver and returner. Senior Sebestyen Balassy is back as the starting tight end.
Led by junior returning starter Jarvis Mims Jr., Wooster’s running backs are eager to be a more critical part of the offense’s overall success. Shakir Perkins was the backup a year ago while sophomore Jace Austin projects to contribute.
On defense Colaprete is looking for the unit to make strides in being able to force turnovers, which is something the returnees showed signs of being able to do last year.
“The experience is there,” Colaprete said. “Brock Sivon is our leader out there. He has done a much better job of being more vocal this spring, especially since he was selected by his peers as a captain. He has taken on that responsibility with a lot of pride.”
Overall, Colaprete likes the talented group coming back in the secondary. Journell is one of the other top playmakers in the back end, with junior Louie Lindsay back at the other corner. Also back in the secondary are seniors Vincent Baioni, Tyler Miller and Veil Robinson and sophomores Mo Bajinka and Wyatt Wilkie.
Junior Braydon Hudson earned a starting role last year and is someone who really took on a leadership role among the linebackers while seniors Max Guorgui, Greyson Meyer and Liam Regan; junior Wyatt Harris; and sophomores William Hicks Jr., Christian King, Jayden Taylor and Brandon Torres make this one of the more experienced parts of Wooster’s defense.
The defensive line is always a strength of the program, and that is in part due to consistently rotating in a number of players throughout the game to keep starters fresh and build the overall experience of the unit. This approach has enabled Wooster’s defensive line to have a more reload feel on an annual basis. Senior standout Neil Clayton is back for a fifth year to lead the line and brings a lot of passion and fire to the interior of the Scots’ defense.
Senior Jacob Dugas; juniors Nick Bostic, Paul Ehenger and DT Franklin; and sophomores Carson Causby, Donovon Jackson and Isaac LaFay round out the returnees on the defensive line.
Colaprete is looking for Wooster to continue to be strong on special teams, although kicker Lake Barrett, the NCAC Don Hunsinger Award winner/NCAC Male Athlete of the Year, will have to be replaced.
Twenty-one first-years round out Wooster’s roster. Colaprete is high on the talent level they bring to the program and is looking for them to successfully be able to take on the mental challenges of college athletics.
Wooster’s season will open with a 2 p.m. home game against Wilmington College on Saturday, Sept. 7. The rest of the home schedule includes three consecutive games in October — Oct. 5 against Wabash, Oct. 12 vs. Denison and Oct. 19 vs. Ohio Wesleyan — before the regular season concludes Nov. 16 with a visit from Wittenberg.