Wittenberg Tigers practice at Purdue on way to Wisconsin

Former Tiger Taver Johnson coaches at Purdue

Joe Fincham and Taver Johnson were freshmen together — sort of — in 1990 with the Wittenberg Tigers. Fincham was a new assistant coach. Johnson was a freshman linebacker.

On Friday, the two reunited in West Lafayette, Ind., as Fincham’s Tigers stopped at Purdue University to practice on the way to a noon game Saturday in the second round of the Division III playoffs at Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Johnson, an All-American at Wittenberg as a senior in 1993, is in his third season as a defensive backs coach at Purdue. He has also coached at Ohio State, Miami and Arkansas among other programs.

“It’s always good to see Taver,” Fincham said. “Even though he’s only a couple hours away, with jobs and lives and all that other stuff, you don’t get to spend as much time talking or seeing each other. Taver was a great player but a better person. He probably had the most natural leadership of any player I’ve been around.”

RELATED: Looking back at 2009 Wittenberg vs. Whitewater game

Wittenberg made this same trip in 2009 when it lost at Whitewater in the third round, but Johnson wasn’t at Purdue then.

“Last time we came up here we stayed in West Lafayette on Thursday night to break the trip up,” said Fincham, as he rode the team bus up Interstate 65 in Indiana. “We practiced at Whitewater. We came up that time and the stadium was buried in snow. They were digging it out. It was so cold I don’t know if we got much done.”

The Tigers practiced on Purdue’s indoor field Friday morning. They will have a walk-through practice at Whitewater on Friday night.

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