Next game:
Who: Dayton (1-1) vs. Marist (1-1)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Where: Welcome Stadium
Radio: WHIO-AM (1290), WHIO-FM (95.7)
Steve Wirkus was a star quarterback at Brecksville High School near Cleveland and was recruited by Case Western Reserve and Kenyon before committing to the University of Dayton.
Although the full cost of attending UD is about $42,000 per year, it was the cheapest of the three. But Wirkus was drawn to the Flyers mainly because he wanted to be around a Division I environment in sports, particularly basketball.
He’s a proud member of the Red Scare, the rowdy student-body group that generates much of the energy on game nights in UD Arena and, on occasion, supplies some good-natured heckling of the opposition.
“I don’t paint up or dress up like the guys in the first few rows, but I’ve got my Red Scare shirt on there,” Wirkus said.
After breaking into the starting lineup this season as a fifth-year senior, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound safety has begun putting a scare into UD foes. He leads the team with 10 solo tackles and 17 stops overall, and he’s also had an interception in both games so far.
“He wasn’t one of those top recruits for us. It was, ‘OK, we have a spot. Let’s bring him in. He’s an athlete, let’s see what he can do,’” UD coach Rick Chamberlin said. “At running back (he was) OK. Wide receiver, OK. But we said, ‘Hey, this kid works so hard and has some skills, let’s find him a spot.’ ”
The coaches finally placed him at safety. And as Chamberlin said, “He’s found a home there.”
Like most Flyers, Wirkus had to wait his turn, and it wasn’t always easy. Helping him through the tough times was Rob Florian, who persevered until becoming the team’s starting quarterback during his fifth year in the program in 2008.
“I’d always ask him, ‘Rob, is it worth it, is it worth it?’ ” Wirkus said. “Two games later, I have two picks. It’s definitely been worth it already.”
Bardo the man: There's no quarterback controversy at UD. Redshirt freshman Will Bardo misfired several times in the Duquesne loss and was pulled for a series. But while he finished 13-of-31 passing for 124 yards, he did pick up 95 yards on the ground.
Chamberlin said offensive coordinator Dave Whilding “felt like Bardo was rushing himself. Dave has done that several times (in the past). ‘Let’s stand here on the sidelines and watch a little bit and see what they’re doing.’ But (Bardo) was going right back in.”
Running woes: The Flyers rushing attack needs a defibrillator. They've gained just 220 yards in two games, and 83 of those came on one dash by Taylor Harris against Duquesne.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or dharris @DaytonDailyNews.com.
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