Wittenberg had 98 recruits in its 2023 class and 77 recruits in its 2022 class, which was the first for Collins, who was hired after the 2021 season.
The 2025 class could grow in the coming weeks. The freshmen report to campus Aug. 12. Wittenberg starts practice two days later.
“We’re still working on some guys that are pretty good players — some local guys and some guys from far away — that for whatever reason are still in the mix from a recruiting standpoint,“ Collins said, ”and that’s kind of the word I’ve heard from other people. Some kids are making decisions later and later, and so we’re still recruiting."
Wittenberg had 26 players from Florida on its 2024 roster and has 26 players from Florida in this class. Wittenberg coaches have long recruited hard in Florida because of the lack of Division III schools in the Sunshine State.
“What happened is we had two coaches go down there, Joe Nemeth, who’s our DB coach and special teams coordinator, and Earl Pope, who’s from there and played here, and they crushed it,” Collins said.
One of the local graduates in the class is Greeneview quarterback Alex Horney, who threw eight touchdown passes and ran for 24 scores last season as a senior.
Another member of the class, Mason wide receiver Branden Dunn, is the grandson of Tom Dunn, who played point guard on the Wittenberg basketball team. Tom was the Ohio Athletic Conference MVP as a senior in 1976 and helped lead Wittenberg to a runner-up finish in the NCAA Division III tournament. He was elected to Wittenberg’s Hall of Honor in 1994.
Collins said the coaches focused on adding offensive and defensive linemen and wide receivers.
“That’s where we felt like we didn’t have depth,” Collins said. “We just needed some people that we thought could come in and compete right away at those spots.”
Wittenberg football’s 2025 recruiting class
Ca’Vorris Ammons, Moore Haven (Fla.)
Nicholas Balaban, Medina Buckeye Senior
Gerald Banks, Pickerington Central
Jacob Cheatham, Columbus Bishop Ready
Yurii Collins, Lloyd Memorial (Ky.)
Joshua Cook, Cincinnati Roger Bacon
Isaac Cooper, West Clermont
Mahki Cosby, Seffner Christian Academy (Fla.)
Ryan Counts, Wylie E. Groves (Mich.)
Gaven Davis, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary
Jean Devalus, Norland (Fla.)
Donovan Dungy, Warren Central (Ind.)
Davonte Dungy, Warren Central (Ind.)
Branden Dunn, Mason
Mint Edwards, South Fort Myers (Fla.)
Alston Ellis, Jackson
Daniel Fandino, Miami Palmetto (Fla.).
Alex Florea, Olivet Nazarene/Bellbrook
Shawn Fryman, James W. Riley (Ind.)
Mitchell Gibbens, Charter Oak (Calif.)
Carson Goulet, Pickerington Central
Brody Graham, Barron Collier (Fla.)
Syncere Hill, Akron Ellet
Trenton Hines, St. Petersburg Collegiate (Fla.)
Alex Horney, Greeneview
Corey Howard, Canal Winchester
Jaheim Hudson, Sumner (Fla.)
Dryan Jean, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.)
Rayan Jimenez, Riverview (Fla.)
Toriano Johnson, Kings
Tavaras Johnson, Westerville South
Victor Johnson, Roger Bacon
Logan Kallenbach, Lakota East
Preston Kawa, Westerville South
Joseph Kilgore, Bethel-Tate
Emmanuel Kipleting, KIPP Columbus
Anthony Laurent, Armwood (Fla.)
Connor Macek, Beavercreek
Ja’Den Maddox, KIPP Columbus
Karson Marcum, Monroe
Chris Mason, Chamberlain (Fla.)
Jah’Marione McCallister, Pickerington Central
Wally Monpremier, Lely (Fla.)
Carson Moore, Owosso (Mich.)
Jason Morency, Lely (Fla.)
Tyrique Mueller, William Henry Harrison
Trevor Murithi, Westerville Central
Jah’mir Neal, St. Bernard
Wyatt Nicklos, Florida Virtual
Dravyn Oblak, East Bay (Fla.)
Hayden Paschke, Canal Winchester
Tony Perryman, Gainesville (Fla.)
Sean Ponder, Monsignor Edward Pace (Fla.)
Austin Price, Dunbar (Fla.)
Gavin Richardson, Northside Christian (Fla.)
Nathaniel Rosario, Norland (Fla.)
Jahki Royster, Heath
Dylan Searson, Kenton
Donte Shavers, Cincinnati Elder
Jacob Sheets, Chillicothe Southeastern
Chris Singleton, Dunbar (Fla.)
Deonta Smith, KIPP Columbus
Jaxon Smith, Sarasota (Fla.)
Sean Smith, Columbus Africentric
Michael Thomas, Roger Bacon
Lamar Lee Thomas, Cincinnati Country Day
Taurien Trapp, Warren Central
Jaydon Turner, Columbus Africentric
Aaron Turner, St. Bernard
Jaylon Turner, Columbus Africentric
Raymond Vega, Pinellas Park (Fla.)
Daniel Walker, Milford
Eli Walker, Beavercreek
Omega Waller, Columbus Independence
Shavez Watkins, Canal Winchester Harvest Prep
Titus Watkins, Oconee County (Fla.)
Antonio Weaver, Columbus Independence
Kamaree Webb, Sumner (Fla.)
Brian Williams, Barron Collier (Fla.)
Xavier Wilson, Akron Buchtel
Ronya’e Wilson, Groveport-Madison
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