Loads of talent, experience return for Dragons

In this day and age of college football, if players earn top awards in Division II, most of the time they're leaving for Division I or at least putting their names in the portal. Tiffin University had a couple do just that, but only one left off a loaded roster in 2024. So as a result, second-year coach Brett Ekkens brought in some players in the transfer portal, but also brings back eight all-league players from a year ago, including G-MAC Player of the Year Ronald Blackman at running back and Alex Johnson – offensive player of the year – returns at quarterback after transferring in from the University of Washington.Suffice to say Ekkens and his coaching staff are in a different place this time this year compared to last year where he was putting the pieces together of a new roster. Excitement is in the air for TU football."First and foremost, I'm thrilled to have the group we have coming back that we do," Ekkens said. "We've worked really hard in the offseason. The guys are committed, clearly. You know, you have a solid year and the nature of college football today is guys leave right? End of year, exit meetings last year, the guys were all-in with our goals this season and decided to stay. "We have over 20 guys returning that have started football games for us, which is a huge asset. A year ago, we were trying to figure out who we were and we really had no idea how good we were going to be. This year, things are very different because we have lofty expectations and high standards."That standard would be to win a G-MAC title, which the Dragons tied for second in last season's standings with Findlay as Ashland won the league championship. This year, the Dragons were picked second in the G-MAC preseason poll as the Eagles were picked to repeat.Last year, that might've stirred up some emotions or at least some reactions from the Dragon players, but Ekkens said he addressed it and the team had nothing to add to it but to go out and put in work. The message is clear and the goals are set."Iron sharpens iron is the saying from spring practice into camp here before the season. We've had really good competition in practice," Ekkens said. "We talk a lot about competing with your teammates, not against them. So, we glorify guys making plays, and we don't get upset about when a guy makes a great play on someone, we get in the film room, we watch and we celebrate those things. We celebrate that competition."Ekkens said there were lots of competitions for spots during camp, but players like Johnson and Blackman and Khris Walton on the defensive side of the ball – those guys might be solid on those spots.Johnson spearheaded the top offense in the league, scoring 32.67 points per game, including 50 touchdowns during the regular season. He was 241 of 357 passing for 2,954 yards with 27 touchdowns last season. Blackman – who was listed on the first team D2Football.com Elite 100 Preseason list, along with Walton – was 2024 Don Hansen Second Team, D2CCA Second Team and AFCA Second Team All-American. He was third in Division II in rushing yards last season with 1,385, which was the fourth highest single-season mark in TU history. He scored 13 touchdowns as well.Walton was a D2CCA First Team selection and was the G-MAC defensive lineman of the year. He led D2 in total sacks and sacks per game. He tallied 63 tackles, including 18 for loss and 13.5 sacks.In total, Ekkens said eight of 11 all-conference players return this season, but those three are a good place to start."Johnson has really taken the next steps to understanding the game and really in a leadership role, which was a captain last year and he just got voted captain again for the second time," Ekkens said. "Blackman is stronger than he was a year ago, he's also quicker and another year in our system has made him really comfortable in what we're trying to do. Last year he had some plays made by him where he was freelancing, but understanding the system and what we're trying to do even more, I'm excited to see the plays he makes this season."Walton is a chaos creator … he is somebody that plays with the highest motor I've ever coached. We have a standard in our room that you don't loaf, and he is the leader in that initiative for sure."Ekkens pointed to the big guys up front offensively as the biggest change from a year ago. "Our offensive line went from having zero starters to now having seven guys back that started a game for us, and we're really fired up about them this year," he said. "We have two all-conference players back there, but it's a group where I think we could be a very good line unit."TU will have to be "Road Warriors" this season, especially to begin the season. The Dragons begin the season at Wayne State Thursday, but then follow that up with three more weeks in a row on the road to begin the season. In total, TU only has four home games.The Week 2 matchup is at Ferris State, who is the defending Division 2 national champion, and preseason No. 1 in the country for 2025."We've created a tough schedule, there's no doubt about it," Ekkens said. "With how the playoff system works in Division 2, strength of schedule matters and picking up an elite team like Ferris State is because of that. We want to go out and play the top team in the country. "As far as having seven of 11 games on the road, it's all a mindset. We know the old saying: 'Home is where the heart is.' But for us this season it's 'Our hearts are going to be where our feet are.' We have guys from all over the state, the region and country really so it's about us bringing our football family together wherever we go and staying focused on the process. We're a process-oriented unit, so that's the only way to handle being on the road for seven of your 11 games."