Welcome to Top Sports News
Star linebacker JC Heim's focus on helping Ichabods take big step forward this fall
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University linebacker JC Heim was a tackle machine last fall as a sophomore, rolling up 142 total stops to lead the MIAA and rank second in the nation.
Former Washburn Rural star JC Heim returns for his third season at Washburn after ranking second in the nation with 142 tackles in 2025. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But like almost all great players, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Washburn Rural product would gladly sacrifice individual stats for more team success as the Ichabods try to improve on back-to-back 3-8 seasons and three straight losing campaigns overall.
"One hundred percent, 110 percent I would give up the stats I had for a few more wins and I'm just excited to see how it works out this year,'' Heim said.
Heim, a Washburn team champion, registered 71 solo stops a year ago to rank No. 3 in the nation and had seven tackles for loss, a sack, an interception, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery while posting a career-high 17 tackles against Colorado School of Mines.
Heim admitted that he was surprised by last year's numbers.
"It definitely caught me off guard,'' Heim said. "During the game you just get in that flow state and you don't realize the tackles and stats you have. I don't really tend to worry about that much. I just worry about my job, but it came with how we play our defense and how the guys did up front and that's how I was able to get the stats I had.
"I surprised myself, but the coaches and the players around me, they're confident in me and how I play the game and what I do.''
Washburn star JC Heim is focused on helping the Ichabods take a big step forward this fall after a huge sophomore campaign. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn suffered five losses by seven or fewer points last season, including an overtime loss, and Heim feels like the Ichabods are poised to make a big jump this fall.
"We've got a lot of depth at a lot of positions,'' said Heim, who has 171 career tackles with 84 solo stops and eight tackles for loss. "We've got a lot of returners coming back and we've built a lot of leaders up, so I'm just excited to see how we respond to adversity this year and how we finish games.''
Highland Park, WU product Michael Wilhoite back in NFL with Broncos
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After a year out of football, former Highland Park and Washburn University standout Michael Wilhoite is back in the NFL with the Denver Broncos.
Former Highland Park and Washburn standout Michael Wilhoite, who was back in Topeka last month to co-host his annual youth camp, has rejoined the Denver Broncos coaching staff as a defensive assistant. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Multiple Denver news outlets have reported that the Broncos have added former assistant Wilhoite to their coaching staff as a defensive assistant.
Wilhoite, who previously coached outside linebackers for the Broncos, was let go in March of 2025 after an incident at the Denver airport, but all criminal chargers were eventually dropped, opening the door for Wilhoite's return.
A member of the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame, Wilhoite put together a seven-year NFL career as a linebacker with San Francisco and Seattle, including a Super Bowl appearance, before coaching in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints, San Diego Chargers and Broncos.
Wilhoite was back in Topeka last month to co-host the Mental Performance And Wellness Night and Big Kev Give Back lineup at Washburn along with close friend and fellow Hall of Famer Kyle Weems.
"Over my past year being out of work and being out of sports I spent a lot of time on myself and therapy and on mental performance and just growing and learning and gaining new tools for myself to help me stay confident in those times of lapses, those times of insecurity, those times of questioning,'' Wilhoite said during his return to Topeka. "I've been able to find different tools to help me to continue to move forward in a positive manner.
"I'm out of football for a year and that was tough. That had essentially become my identity and that had become who I was -- football coaching -- and that being taken away it kind of stripped me of that with it. It got tough, so I went and sought out help and it changed my life. It gave me perspective that I hadn't had before in my life.''
Weber welcomes proposed rule change, opportunity to extend Ichabod career
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
If NCAA Division II follows Division I's lead in the near future, college athletes will be granted an extra season of eligibility, having five years to play five seasons.
Washburn Rural product Ty Weber is excited about the possibility of getting to play five seasons for Washburn football. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
If and when that proposal goes into effect, Washburn University senior tight end Ty Weber is likely to jump at the opportunity to play an extra season for the Ichabods.
"The thing is, you don't get to play football much in your life,'' said the 6-foot-4 235-pound Weber, a Washburn team captain. "Once you're done you're done, and this group of guys that we have now has been some of the most fun guys I've ever gotten to play with, so it's just a joy to show up every day and it's like, 'Why would I not want to get one more?' ''
Weber, a former Washburn Rural football and baseball standout, cracked Washburn's starting lineup as a true freshman in 2023, but experienced a devastating tragedy prior to the Ichabods' fifth game of the season when his father, Billy, died suddenly at 55 years old.
Weber fought through the heartbreak to play in nine games with seven starts as a freshman and appeared in all 11 games as a sophomore with eight starts.
Weber suffered another setback last season, missing the Ichabods' first five games after being stricken with amyloidosis, a rare ailment that resulted in Weber suffering full body cramping that resulted in hospitalization.
But Weber, who suffered a broken leg in baseball as a sophomore at Rural, once again showed his resiliency, returning to action for the final six games of the season as Washburn posted a second straight 3-8 season.
"Those things, when they happen, they make you appreciate it more,'' Weber said. "And this maybe being my last one it kind of gives you a different sense of feeling about it.
"I'm looking forward to a year where I don't have to see the doctors much and not see the trainers as much, but also to have more wins in the win column.''
