By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn Ichabods will open their 135th season of football and their first season under Zach Watkins at 1 p.m. on Saturday as WU will host former MIAA foe Truman State in Yager Stadium.
Zach Watkins will make his debut as Washburn's head football coach on Saturday when the Ichabods host Truman State in a 1 p.m. contest at Yager Stadium. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods are coming off a 3-8 2024 season, going 2-7 in the MIAA, while Truman State went 8-4 last fall and 6-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference before ending the season with a 29-10 win over Tiffin in the America's Crossroads Bowl.
Watkins was named the 38th head coach in Washburn program history on Nov. 26, 2024, becoming the first Ichabod alum to fill the top spot on the Ichabod sidelines in more than 30 years. Watkins spent the previous 11 seasons as the co-defensive coordinator on the WU coaching staff.
Watkins was a four-year starter at linebacker for Washburn (2006–09), recording 100-plus tackles each season, finishing with a school-record 473 career tackles (third all-time in NCAA Division II at the time).
Watkins said it's time for the Ichabods to play a game.
"Absolutely,'' Watkins said. "The offensive and defensive guys have gone at each other for three weeks now, plus all the captain-led summer practices, and it's time to play somebody else.
"You think you're ready to play a game and you hope you're ready, but you just don't know until you strap it up against somebody else.''
The Ichabods and Bulldogs have not met since Truman State's last season in the MIAA before joining the Great Lakes Valley Conference for the 2013 season. Washburn topped the Bulldogs 35-24 on Oct. 13, 2012 in Topeka in the most recent meeting in the series.
Ichabod head coaches are 22-16-2 in their first game on the Washburn sidelines, with Dennis Caryl the last Ichabod head coach to win his Washburn debut in a 13-7 win at Missouri S&T on Sept. 1, 1990.
Division I transfer quarterback Justin Lewis (6-foot-1, 200 pounds) and Division I transfer running back Ky Thomas (5-11, 205) are slated to make their first starts for the Ichabods against the Bulldogs.
Lewis transferred from Merrimack while former Topeka High star Thomas transferred from Kent State after previously playing at Minnesota and Kansas.
Sophomore linebacker L.J. Minner Jr. (6-0, 205) led Washburn with 103 tackles last fall (59 solo) while senior safety Jordan Finnesy (6-1, 200) had 89 tackles (49 solo).
Like Watkins, Finnesy said the time has come for the Ichabods to line up against another team.
"We're ready to just get out there and face an opponent other than our teammates,'' Finnesy said. "Obviously with camps and stuff we've just been butting heads offense-defense and making each other better, but you can only do that so much and it's time to face an opponent.
"We'll be ready for that and excited for that on Saturday.''
Kellen Nesbitt is in his second season as head coach of the Bulldogs, after removing the interim tag following an 8-4 season in 2024. Nesbitt was promoted to interim head coach in February of 2024 following the retirement of his father, Gregg, after spending the previous 14 seasons as the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator. Nesbitt is the 23rd head coach in the program's history spanning 118 seasons.
The 2024 Bulldogs won eight of their last nine games and return seven starters on offense, including junior Dylan Hair at quarterback after earning second-team all-conference recognition last season.
Hair rushed for 529 yards on 116 attempts with four touchdowns and went 178 of 290 through the air for 2,360 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Truman wide receiver Jackson Overton, the reigning GLVC Freshman of the Year, returns after hauling in 10 touchdowns in 40 receptions for 640 yards. Senior running back Denim Cook rushed for 1,122 yards and 12 TDs, his first-career, 1,000-yard campaign.
Defensively, Truman State will look to replace six of 11 starters. Jack Weltha, a medical-redshirt in 2024 and second-team all-conference pick with 32 tackles in 2023, starts at linebacker.
"They're really good,'' Watkins said of the Bulldogs. "Scheduling-wise you want to schedule good D-II opponents and they're obviously that. They're talented on both sides of the ball, have a great coaching staff and they've won a lot of games there.
"They're a really good program and we've got to play well to compete.''
The Ichabods trail the all-time series with the former MIAA school 18-12, but have won the last six in the series. Washburn is 7-9 against the Bulldogs in Topeka.
Washburn will open its 2025 MIAA slate on Sept. 6, hosting Northwest Missouri for the third year in a row.
