Wheeling, W. Va. - Over the past week, the Mountain East Conference (MEC) has been preparing for the 2025 football season with their virtual Football Media Day series. Each day, the conference releases a virtual media session with each of its conference's coaches based on the 2025 MEC Football Preseason Poll. On Wednesday, Wheeling University Football Coach Zac Bruney will be featured as he previews the upcoming 2025 football season before the Cardinals take the field on August 28th.
The 2024 season saw the Cardinals finish 6-5 overall and 5-4 in MEC play, marking the third straight season that the Cardinals finished at or over .500. After picking up a 52-14 win in their conference opener, the Cardinals would drop three straight conference games and entered mid-October sitting at 1-3, but the tides began to turn after the Cardinals defeated West Virginia State 35-33 on a last second touchdown. The Cardinals would hit a tear from there, winning five of their final six games to go over the .500 mark. They entered their final game of the season sitting at 6-6 overall and 4-4 in conference play and were able to take down West Liberty 40-16. They finished tied for fifth overall in the conference, marking their highest finish in the conference standings since they tied for the conference championship during the 2020 COVID season.
The 2025 team will feature a mixed bag of veterans and newcomers looking to make an immediate impact. The veteran presence starts up front with the offensive and defensive line all having players who have started games for the team. The experience continues into the offensive backfield with redshirt junior Landon Lutz at quarterback and running backs Steven Mitchell and Dawaun Green each back to lead the running game. The wide receiver group will have a slew of new players looking to make their impact in the passing game after the Cardinals lost their top three receivers from the 2024 season. Leading the group will be redshirt junior Colin Oberdick, who finished with a career-best 10 catches for 223 yards in 2024. Landyn Hores and Alex Godavitarne will both return to the tight end group as they look to give Lutz options down the field.
On the defensive side, the veteran presence will be in the defensive backfield, starting with safety Keenan Johnson. Johnson is entering his fifth season with the Cardinals and leads a group that includes Leonard Sherrod III and Kievon Harper who will look to limit the passing game. The linebacker group is the youngest group on the defensive side, with the Cardinals looking for veteran leadership to step up. Outside Linebacker Awwal Osinuga will lead the outside linebacker group, while Carter Blake shifts to inside linebacker to fortify the middle of the defense. On Special teams, Alex Tappen returns for his second season as long snapper for the Cardinals, while Connor Fitzpatrick will take on the bulk of the kicking duties.
Bruney is entering his eighth season as Head Football Coach at Wheeling University and his seventh season leading the Cardinals on the field. The Martins Ferry native has led the Cardinals to a 36-30 record overall and a 23-29 mark in MEC play during that time. Since officially becoming a member of the MEC during the 2019 season, the Cardinals have finished with a .500 or better record in the conference in four of the six seasons. He has coached 33 All-Conference players, three Don Hansen NCAA DII All-American honorees, and one All-Region award winner.
Zac Bruney's media day remarks will be available across the MEC's social media landscape on Wednesday, August 20th. You can follow them on Facebook by clicking HERE, X by clicking HERE, and Instagram by clicking HERE.
