Northwest Wayne News

Wayne State University is preparing for the 2025 football season with a preview of its linebackers group, led by first-year position coach Ahmed Saleh. The team features seven returning players across the "Mike," "Will," and "Star" linebacker spots.

At the "Mike" linebacker position, Quincy Salter, a two-year letterwinner from Livonia Stevenson, leads the group. Salter has played in all 22 games over the last two seasons and recorded 48 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss.

Martell Williams, a transfer from Norfolk State who joined Wayne State in January, adds experience to the unit. Williams played in all 12 games for Norfolk State last fall and finished sixth on his former team with 43 tackles.

Freshmen Micah Calhoun, Mason Conklin, Ryan Spate, and Kasim Gozic will provide additional depth at middle linebacker.

For the "Will" linebacker spot, redshirt sophomore CJ Gordon returns after playing in all 11 games last season. He posted a career-high five tackles against Grand Valley State. Transfer Logan McGraw joins the competition at this position along with freshmen Luke Johnson, Marvin McCallum, and Johnny Nelson.

The "Star" linebacker role has several experienced returnees including redshirt junior Devon Brown and redshirt freshmen Max Edwards, Kaleb Jefferson, and Gavin Troy. Redshirt junior Nahji Mabry is also back after spending two years at UM-Flint; he dressed for six games as a true freshman in 2022. Freshman Daylon Doe will add further depth to this group.

Wayne State will start fall practice on Monday, August 11th. Players are scheduled to report during the weekend before practice begins. The home opener is set for Thursday, September 4th at 6 p.m., when Wayne State faces the Tiffin Dragons. Fans can purchase both season and single-game tickets online or join WSU Athletics' W-Club through their respective links.

According to recent schedules and ticketing updates provided by Wayne State University Athletics (https://wsuathletics.com/sports/football/schedule), preparations are underway for the upcoming season's events at Tom Adams Field.