The fifth head coach in Trinity football history, Kirk Wherritt enters his eighth season in 2017, where he will look to not only improve the team's performance on the field, but also make an impact in the lives of his student-athletes.
Trojan football is built on the foundation of bringing glory to God on the football field, in the classroom, and community. “I believe in the Great Commission, to go and make disciples of all nations. Our student-athletes are more than football players. We are very intentional with teaching our players how to obey and love God,” explains Wherritt.
• The longest-tenured head coach in Trinity history, Wherritt has compiled a record of 23-51 (.311), including a 6-34 mark in the MSFA.
• In seven years with the program, 52 Trojans have earned spots on MSFA All-Conference teams, including seven MSFA First Team nods.
• 23 players have earned a combined 28 NCCAA All-American honors over the past three seasons.
• In 2016, linebacker Riley Schussler became Trinity's first ever semifinalst for the William V. Campbell Trophy, given to the top scholar-athlete in all levels of college football.
• Wherritt has led an offense that ranked among the top five in MSFA scoring three straight seasons (2012-14), and has averaged over 26 points per game in four of the last five years.
• In 2014, the Trojan offense re-wrote the record books, as quarterback Stephen Anderson became TIU's all-time leader in passing yards (5,996), touchdowns, (60), completions (536), attempts (899), and percentage (.596).
• Running back Chris Elliott also became the program's all-time leader in rushing attempts, with 608, and set the program's all-time rushing mark the following season, with 3,649 yards. • Linebacker John Melton also became Trinity Football's first CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District Team member for his work both in the classroom and on the field.
• Under Wherritt, the Trojans improved their win total each year from 2011-13, as TIU advanced from their two-win campaign in 2011, to a 4-7 mark in 2012, and a 5-5 record a year ago.
• The Trojans posted their best record in nine years after going 5-5 in 2013.
• Trinity earned a national ranking in three NAIA Coaches' Polls, reaching as high as no. 21.
• In 2012, the Trojans recorded the most wins in a season since 2004, and their nine victories in 2012-13 was the most over a two-year span since 2004-05.
• In his first season in 2010, Wherritt inherited a team that had just one victory in the previous two years combined; Trojan fans instantly saw improvement, as the team posted a 3-8 record. • In 2010, TIU earned its first MSFA victory in three years, overcoming a 34-point deficit at Olivet Nazarene, to win 41-40.
• Before taking over as head coach of the Trojans, Wherritt’s football career began as a student at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, when he began as a volunteer assistant and equipment manager for nearby Wisconsin Lutheran College in 2002.
• After graduation, Wherritt joined the coaching staff at the University of Utah, where he worked during the undefeated season of 2004.
• That season, the mid-major Utes earned a trip to a BCS bowl, the first ever by a team from a non-BCS conference, earning a victory in over the BIG EAST champions Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl.
• Wherrit assisted with quaterbacks coach Dan Mullen, and worked with current Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith during his collegiate career.
• Wherritt gained valuable experience working alongside a number of NCAA Division I head coaches, including Mullen (now at Mississippi State), Urban Meyer (Ohio State), Gary Anderson (Oregon State), Mike Sanford (Western Kentucky), and Kyle Whittingham, who is currently the head coach at Utah.
• Coach Sanford in particular made an impact in Wherritt’s life both on and off the field. “Coach Sanford was the first genuine Christian male figure in my life; he helped me grow so much as a man of God”.
• In 2005, both coaches took positions at Nevada-Las Vegas, where Wherritt completed his Master’s Degree while coaching the defensive line for two seasons.
• During the 2007 season, Wherritt moved to the offensive side of the ball, coaching the UNLV tight ends under then-Offensive Coordinator Todd Berry, currently the head coach at Louisiana-Monroe.
• Wherritt came to Deerfield as TIU’s offensive coordinator for the 2008 and 2009 seasons, before taking the head coaching position in 2010.
• A native of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Wherritt is married to his wife, Keli, and has a daughter Kenzie (6) and son Gavin (4).
