Two former players from Power 5 conferences joined the Ohio Wesleyan football coaching staff this fall, and Battling Bishop players have been the beneficiaries.

Johnny McCrary and Owen Fankhauser have played on the biggest stages of college football.

McCrary won the starting quarterback spot at Vanderbilt University as a redshirt freshman.  He set a school record for completion percentage (28 of 33, .848) against Austin Peay and tied a school standard with 5 touchdown passes against Old Dominion, a performance that earned him Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week honors.  After graduating from Vanderbilt in 3 years, he completed his playing career at Clark Atlanta University while starting a master's degree in counseling.

Fankhauser played at The Ohio State University for 2 seasons, winning OSU Scholar-Athlete honors 3 times and Dean's List recognition once.

Now, McCrary coaches the Bishop wide receivers, while Fankhauser works with defensive backs, mainly cornerbacks.  Both have already made the Battling Bishops better, according to Ohio Wesleyan head coach Tom Watts.

"Johnny was the starting QB at Vanderbilt and Clark Atlanta, and having the knowledge that a quarterback has can drastically improve a wide receiver's performance," Watts said.  "He can give them what a quarterback is thinking on each play, which ultimately provides them with a bigger picture of what we are trying to do.

"Owen has a brought a very strong work ethic, and a (desire) to be great.  He has a deep passion to be a great coach and mentor for our players."

Both McCrary and Fankhauser look to leverage their playing experiences into successful coaching careers.

"My prior playing experience does allow the coaching transition to be minimal to a certain degree, but I still plan to be completely coachable and learn as much I can from the coaches and the community." McCrary said. "Having the opportunity to continue to be involved and around the game I love is a blessing. My father played a decade in the NFL and ended up coaching football for 10 years in Georgia on the high school level. It's in his memory I strive to be the best version of myself as well as pursuing my passion to coach.

"I plan on learning as much as I can from Coach Watts and Coach (Mike) Ward because I want to be the best coach (I can be).  I plan to allow the profession to take its course and be open-minded about the entire process. I believe that under their guidance I can develop the necessary life skills and grow as a man."

"I was coached by some of the greatest coaches in the college football world," Fankhauser said, "and being able to pass that knowledge on is a huge honor and something I'm looking forward to.  I've always had an interest in coaching the next generation of football players, but until I played at Ohio State I always thought it would be (at the) high school (level).  Now I can't get enough of college football.  My goal is to become a Power 5 defensive backs coach and eventually a defensive coordinator."

While their playing experiences are something that not all aspiring coaches have, Watts notes that there is more to becoming a successful coach.

"You still have to earn credibility by developing relationships with the players on the team," Watts said, "but I am sure there have been a lot of great questions and answers that (Owen) has shared with the team.  Players always want to know how to get better, and Owen's experience at an elite program such as Ohio State has given him tools and experiences that he can share with his players.

"Like Owen, Johnny has worked hard at building relationships with the players so that they understand where each are coming from.  His knowledge of the offense, and playing the QB position has (made it) an easy transition to working with our talented wide receivers."

Both Fankhauser and McCrary have taken steps along that path.

"So far, my favorite coaching moment in the short 4 months I've had at the job was the few moments that I saw our work as a corner unit show in practice," Fankhauser said. "Seeing the guys use the technique I was once taught and (am now teaching) them was awesome."

McCrary looks back at the Bishops' fall scrimmage as his favorite coaching moment. "Having a chance to see the guys fly around and get after (it) made me extremely hopeful for what this coaching staff and the team is capable of doing this year for Ohio Wesleyan University."