Thunder football program announces new roles and coaches for coaching staff

Wheaton, Ill. – Wheaton College (Ill.) football coach Jesse Scott has announced the additions of Chris Hawley and Wyatt Lee to the Thunder coaching staff for the 2022 season. Additionally, James Houck will serve in a full-time capacity as Wheaton's wide receivers and strength & conditioning coach.

Houck (PICTURED LEFT) takes on a full-time role this season. He has served as an assistant at Wheaton since the 2017season. A 2014 graduate of Wheaton, Houck played four years at wide receiver for the Thunder football team. A three-time All-State prep player in Indiana, Houck also ran track at Wheaton.

Jesse Scott comments, "I'm excited to be promoting Coach Houck to a full-time role within our staff. Coach Houck has served our program faithfully for the past five years running our strength & conditioning program, leading the Wide Receivers room, and as an excellent recruiter. He cares deeply about the experience of our players and is sincerely committed to their development both on and off the field. He brings a belief in and passion for Wheaton Football to his work every day."

Hawley joins the Thunder coaching staff as the running backs coach. He comes to Wheaton from East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs, Florida, where he served as special teams coordinator and recruiting coordinator from 2018 until earlier this year. Prior to his tenure at East Lake, Hawley was the running backs coach and junior varsity head coach at Methodist University from 2016-18. He was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Largo High School (Fla.) from 2015-16, and was a graduate assistant at Wisconsin Lutheran from 2014-16. Hawley also has spent time on the coaching staff at Bridgewater College, Florida Atlantic University, Indian Rocks High School (Fla.), Spanish River H.S. (Fla.) and Lakewood H.S. (Fla.).

Coach Scott says of Hawley (PICTURED RIGHT), "From our first conversation about joining our staff, Coach Hawley understood and wanted to be part of the unique mission of Wheaton Football. He brings lots of experience to our staff, having coached for the past seventeen years from high school to the FBS level. He's committed to helping our players achieve on the field, and looking forward to the opportunity to mentor them off of it."

Lee (PICTURED LEFT) competed at linebacker for the Thunder from 2019-21, after transferring from Lawrence University. Lee graduated from Wheaton in December of 2021, earning his Bachelor's Degree in English Writing. He earned Third Team All-Region honors from D3football in 2021, also earning All-CCIW accolades for the second time in his career. In two full seasons with the Thunder he recorded 107 total tackles, with 24 tackles for lost yardage for minus-112 yards, including 11 quarterback sacks for minus-84 yards.

Scott stats, "Wyatt Lee's name came up multiple times at our banquet recently – as an All-Region player, the strongest pound-for-pound player since Pedro Arruza, and as the most respected player of our 2021 team. Wyatt's work ethic and determination are what propelled him to success as a player. Those same characteristics will also drive him to be successful in his coaching career."

The Thunder football team is currently in its spring season and opens the 2022 season on September 10 at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

Originally published by Wheaton College Athletics: /news/2022/4/6/football-thunder-football-program-announces-new-roles-and-coaches-for-coaching-staff.aspx