First in a series of 2018 Indiana college football season previews

MARION – Faith is responsible for the creation of Indiana Wesleyan University’s football program.

It is faith, because Christianity is woven into everything the university does. It is faith, because when first-time coach Jordan Langs accepted the position offered by athletic director Mark DeMichael there was nothing more than some dirt and a field of green grass where the football stadium stands now.

More:2018 football season preview for colleges in Indiana

Langs needed to trust that his boss would deliver on the promise of facilities and support, and DeMichael needed to trust that the first coach he hired could guide the program from infancy to prominence.

Now the Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats’ first season opener ever, Sept. 1 against Taylor University, is just days away. The countdown on a clock near the entrance to the locker room is days away from being finished.

“If you’re not prepared for it, it’s not pressure that you’ll feel,” Langs, 29, said. “It’s fear. You’ll be scared of the moment if you’re not prepared.”

The son of a hall of fame high school coach in Michigan, Langs burst onto the college coaching scene at Division III power Wheaton College in Illinois — where he also played for coach Mike Swider. Langs rose from grad assistant to defensive coordinator in a few short years, but always felt he was destined to do more than be an assistant.

More than 100 people applied for the Indiana Wesleyan opening, and Langs credits earning the job to his dad and Swider, who is adamant Langs will succeed.

“By the time this opportunity came up, I felt like I’d had so much training in what it means to build a purposeful and productive culture along with a lot of leadership training that I was ready to use it on my own,” Langs said.

Young and without experience as a head coach, he didn’t fit DeMichael's vision of his first football coach. But just 15 minutes of conversation erased all doubts as the man who many say was born to be a head coach showed his maturity and explained his vision.

DeMichael was never scared no one would be interested in the job, more just anxious after the IWU Board of Trustees in April 2016 approved adding the football program, because all his research told him culture was the most important key to success for an upstart football program.

Also, just to get the stadium built and everything rolling cost $16.3 million.

“The only thing worse at a college than not having football is having bad football,” said DeMichael, who had to do some politicking around campus to assure those not in favor of the decision that it was the right move. “So I took that to mean if we’re going to do this we have to do this right, and if we’re not going to commit to doing it right then we’re better off not doing it at all. Because, to be honest with you, our athletic department was doing just fine without football.”

Eight years ago the school decided to hold off on starting a football program because it wanted to use the required resources elsewhere. IWU has 13 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and 29 National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) national championships.

But DeMichael has already seen the institution’s profile rise, and the team hasn’t played a game. This fall it will compete as a provisional member of the NAIA’s Mid-States Football Association conference before becoming a full member in 2019.

Hunter Terrell, now a sophomore, was the first to announce his commitment Dec. 8, 2016, a little more than four months after IWU hired Langs. And much like when Langs took the job, Terrell needed to have faith others would come after him.

“I was scared because I was the first recruit and there were no other players,” said Terrell, who never doubted his decision. “Sitting there, after committing, I’m just waiting like, ‘Am I going to be the only player here?’ But, obviously, there were a bunch of other commits.”

Langs spent the fall of 2016 recruiting remotely as he continued to coach at Wheaton because the timing of the move would have been so close to the start of the season for Wheaton that all sides agreed he could stay on and do both until Wheaton's year ended.

Each recruit he's brought on has bought into his vision for the program's culture, which will always be the crux of his recruiting pitch. With football, that means a disciplined team that’s sound in technique and never wanting for effort, that controls the line of scrimmage and doesn’t turn the ball over.

With life, that means a team with players who don’t feel the need to sacrifice one aspect of their life for another.

“I could have gone to a Saint Francis, which just won back-to-back national championships, but here we get to create our own culture and that’s something that’s priceless,” Terrell said. “You can’t put a dollar sign on that.”

Langs said he knew Indiana Wesleyan had a niche to offer both coaches and players, and that building the program has been about finding those who recognize that and embrace it.

How quickly IWU might rise to the level of a Saint Francis or Marian University, which started its NAIA program in 2007 and has won two national championships, is unclear. There’s a bit of mystery around the program because no one has film on the Wildcats from a live game yet, but Langs isn’t sure that’ll mean much against Taylor after a few minutes.

Terrell, who has noticed a more focused locker room this fall compared to 2017, Langs and DeMichael have all seen the improvements the team has made on the field and in the weight room. But this fall will show how far the program has left to go.

“Our hope is to be competitive,” said Langs, who has a countdown to the Sept. 1 opener on his Apple Watch. “Whether that’s reality or not I don’t know.”

Will they shock some people?

“We’ll see.”

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Jordan Guskey on Twitter at @JordanGuskey or email him at jguskey@gannett.com.