Deer Lakes grad Aiden Fletcher matures into key player for Westminster defense

Aiden Fletcher isn’t ashamed to admit it. There were more than a few times during his freshman season at Westminster when the upperclassmen had to reposition him on the field.

But that was the point. He was on the field.

The Deer Lakes grad played in all 11 games — including seven starts — for the Titans last fall, racking up 27 tackles, 6¹⁄₂ for loss (tied for fifth on the team) and three forced fumbles. For a green freshman who was getting on-the-job training, Fletcher impressed.

“When I came in as a freshman, when I first got introduced to all the technique and all the playbook and everything, it’s an enormous jump for me,” Fletcher said.

Four games into the 2025 season, Fletcher is showing a newfound comfort. He has 15 total tackles and has helped the Westminster defense place itself among the best in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.

The Titans lead the PAC in fewest points allowed per game (14.0), are second in total yards per game (339.0) and are third in rushing (119.0) and passing (219.3) yards per game.

Fletcher has been a big part of that.

“It’s night and day,” Fletcher said. “I was able to go through the season last year and spring ball. I’ve learned so much. I feel so much more confident doing my job.”

Titans 12th-year coach Scott Benzel complimented Fletcher for his tenacity and aggressive play. That helps him to be stout in the run game.

Fletcher’s prowess as a run-stopper also is being aided by additional size. Listed at 6-foot, 175 pounds last season, he has bulked up to 200 pounds.

Pass coverage is where Fletcher needs to have a growth spurt. In fairness, Fletcher is playing a position that, by Benzel’s admission, is difficult to master. As a linebacker who is tasked with lining up between the box and the pass perimeter, there is a lot to analyze before the snap.

“That’s a unique alignment, and that’s an experience thing,” Benzel said. “Where you are on third-and-2 isn’t the same as where you’re going to be on third-and-9. I know that sounds super obvious to most, but it’s a worked art, a worked craft that you have to get comfortable with.

“The underneath stuff, that’s where you really make hay in pass defense. And where does that happen? That happens at linebacker. That’s the stress part that is hard, but he’s getting better at it, no question.”

Fletcher has become comfortable enough that he now is helping the freshmen with the finer points of playing linebacker.

“I’m really confident that I can get those dudes lined up and be vocal with them because I know what it was like to just kind of get thrown into a situation where I might not know what I’m doing,” he said. “But having a vocal presence, I think, helps.”

Defense has been Westminster’s calling card through the first half of the season, and it will need to continue on its current trajectory. After a bye this weekend and a visit from Bethany on Oct. 4, the Titans will stare down their toughest competition.

They play at perennial PAC contender W&J on Oct. 11 then travel to archrival Grove City two Saturdays later. The Titans already passed one stern test when they won at Case Western Reserve, 28-23, on Sept. 20.

Fletcher said he and his teammates are not looking too far into the future, though he said it’s hard not to have the big games in the back of his mind.

Benzel, meanwhile, can see a bright future for Fletcher. As someone who has more of his college career ahead of him than behind him, Benzel said, Fletcher has a chance to be special.

“I think he could be a first-team all-conference, borderline all-American type of player,” Benzel said. “He’s a perfectionist by nature. He’s harder on himself than anything I could ever do.”