Coming off consecutive 6-5 seasons, ETSU football has begun to creep up the Southern Conference ladder. Before the next rung is clutched, however, the pervasive question is whose arm will be charged with reaching for it.
With the departure of the Southern Conference’s all-time total-offense leader Todd Wells and his senior class, the first since 1956 to compile at least three winning seasons, the search for new leaders has been on full tilt this summer.
Buccaneer head coach Paul Hamilton estimated that 38-40 players stuck around campus on their own dime, attending summer classes and/or coming into the dome to work on their games.
“That’s very unique,” Hamilton said of this squad’s willingness to work overtime, pointing out that ETSU, unlike other SoCon schools is not able to extend players’ scholarships past the regular August-May schedule.
“I’m really proud of our team this summer.”
Quarterback:
The hot topic during the past few months has been the quarterback position, where junior Jatavis Sanders, in his first season after beginning his college career at North Carolina State, is neck-and-neck for the starter’s position with Matt Wilhjelm, a senior from Science Hill High School.
Although they may have divergent pasts, the one common bond the two share is a lack of experience.
Together, they have thrown a combined 10 completions in college, nine of those coming from Sanders in 1999 at N.C. State. Last year, while Wilhjelm was the only quarterback to throw a pass other than Wells for ETSU, Sanders appeared in only one game for the Wolfpack, and that was as a wide receiver.
“I feel very confident about the quarterback position,” Hamilton said, invoking a similar lack of seasoning for Wells when he inherited the position from Greg Ryan.
“Sometimes experience may be overrated,” he said.
Both Sanders and Wilhjelm stand to benefit from a man who knows a thing or two about being one of two talented signal callers on a single team.
New quarterbacks coach Jamey Chadwell, at one time hailed as the conference’s best backup spent three years with Wells, statistically, at the very least, the conference’s best starter. While a full-blown controversy never quite developed between Wells and Chadwell, the new coach can speak from experience.
“You try to tell them it’s not a battle,” Chadwell said. “It’s a healthy situation … I think it’ll make us better.”
As for Wilhjelm and Sanders, each seems to be at peace with the fact there is a heated competition, and neither appears, for two guys competing for the same starting role, that is, to have antagonized the other.
“I hope he has the best camp of his life,” Wilhjelm said of his teammate.
Sanders said of the duel: “I like it. It’s like added pressure,” which he said is a positive force for himself as he prepares for the season.
Hamilton said, “Certainly I’m excited about Jatavis Sanders,” citing his “strong arm” and “quick feet.”
Yet, the coach added, “He’s got a lot of work to do to get where he’s going.”
Much of that work will be mental, as he tries to learn his third offense in two years.
Wiljhelm, of course, is well aware of the ins and outs of the ETSU offense as he enters the season. While he might not have the raw talent of other quarterbacks, Hamilton sees elements of some successful field generals from his past in the local kid.
“He reminds me of a couple guys I had out at the Air Force Academy,” Hamilton said as he reminisced about the academy where he was once an assistant. Those players were “not quite as flashy” as star quarterback Beau Morgan, he said yet were capable of stepping behind center and performing at the desired level.
Regardless, Hamilton said he will be resolute when the decision is finally made.
“We’re going to live with the decision we make,” he said, citing that a revolving door “can bring some division among your football team.”
Yet he does not close the door to any possibility.
“I’m not saying that there’s not a potential that we could play two quarterbacks,” he said. A team has “got to have a good backup,” he added.
Regardless of who will start and who will backup, each player will be tested by the schedule, one regarded as amongst the toughest, not just in the conference, but in all of Division I-AA.
It starts with the opening contest in Pittsburgh’s brand-new Heinz Field, and winds through four games against the teams picked by coaches and media to finish in front of the Bucs in the SoCon standings. Three of those games, against Appalachian State, Furman and Wofford, are on the road, while top-pick and defending I-AA champion Gerogia Southern comes to ETSU.
Wide Receivers:
Still, the Buc players are brimming with confidence.
“We’ve got to work extra, extra hard,” Charvin Clark said about the opener against a Division I-A Pittsburgh team that may be that school’s best in years.
But, while not going into specifics, he added, “We’re going to shock everybody” against Pittsburgh.
“A lot of teams are going to have trouble with our team,” Andrew Simmons said.
“The kids do have a lot of pride in this football program now,” Hamilton said. “If we don’t win, it’s a disappointment.”
The coach, about to enter his fifth year, is preparing to take this program to the next step, one that may prove to be the final step to championship success.
When you take the step up to the top of the conference, the target at which Hamilton eventually aims, “basically you’re taking the step to be maybe the best team in America,” he said.
Any ETSU teams that reach those heights will have to be equipped with units such as this year’s stable of receivers.
Cecil Moore, Charvin Clark and Tim Turner are the headliners, while Mike Rader and converted running back Andrew Nuckolls are the capable reserves.
Moore was the only offensive member of the Bucs to garner preseason all-conference honors, grabbing a spot on the second team.
Hamilton, who thought Moore could have been on the first team, sees even grander success for the junior.
“I think Cecil Moore has got a chance to be one to the best players in Division I-AA,” he said.
Clark returns to the team for his junior season after academic woes kept him off the field last year.
“When Charvin came back, honestly, I was a little skeptical,” Wiljhelm said.
Apparently, he was not alone, as Clark said “this whole university was skeptical.”
“I apologized for what I did,” he said.
Apology accepted. Clark won everyone over with his work ethic and 3.2 GPA for 18 credit hours in spring. He characterizes his return as a “dream come true.”
Even his appearance has changed, which Hamilton said is a sign of his maturity.
Sophomore Turner is also coming back, not from any classroom trouble, but from a second sport: baseball.
“Baseball helped me in a lot of ways,” he said.
While he may not be as given to gaudiness as other two-sport stars, he certainly knows how to make an interest.
Last year, as a freshman, he caught three touchdown passes in his first game against Liberty.
While he might not always make a such a splash, he shares in the confidence of many others that the receivers as a unit should be as eye-catching as Turner’s debut.
“The receiving corps is going to be excellent,” Turner said.
Moore and Rader are possession receivers, according to Wilhjelm, who can make the catch when a first down is necessary. Turner and Clark, on the other hand, are more apt to haul in long, game-breaking bombs, Wiljhelm said.
Not to be forgotten are the tight ends, where senior Nick Hendrickson, who assumes the permanent starting role after making six starts the last two years, will be backed up by fellow senior Allen Johnson.
Despite the glut of ball-catchers, Hamilton insists the team will find balance between run and pass.
“We’ve got to be balanced on offense,” he said.
Running Backs:
In the backfield, Terrance Sims, the team’s leading rusher in 2000, must be replaced. The featured back will be Corey Carter, who last year started all 11 games as a freshman fullback. Now at tailback, he’ll be looked to improve upon an already impressive resume, on which he lists the 2000 team leadership in touchdowns (with nine) and rushing yards per game.
“When you stand there and look at Corey Carter, you have to be excited,” Hamilton said. “There may be some games where Corey Carter goes in and runs for 180 yards.”
Into the fullback vacancy comes Scott Carter (no relation), a junior who is no stranger to the role, having started all 11 games as a freshman.
A “great leader,” as Hamilton called him, he has earned a 4.0 term GPA four times while at ETSU.
Nick Spearman, a converted quarterback, and Jermaine Gamble also figure to contribute at the fullback position.
The reserve tailback role is up in the air. Adonis Johnson, a recruit from Dobyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport, figured to be a part of the mix until he was declared academically ineligible.
“We’re disappointed that Adonis is not with us right now, Hamilton said.
However, he added, “We probably were going to redshirt him, anyway.”
Offensive Line:
Of course, the backfield won’t matter if the offensive line does not perform. With senior starters Josh Kerr at left guard, Mike Martin at left tackle and Chip Pearson at right tackle, along with two juniors at the other spots, right guard Leon Buchanan and center Lonnie Nettles, the offensive line should be a rock of experience protecting the youth that will play behind them.
“I’d be very disappointed if we’re not a solid offensive line,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton added that sophomore Mitch Hughes is impressive enough that he’s now “pushing to start.” Rhett Landrum also received mention from the coach.
“I’m excited about the competition,” on the line, Hamilton said.
Defensive Line:
The other line, for a change, is expected to be the strength of the defense.
A historically weak part of ETSU football, the three-man defensive line will be called upon to attempt quite possibly the two toughest feats in all of Division I-AA – stopping running backs Adrian Peterson of Georgia Southern and Louis Ivory of Furman. Both have already won the Walter Payton award given to the best player in Division I-AA football.
“I think you’ve got to start with Brandon Calton,” Hamilton said of any discussions about the unit.
The 290-pound starting right tackle played in all 11 games as a freshman and came on to start the final six. Hamilton is high on the sophomore’s potential.
At the other tackle will be sophomore Travis Williams, who at 280 pounds, can bench press 515 pounds. and run 40 yards in 4.8 to 4.9 seconds, Hamilton said.
Making it an all-sophomore front is Bill Fells, who will start at nose guard after redshirting last year.
Junior Frank Hopper will also see time on the inside as Hamilton said he will look to rotate his front, also involving junior Kai Schreckenberg, a veteran of all 11 games his first two years.
A sign of the strength of the line is that Andrew Simmons, a senior who has played in all 33 games of his career and a starter for the last nine, will play a reserve role in Hamilton’s rotation. Chad Hyder joins this bunch, coming over from the offensive line.
Linebackers:
Behind them will be an all-new linebacking corps, replacing all four starters from last year. Only one of the spots will be filled with someone who has even played at ETSU before.
That could be the sophomore from Dobyns-Bennett, Andrew Foerster.
“I’m excited about Andrew Foerster,” Hamilton said. “Andrew’s got a chance to be one of the kind of linebackers we’re used to.”
Yet, Hamilton said that Foerster is neck-and-neck with Mike Cornegay for a starting inside linebacker position going into preseason practice.
The other starting inside linebacker is already determined.
Justin Reinier, a junior, comes over from Los Angeles Valley College.
“We’re really excited about having Justin Reinier in our program,” Hamilton said.
At one outside linebacking position is freshman Scott Brumet, a converted tight end with uncommon speed for his 6-foot-6, 240-pound frame.
Backing him up is junior Tennessee High alum Brad Stubbs, a veteran of six games last season, and the son of former ETSU tailback Greg Stubbs.
At the other outside linebacker is Marco Bryant, a North Carolina transfer who redshirted his only season there.
“We have got to see what kind of football player he’s going to be,” Hamilton said.
Others who should see action at linebacker include sophomores Keith Davis and Bobby Guarino, Marlo Vinson, another L.A. Valley College transfer and freshman Lamar Beam.
Defensive Backs:
Behind them will be a defensive backfield with only one returning starter, strong safety Ocasio Cofield, who is the lone Buccaneer on the preseason all-conference first team.
“I really like the way he led this spring,” Hamilton said of the senior.
He will have to be a strong leader, because there isn’t much behind him.
“I’m concerned about our depth in the defensive backfield,” Hamilton said.
At free safety, two sophomores who played in nine games last year, Troy Carter and Montreal Harkley, compete for the starter’s role.
Surrounding them will be two corners who have never played there collegiately, sophomore Tony Tiller, a converted wide receiver, at left cornerback and freshman Allen Davis on the right.
On the upside, Hamilton likes the size of his projected starters, none of whom are shorter than 6-foot-1.
In addition to Davis, four other freshman, Primus Glover, Jacobe Jones, Austin Smiley and LaShawn Taylor, are expected to see playing time, despite Hamilton’s desire to redshirt all the freshman backs.
Kareem Coffin’s move from wide receiver to defensive back lends the position its only senior other than Cofield. The young Buc backfield will have to grow up in a hurry; they face Antonio Bryant, considered Division I-A’s best receiver, in their first game at Pittsburgh.
Special Teams:
Saving the Bucs heartaches will be the special teams unit, which, according to Hamilton, should be “as good as if not better” than any he’ll have had here in his five-year tenure.
It is led by senior placekicker Con Chellis, who is joined by punter Aaron Bass and kickoff specialist Scott Salmons. Making sure the ball gets to holder Mike Rader is Adam Howell, a junior from Elizabethton High School who has made every long snap in his two years at ETSU.
“I rest easy at night because Adam Howell is our snapper,” Hamilton said.
Returning the other teams’ punts will be Tiller, while Coffin and Andrew Nuckolls will receive kickoffs.

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