Jaevon Gillespie back to lead UVa-Wise’s ground attack
Jaevon Gillespie back to lead UVa-Wise’s ground attack: Jaevon Gillespie, a running back at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, had a breakout season in the fall of 2018, and he may help the Highland Cavaliers end a pair of losing streaks on the football field in 2022.
Tonight at 7 p.m., UVa-Wise will play the Ferrum College Panthers, kicking off a season in which the Cavaliers will try to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2016 and produce a 1,000-yard rusher for the first time in 15 years.
Gillespie is one of 15 returning starters for UVa-Wise, so the team has reason to be hopeful.
He amassed 621 yards on the ground and scored nine touchdowns last season while collecting 11 receptions for 54 yards in becoming a solid option.
Declaration
“Last year, we rotated all the backs and the coaches kept telling us whoever showed out the most was going to be the one that played,” Gillespie said. “I ended up showing out and it gave me confidence. I have a lot more self-assurance about this season than I had last year.
The most significant performance for Gillespie last year was a 166-yard, four-touchdown performance in a triumph over Carson-Newman. The 5-foot-9, 202-pound redshirt junior earned a second-team member on the All-South Atlantic Conference preseason list.
UVa-Wise head coach Dane Damron has praised Jaevon for his patience on the field. “I don’t think he goes hunting for home-run plays, home runs just happen for him. He’s a physical, downhill runner and a great kid. He doesn’t talk a whole lot, he simply works. I love him so much, it hurts.
Gillespie is also a proven winner, having been an integral part of two Greeneville High School teams that won the TSSAA state championship. Last year, UVa-Wise went 5-6, with wins against nationally-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne and late-season road triumphs over Limestone and Catawba being the season’s high points. However, coach Gillespie wants more victories this year.
While Gillespie acknowledges that last year’s team performed adequately, he admits that he would have preferred an undefeated record to 10-0. It’s true that we dropped some matches we really should have won. I have a lot of faith in this group.
Gillespie will run behind an experienced offensive line, will be receiving handoffs from a seasoned quarterback and has an opportunity at putting up a four-digit yards total. Prior to Ra’Shad Morgan’s 1,485 yards in 2007, no UVa-Wise running back had ever rushed for more than 1,000 yards.
Daric Cotman and Tommy Taylor start at tackle, Eaamon Sullivan and Ethan Blank play guard, while Ethan Anderson mans the center for an offensive line that weighs an average of 302.6 pounds. Cotman, a graduate of Benedictine High School in Richmond, Virginia, was selected for the All-SAC First Team in the preseason.
Remark
“This is really the first time we’ve returned an offensive line since I’ve been here,” Damron said. Say it with me now: “Up there, we have a shot.”
Lendon Redwine, a quarterback from Dobyns-Bennett High School who has played in 20 games at UVa-Wise and improved with each season, will lead the team this year. He threw for 2,819 yards to go along with 24 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 2021.
Markell Harris from Vienna, Virginia (15 catches, 218 yards, two touchdowns) is the best returning pass-catcher. Dorien Goddard (Greeneville) has the experience, while Josiah Jordan (Tazewell), Peyton McClanahan (Abingdon) and Virginia Military Institute transfer Braydon Thompson (George Wythe) are local guys playing wide receiver.
Defensively, the team’s best tackler returns in guard Joel Burgess (Hidden Valley in Roanoke, Virginia), who had 5 ½ sacks among his 62 stops.
Job Whalen is the team’s top linebacker, and Markel Dailey (50 tackles) and Patrick Taylor (53 tackles) also play solid safety roles.
Statements
“I would put our two safeties against anybody in this league,” Damron said.
Former Dan River High School standout Robert Carter (35 tackles, three interceptions) is a ball-hawk in the secondary as well.
Tonight, UVa-Wise will play Ferrum, a team picked to finish fifth in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, which is part of the NCAA’s Division III. UVa-Wise should be a huge favorite.
Cleive Adams, the uncle of two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry, is in his third season as head coach of the Ferrum Panthers. Among the team’s rostered players are Jordan Williams (David Crockett), Matthew Nelson (Marion), Riley Keen (Richlands), Connor Wilson (Sullivan Central), Ian Ashworth (Galax), and Benji Novak (West Ridge).
Job Whalen is the team’s top linebacker, and Markel Dailey (50 tackles) and Patrick Taylor (53 tackles) also play solid safety roles.
Against “anyone in this league,” Damron stated, “I would put our two safeties.”
Former Dan River High School standout Robert Carter (35 tackles, three interceptions) is a ball-hawk in the secondary as well.
Tonight, UVa-Wise will play Ferrum, who was picked to finish fifth in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, which is part of NCAA Division III.
Cleive Adams, the uncle of two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry, is in his third season as head coach of the Ferrum Bulldogs. Among the roster’s familiar names are Jordan Williams (David Crockett), Matthew Nelson (Marion), Riley Keen (Richlands), Connor Wilson (Sullivan Central), Ian Ashworth (Galax), and Benji Novak (West Ridge).
On September 10, Damron’s club will start the grueling campaign of the South Atlantic Conference with a road game against NCAA Division I FCS North Alabama. In the preseason coaches poll, UVa-Wise was picked to finish eighth out of the league’s 12 teams.
There’s no telling what will happen next week in any of our eleven one-week seasons. You have seven days to live and seven days to die as a coach before the cycle begins again.