HEAD COACH: Michael Davis, 2nd season ♦ CAREER RECORD: 12-1 ♦ 2022 RECORD: 12-1, Class A Division 1 quarterfinals ♦ REGION: 8-A D1
TIGER, Ga. — More run than pass in Tiger?
Yes, you heard that right, although head coach Michael Davis added words like "probably and little bit." So, interpret that as you will.
"We're probably going to run the ball a little bit more this year than we have the last couple of years," Davis said.
Hold on, here it comes …
"But we're not going to change what we're doing," Davis said. "We're still going to air it out. We may do more quarterback-run stuff. The only issue there is we don't have a lot of depth at that spot."
Shew … you can breathe now.
Davis has a plan to replace graduated quarterback Keegan Stover, who was voted Region 8A-D1 Offensive Player of the Year and led the Wildcats to the Class A Division 1 quarterfinals, finished his lone season as a Wildcat passing for 3,605 yards and 41 touchdowns and is now headed to Itawamba Community College.
Sophomore Ty Truelove earned the starting QB job over the summer. He played in four games last season, completing 72 percent of his passes and tossing three touchdowns.
"He's had a good summer and fall," Davis said. "He's right where I think he should be. He's a great young player that is really savvy and smart."
Truelove will have a slew of fresh faces to target this season, with three of the top five leading receivers not returning, including Georgia's all-time receiving and touchdown leader Jaden Gibson, Noah Legault, and Corey Keller, who all graduated.
Senior and AccessWDUN All-Access first teamer Willie Goodwyn, however, will get his chance to take over the spotlight at receiver. Last season, he averaged a team-high 22.5 yards per catch and was second on the team with seven touchdowns.
"Willie is definitely our most explosive player," Davis said. "We have two others, Gabe Payne and Paul Picciotti; both have great hands and good ball skills. I'm excited about all three."
In the backfield, Reid Giles has emerged as the top running back. Sophomore Noah English also will get some carries.
Upfront, Davis is excited about his offensive line, saying it's one of the team's strengths.
Jack Hood (6-6, 250 lbs) and Alex Yearwood (6-3, 300 lbs) will be the leaders.
Defensively, the Wildcats lost their top two tacklers from last season, outside linebacker Nic Baloga and defensive end Ethan Owens.
Baloga led the team in tackles with 199, 16 for a loss and three sacks, and Owens accounted for 138 tackles.
"We have a next-man-up mentality, and that doesn't matter whether a kid gets injured or graduates, but it's time for somebody to step up and do their job," Davis said.
Davis said he expects his linebacker duo, Noah English and Elvis Hunt, to set the tone.
Willie Goodwyn returns at cornerback, and Jarrett Giles, who Davis calls the team's Swiss Army knife, will return at free safety.
"We expect Noah and Elvis to set the tone for us defensively," he said. "But I'm also excited about our secondary.
Yearwood and Hood will join senior Riley Crane on the defensive line.
Paul Picciotti, who led the team and area with six sacks, is back in the secondary, and Hayden Ross, who recorded three sacks and 12 quarterback hurries last year, will play linebacker.
"It's going really good," Davis said about the improvement of the defense. "There will be a lot of new faces over there. We've got those kids better, and I think we're a lot further along than we've been just how we did stuff this summer."
GRADUATION STINGS
The Wildcats lost several key players, including QB Keegan Stover, WR Jaden Gibson, RB Lang Windham, WR/S Corey Keller, C Braxton Brady, OL/DL Cesar Cruz, WR/S Noah Legault, Sr. DL Cesar Cruz, DL Emilliano Ortiz, LB Ethan Owens, LB Nick Baloga.
A MORE BALANCED ATTACK?
The Wildcats aren't moving away from the air raid offense but will incorporate more of a rushing attack out of the backfield and from quarterback Ty Truelove, who Davis says is quick.
"We've gotten better over the summer. We've got a lot of good young talent. We focused our summer work on football stuff, whereas, in the past, it was weights and speed work. So, we've put more time into practicing football. We've got some playmakers, but we've got to be smart."
NEW FACES, SAME PHILOSOPHY
The Wildcats may have several new faces on defense but will still be just as athletic. Davis says they'll base out of the 3-4 but will be multiple.
"We want to play aggressively," he said. "It'll be more multiple this year, doing a lot of different stuff. Overall, it's gone really good this summer. I think we're a lot further along than where we've been in the past."
THE STRENGTHS ARE OBVIOUS
The Wildcats return experience up front which will help new starting quarterback Ty Truelove settle in quickly. Speaking of Truelove, he has the arm and the legs to be a dual threat. Davis said they will take advantage of his skills often. The Wildcats also return two kickers, Marcus Remillard and Moises Figuroa, and punter Riley Stewart.
BUT THERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS
Davis said depth is a concern and a big question mark.
"I feel really good about our starters and people we can roll, but we just don't have a lot of depth. So, it's all about keeping everybody healthy."
SNIFFING THE PLAYOFFS
The road to that elusive state title will be tricky due to a brutal non-region schedule. Six of the seven opponents made the playoffs last season, and five were second-round or better, including two semifinalists, Fellowship Christian and St. Francis. The Wildcats open their 8-A D1 region schedule at home against Elbert County on Oct. 13, followed by back-to-back games on the road as they take on Athens Christian on Oct. 20 and in their final game of the season on Oct. 27 as they face off against Commerce.
"There are no cupcakes on our schedule," Davis said.
WHAT'S TRENDING
The Wildcats have a new quarterback in Ty Truelove, who gives them a dual threat at the position. Willie Goodwyn is set to take the spotlight at wide receiver, and an experienced offensive line should make all of it. With a solid run-pass formula, this offense could be more powerful than last season. If they make it through the seven-game non-region slate unscathed, the Wildcats could be a machine you don't want to mess with down the stretch.
Logan Landers contributed to this story.
