Michael Ruff, a North-South All-Star who rushed for 1,000 yards and passed for 1,000 yards, is in college. Many others graduated with him, but Whitmire still has the tools on its 33 player roster to be successful in 2008.
Offense
Whitmire will go from the spread on offense. Six starters return - Marcus Lindsay, Jarrell Ruff-Smalls, Ethan Campbell, Steven Broom, Alan Glenn and Josh Pressley. Smalls, Broom and Pressley are seniors.
“Offensively, we're probably a little more behind right now than we were last year,” said head coach Donald Addis. “We had a lot of experience last year and we're awfully young this year and know we're going to have to be patient and weather some early storms - get through our non-region schedule unscathed, as far as injuries and by the time we start region play we hope our offense is where it needs to be.”
Lindsay moves from receiver to quarterback. Brandon Crumpton also is working at the position.
“We're trying to work two quarterbacks,” said Addis. “Marcus is more of a running threat for us. He doesn't throw the ball bad, but he seems to make more things happen with his feet. Brandon is still learning, but is definitely getting some playing time back there too. We can move Marcus some to wideout, because he did play wide receiver last year as one of our starters and had some big catches.”
Smalls and Joe Brown are running backs.
“Jarrell is back at running back,” said Addis. “He started for us last year and had a good year for us. We're expecting big things out of him in the backfield. Hopefully, he'll be able to carry the load in the running game. When we go to our two-back sets we'll have Joseph in there with Jarrell and they seem to complement each other pretty good back there.”
Campbell is at center, Tim Epps and Broom are guards, Glenn and D.J. Beaty are tackles. Trevor Huneycutt is in the mix.
“We got three starters back,” said Addis. “They are going to have to carry us early on. We're still awful young on the left side of our line. We're trying to mix some people in and out. With those three back, hopefully those younger guys will come around. It will take some time to develop them. We're nowhere near where we need to be up front. Those guys are working hard and hopefully with some games under our belt, they'll come around by the time region play starts.”
Receivers are Lindsay (when he's not at quarterback), Lance Kitchens, PJ Davis, Pressley, Blake Chick, Terrell Sartor and Chris Rice.
“We're not the fastest receiving corps, but we've got some good possession receivers that catch the ball real well,” said Addis. “We don't have a speed guy that can stretch the field like we'd like, but we have some guys that have a knack for getting open and have some pretty good hands.”
Defense
The Wolverines will work from a 3-3-5 defense. Six starters return on defense - Glenn, Huneycutt, Campbell, Brown, Smalls and Lindsay.
“Ethan is back at linebacker,” said Addis. “He's a returning starter, makes all our calls for us and has been real aggressive. Alan has a year under his belt at end, is a pretty strong kid and understands his role on defense and what he has to do. We've got Marcus back in the secondary and feel real good about our secondary. They've looked pretty good. All those guys played some last year.”
Chick is the nose tackle. Huneycutt is an end. Epps and Brown are inside linebackers. Seth Horton, Pressley and Eric Shouse are outside linebackers. Davis and Kitchens are in the secondary. Smalls will see time at linebacker and safety.
“Our defense is playing fairly well,” said Addis. “We've got some guys that really like to run to the ball, like to hit. Our defense is a little ahead of our offense at this time of the year. That's the case for most schools. It's been a little easier for us on defense because of our returning linebackers and up front people that have a year under their belt. We've been in this system three years and they've picked up on it well. Defensively, we feel like we're going to be able to do a combination of fronts. We'll base out of a 3-3-5, but play some five-man down, maybe some four-man down and give some multiple looks. I like our intensity and aggressiveness on defense. Our defense may have to carry us a little early on, ‘till our offense comes around and we get a little more experience on that side of the ball. We're pleased where we are defensively.”
Special Teams
Chick will handle kickoffs and Huneycutt will handle punts. The team is still searching for a placekicker. Returners will be Smalls and Lindsay.
“Blake can get it down to the 10, or 5-yard line at times,” said Addis. “We feel pretty good about our punting at kickoff team right now. We're still working a couple of guys for PAT. It'd be nice if we had somebody that could kick the ball 20 yards and get that one-point when you need it, but we were a two-point play team last year and we've still got those two-point plays in our pocket. If it comes down to it and we're not ready to kick, we'll go for two every time.”
Depth
As always, many Wolverines will be asked to contribute on offense, defense and special teams.
“Depth will be a factor for us, with a lot of players going both ways,” he said. “It's a problem every year at a small school. We've just got to condition well and stay in shape. They know they've got to stay on the field. It's something we have to deal with. Our kids know it and hopefully they'll adapt to it.”
Coaches
Addis' staff includes Chris Martin (offensive coordinator), Eric Thompson (defensive coordinator), Dan McGlohorn (line), Brett Newton (varsity receivers, JV defense) and Jarrod King (varsity line, JV head coach). Volunteers are Frankie Wilbanks, Anthony Robertson, Bernard Wicker, Chris Crumpton and Terry Wilbanks. Mark Rains will handle stats.
“We're fortunate at a small school to have as many coaches as we have,” said Addis. “Newberry County has been good to us about giving us paid assistant coaches and we've got some guys in the community that want to volunteer their time. We've got a good, hard working group of coaches. We all get along well. As a coaching staff, you've got to have that cohesiveness and we've got it. A lot of people don't realize how much time coaches put into their job, during the week and a day or two on the weekends to game plan for the next week. I'm pleased with the coaches we have and hopefully, we'll be able to put a product on the field everybody will be proud of.”
Schedule
The Wolverines have a tough non-region schedule, with games against Ninety-Six, Mid-Carolina, Wagener-Salley, Gilbert, Dixie and McCormick. Region II-A is strong with Christ Church, Landrum, Southside Christian and Blacksburg returning from the 2A ranks.
“I don't know if I over-scheduled or not, but our non-region schedule is going to be kind of tough,” said Addis. “We know if we can survive those first five games and get a little tougher, not have any major injuries or setbacks and get a little experience - by the time we get to the region schedule we'll be OK and be ready to compete. It's going to be a real competitive region. We're defending region champs and we'll defend it until we're knocked off, but it's probably anybody's this year. This might be as balanced as any year since I've been here.”
Overall
Addis and team are excited about the new season and eager to defend their region title and duplicate last year's dream season.
“We had a fantastic year last year and we lost some real good football players - some good skill people and good lineman, but we've got some good returners,” said Addis. “We've got a lot of guys on both sides of the ball, we return six starters, and have some others that played some last year. We feel OK. We're nowhere near where we need to be right now. We see some weaknesses. We've got a tough road ahead of us, we know early on. Hopefully, we'll stick it out, gain some experience and get into that second part of our schedule. That's when it's really going to count and hopefully we'll be ready to go by then.”
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