Ferrum @ UVA-Wise

 Football season is here and thus begins the fastest eleven weeks of the year. This year is starting out differently from my perspective. This team, to me seems young... or at least I don't have a lot of information about them. Yes, there are some returning starters, but a few of the names from last year are gone. Ray Alexander, Tmahdae Penn, Titus Jones, and Billy Higgins just to name a few. Those guys brought a wealth of talent to last year's program, but if recruiting numbers are any indication, Ferrum may just have as full of a stable as anyone around. Let's take a look at just a few that will strap on the Black Hat tomorrow night.

QB- Brayden Hawkins 6' 3" 210 lbs.  This may be the tallest quarterback at Ferrum since Scott Camp. (Folks that's going back a while) Brayden shows some really solid QB skills in some film I have seen of him. That is high school film on HUDL. He is a transfer from the Junior College ranks but has held a roster spot on three different FBS teams. I expect him to be the starter.

QB- Joshua Luckett 6'2" 185 lbs.   A local Franklin County product, Luckett is in his sophomore season with Ferrum. Although listed as a quarterback, last year Josh saw a great deal of success punting. I believe he will be the number 2 quarterback, but he may maintain his punting duties as well. Not to worry, Ferrum has 6 more quarterbacks on the roster if needed.

RB Joshua Ellerbe 6'0 180lbs. Saw a good amount of playing time last year and brings valuable experience to what seems to be a young backfield.  Ferrum will be looking to impose a dominate running game with a total of 9 RB's on the roster.

RB Zac Smiley 6' 0" 210lbs.   Brings the ability to run and receive out of the backfield. Appeared in 5 games last year with a strong showing against Christopher Newport University. Look for Zac to be a workhorse in the Panthers plan.

With 18 Wide Receivers on the roster, and more than half of them as Freshmen, Ferrum should have quite a few options in their passing game. Some notable returning receivers are Na-shawn Greene,  Devan Gray, and Daniel Lamb. These three will serve as the most experienced receivers on the team, but this position is wide open for any of the 18 to take the starring role.

The Ferrum offensive line may be as big as I have seen since I was a student there. There are some hosses on the front.......Look at these numbers! 

6'6" 315

6'0" 380

6'2" 283

6'2" 355

6'6 305

6'4" 330

6' 300

6'8" 270

6'2" 370

6' 308

 That represents almost half of the offensive linemen on the roster. 

Defensively, I am not sure what we will see. First of all, Ferrum only has 7 Defensive Linemen on the roster. This concerns me but there will likely be some really strong linebackers behind those linemen. There are 26 Linebackers on the roster, and 14 Safeties. Look for good production out of Drew Hill, RahQuan Payne, Michael Lopez, and Sincere Adams out of the defensive backfield.

So, what about the game? I don't have all that much info. on UVA-Wise. These two schools have met, but it's been 25 years. Wise was an NAIA school and played their home games at a local high school. They now have their own stadium and have moved to DII. This means they can offer scholarships. The Cavaliers have a 2-0 lead in the series, and according to the Wise coach, he stated in an interview, and I am paraphrasing, that he anticipates getting some of his guys some game time that don't get to play all that much...Last year, Wise went 5-6, but they have a good number of returners bringing back strong experience and have a strong secondary to defend against the pass.

It is hard to predict how this one will turn out, but I tend to be realistic. A team that has scholarship athletes, playing at home against a non-scholarship school will likely get the favorite nod. If Ferrum can show well in this game, or possibly upset the Cavaliers, it will tell a lot about the Panthers and how the season may go. If they lose it should not be a surprise. It will count as valuable experience to prepare them for the ODAC. I look for Ferrum to have the right attitude, come in and play hard....and who knows, upsets have happened, but I think Ferrum may fall short in this scenario, but not without putting up a good fight.

UVA Wise 34

Ferrum 20