By Brian Pitts

Davie Enterprise Record

Davie football coach Devore Holman took great delight in introducing two new assistants to his staff and players. Blaine Nicholson, 22, was a student assistant at East Carolina University during the 2013 season, and Alex Tesh, 32, was the defensive coordinator at South Stokes High the past two years. 

Nicholson is coaching defensive ends at Davie; Tesh is coaching offensive linemen. Both are new teachers at Davie. 

The other 11 assistants are Todd Bumgarner (quarterbacks/offensive coordinator), Wade Lovejoy (running backs), Chris Callison (receivers), Ron Bivins (receivers), Jimmie Welch (offensive line), Randy Athey (defensive line), Terrell Wilson (defensive line), Dave Hunt (linebackers), Tim Devericks (secondary/defensive coordinator), Mike Rominger (cornerbacks) and David Wooldridge (kickers/punters). 

  “I’m going to tell you, Nicholson is a good one,” Holman said. “I’m very pleased with what he does. You talk about somebody who’s been around it. He helped (ECU’s staff) on defense, and we do some of the stuff that they’ve done because we got a lot of stuff from ECU in the past and he understood the same terminology. We’re thinking alike. Coach Devericks got a great addition to the defensive side.”

“Coach Nicholson is getting them coached up (on the defensive front),” Devericks said. “He has brought them a long way this spring and summer. He’s brought a lot of knowledge and love of the game.”

Nicholson is definitely a sports addict. He played four different sports at Starmount High – football, wrestling, baseball and track. 

In football, he played four years, including three years on varsity. Playing fullback and linebacker, he made the all-conference team at linebacker as a senior in ’09. 

In baseball, he played varsity as a sophomore and junior. He was a center fielder. 

He made the varsity wrestling team as a freshman. He wrestled for one year. 

As a senior, he dropped baseball and took up track. He competed in the 4×4 relay, the 200, 400, discus and shot put. He earned all-conference honors in the relay. 

“I’ve always had a love for sports in general, and football has been my passion growing up,” Nicholson said. “Unfortunately, your height and weight are definitely a factor. So as I grew older, I understood (college football) wasn’t for me. But I prided myself on always being a really smart player, understanding my assignments, always working really hard and putting forth everything I could. I had a couple people tell me growing up that I would be a good coach, and that always stuck with me.”

Spending the ’13 season on the East Carolina sideline was a unique experience that spiked Nicholson’s resume. 

“I got to learn the operations and understand the culture of college football and how it operates,” he said. “It really prepared me to be able to coach. Coach Ruff (Ruffin McNeill) said he’d be glad to take me in and let me see what it’s all about. So I was really lucky in that aspect.”

Late last spring, Nicholson graduated from ECU on a Saturday, he interviewed for a Davie opening in the math department on Tuesday and was hired on Wednesday. Yes, all of that happened in a span of five days. 

“I always heard about (Davie’s) excellence,” he said. “I’m a big family man. I know the Davie County area and the Mocksville area is a great community. It’s a place I’d love to raise my family. So Davie County was my No. 1 choice. Coach Holman called me and said he was excited about the opportunity to have me apart of the staff, and that really took hold of me. Everybody welcomed me with open arms.

“I can’t express how excited I am, being so close to home (in Yadkin County) and with such a great program and with such a great staff. I think we’re going to do great things.”

A story on Tesh is upcoming.