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By Brian Pitts

Sports Editor

How far Davie goes in 2024 depends largely on the development of the rebuilding offensive line and the abilities of the new quarterbacks. As we watch how those storylines play out, the War Eagles can take solace in this: They have no worries whatsoever at receiver.

You couldn’t ask for a better receiver duo than Ethan Driver and Braddock Coleman, who were first and second, respectively, in receptions and yards in 2023.

Driver started off his sophomore campaign on fire – eight catches for 125 yards in his varsity debut – and awe-inspiring plays came week after week until he finished with 56 grabs for 923 yards and 12 touchdowns. The supremely athletic 6-2, 175-pounder tied the Davie record for 100-yard games in a season (six), and he’s already tied for eighth in career TD catches (12) with two years to go.

“There was conversation about moving Ethan to quarterback. But with his capability, you always command (double coverage) and you don’t want to pull that away from an offensive scheme,” coach Tim Devericks said. “He had a great spring and summer, going to camps and having some recognition and some writeups. His ability to look smooth and be extremely fast and quick is something I haven’t seen in a long, long time. His ability to track a ball is probably the best we’ve had in a while. There’s been times he’s been double covered and it didn’t matter. That happened all spring and summer – unfortunately for the defense – but he’s that type of playmaker.”

“He understands everything that’s going on in a play,” offensive coordinator Matt Gould said. “His leadership has taken a huge step up. He’s talking to the young guys, the other receivers, talking to the quarterbacks, and he just knows what’s going on out there. They follow him – how he runs his routes, how he practices. I can’t say enough about him.”

The War Eagles are fully aware of what Coleman can do after his junior season: 42 catches, 580 yards, four TDs. The senior is a big play waiting to happen. Although he’s not blessed with great size, the 5-11, 165-pounder is not scared to make contested catches in the middle of the field and he’s a ferocious competitor.

“Braddock gets it honest (with his bloodlines),” Devericks said. “He’s one of the ultimate competitors I’ve had the privilege of coaching. I don’t care if he’s running a hitch route, I don’t care if he’s running a curl route, no matter where he is on the field, he doesn’t care where it’s at, he’s going to try to catch it and get what he can. I’m super excited for Braddock and his senior year.”

Man, is he intense.

“He’s probably the most competitive guy on the team,” Gould said. “If we have a bad rep in practice or a bad period, Braddock is the fiery guy. He gets onto them, he’s fired up, everybody feeds off of his energy. He loves football. The other day he went over the middle on a slant. We shouldn’t have thrown him the ball; it was like triple coverage. And he went in between three dudes and he got knocked down and his helmet came flying off and he just got up and was ready for the next play. That’s who he is.”

“Given an opportunity to block a little closer to the box, he’s trying to TKO people,” assistant coach Blaine Nicholson said.

“His blocking has improved by leaps and bounds,” Devericks added.

With Grey Deal, Evan York and Kez Stockton gone, Davie will have new pass catchers in the starting lineup. Senior Landon Waller, who missed all of 2023 with an injury, appears to have big-play juice.

“He gives us some size at receiver that we haven’t had in a long, long time,” Gould said. “It’s exciting for the quarterback to see a 6-5 guy out there one-on-one. Just toss it up and let him go make a play.”

Keep your eye out for junior Dallas Simms.

“He was on track for an incredible year last year on JV until he hurt his knee,” Gould said. “He attacked his rehab and got fully cleared a few weeks ago. He couldn’t do anything in the spring. He does the little things; he’s smart. Even when he was hurt, he showed up to every practice, studied the playbook and was always there encouraging the guys and hitting his rehab as hard as possible. He can definitely step in and make some plays.”

Mack Ridenhour, whose father Drew was a record-setting QB from 1997-99, has been making noise in practice.

“He’s a big sophomore,” Gould said. “He’s 6-3 or 6-4 and he’s worked incredibly hard and has been making more plays. So he’ll be a great JV player, if not an eight-quarter/Friday night guy.”

Sophomore Jayce Bentley, freshman Landon Hughes and junior Memphis Nunn have shown encouraging flashes.

“(Bentley’s) physically built,” Gould said. “He got hurt at the end of the JV season. His problem is he plays the same position as Driver. He can play running back as well. He might end up working into other spots to help us. If not, he’ll be a great JV player.

“(Hughes) just came in in the summer, and just through summer practices he’s looked super impressive. (Nunn) didn’t miss a workout and he’s continued to get better.”

Another option out wide is senior Damien Motley. Junior Gavin Reese, a stud in the secondary, is fully capable of operating at a high level at receiver if Davie needs him to double up on occasion.

“I don’t know how long Gavin can play both sides of the ball,” Devericks said. “You’ve got to play corner, then you play receiver, you return kicks, you return punts. That’s a lot on somebody to do for a whole game.”

“Gavin can definitely take the top off,” Gould said. “He always thinks he’s open on the deep post … and he usually is.”

Senior David Patton’s varsity career has been wrecked my injury. He missed the last eight games of 2023 and he’s still sidelined. “David will be back probably midseason,” Devericks said.