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By Brian Pitts

Sports Editor

Davie’s secondary has had plenty of problems in recent years, allowing an average of 205 passing yards per game across five years and giving up 95 touchdown passes in those 53 games.

But the secondary appears to have more pop in 2024. The headliners are a pair of third-year varsity starters – safety Connor Hood and cornerback Gavin Reese.

Hood is coming off a 100-tackle season that included 12 pass breakups, and he should be even more polished as a senior.

“He gives us flexibility in being able to close the deep middle of the field and he’s very good at coming down an alley as well,” coach Tim Devericks said. “It’s like the baseball analogy – you have to be strong up the middle. We have Landon Barber on the DL, we have Elijah (Chaffin) at linebacker and we have Connor in the deep middle.”

Reese burst onto the scene as a freshman and now he’s a seasoned junior.

“He’s impressed some people in the offseason at camps,” Devericks said. “His coachability is through the roof. He can take something you’ve said one time and execute it. He’s going to be a big part of our corner group.”

The other two starting safeties could be juniors Colson Sink and Elliott Gould. “Both guys are very athletic and have pretty decent speed as well,” Devericks said.

The starting corner opposite Reese figures to be Landon King, an excellent athlete who started as a freshman in 2021. He looked like a potential phenom before suffering a devastating left knee injury in week two of 2022. Late in the first half against West Rowan, he climbed an invisible ladder in the end zone and reeled in an interception. But King had to be carried off the field, missing the last nine games of that season and all of 2023. Friday at Mooresville will be his first game in two years.

“I’m super excited for Landon,” Devericks said. “He’s had a rough go. He was looking to do big things two years ago when he made a phenomenal interception. Last year during basketball season he looked like the old Landon King. I’m looking for a big season from Landon.”

At cornerback, the next man up is Josh Jones, a junior who has flashed some major potential.

“Josh has really grown,” Devericks said. “We tell him he’s got physical tools that other corners don’t have. He’s got really long arms and he’s really strong. Sometimes he doesn’t always utilize the physical talents that he has, and that’s what we’re working with Josh on. But when you talk about an all-around great kid who is willing to do anything that the team needs, that’s Josh Jones.”

There is quality depth at the safety positions, with juniors Bubby Byington and CJ Moore firmly in the mix.

“Bubby is kind of a jack of all trades,” Devericks said. “He might not be the tallest guy out there, but he makes up for it with his intelligence and ball skills. He’s got great ball skills. He’s just a really good athlete.

“CJ is a guy who can maybe rotate between two safety spots, and he knows both. So his intelligence and his willingness to be physical is going to be beneficial to us.”