We are another week closer to the 2023 high school football season, which brings us to the next preview. This week, we will be taking a look at the Woodruff Wolverines.
Woodruff is another program that is under new leadership this season, as Bradley Adams resigned back in January to take the job at Georgetown after 5 seasons guiding the Wolverines to a 33-22 record over that span, including a 6-6 2022 campaign that ended with a 55-17 loss to Daniel in the 2nd round of the playoffs.
On February 7th, it was announced that Brett Sloan would be taking the reins, which was met with enthusiasm.
Sloan is a name that should be well-known locally. He played and coached at Chapman and also spent some time as an assistant at Byrnes, although for the better part of the last decade, he was in Georgia, serving stints at Collins Hill as offensive coordinator, as well as Kiel High School as Head Coach. In his tenure at Kiel, he compiled a 35-21 record.
Sloan has put together a pretty strong staff since his hire, which is as follows.
*Jason Settle, who previously served as running backs coach at Chapman.
*Taylor Anderson, a Boiling Springs and North Greenville University alum who has coached at both the collegiate and high school levels since graduating college, most recently as outside linebackers coach at Byrnes. He has also coached at Gardner-Webb, Valdosta State, and UNC.
*Nick Lily – Special Teams Coordinator. Previously was defensive line coach at JL Mann.
*Dominique Woodruff, a Woodruff alum, will be coaching Running Backs
Five assistants return from Bradley Adams’ staff.
*Amos Moates– Wide Receivers
*Kent Haltiwanger– Offensive Line
*Joel Goff– Tight Ends
*James Taylor– Outside Linebackers Coach
*Duane Thompson– Defensive Line
The Wolverines will have some big shoes to fill at the QB and Wide Receiver Position this year with the graduation of Carson Tucker, Anthony Graybill, and Nemo Cochran. But, for all the question marks there, Sloan isn’t worried, mainly because of the experience he has returning along the line.
“I am most excited about our experienced offensive line. We return 4 starters in Brandon Ruiz, Cohen Lyda, Aidan Schaum, and Jake Cox. Those 4 returning starters have done a great job setting the tone for us in the off-season, and I look forward to seeing that carry over into the season.”
Most notably among the skill positions, Wide Receiver Kory Scott will be returning. On defense, they return 2 at Linebacker in seniors Micah Horton and Keyshawn Clark.
Among the newcomers, Sloan says to look out for Sophomore Wideout/Corner Kory Moates and Sophomore Linebacker Jordan Hood.
Overall, Coach Sloan is excited about what his team has shown through conditioning and Spring practice.
“The thing that has stood out the most so far is the work ethic of our kids. Our kids are not scared of hard work. I love the hunger this team has right now. We have been very intentional in defining our culture and painting a clear picture of what the culture of Wolverine football should look like. And then we have spent a lot of time setting up a system of accountability so that players understand the expectations and the consequences of not upholding the expectations. We are far from perfect, and we have a long way to go. However, when we are challenged, we respond. If we can continue to do that, I think we will like where we are at the end of the season.”
Woodruff begins the season August 18th with the Chapman Panthers at Willie Varner Stadium.
