Davidson football has found success, and is growing comfortable with high expectations

Not long ago, it would have seemed absurd to talk about Davidson College dealing with the expectations that result from winning.

“I guess that’s a good thing to deal with,” acknowledged Scott Abell, entering his seventh season as head coach of the Wildcats. “We have reached the point where the expectation is that we’ll succeed.”

Season 7 under Abell begins Saturday in the nation’s capital, with Davidson traveling to Georgetown for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff.

You needn’t go back very far in Davidson football history to understand how things have changed.

Over a 10-year span, from 2008 to 2017, Davidson compiled a 23-87 record. The Wildcats’ most successful season in that period was 4-7.

Back then, you went to a Davidson football game because you were a hard-core fan, or because of the scenic backdrop at the stadium when the leaves change color in October and early November. Football was a way of marking time until the Wildcats’ highly successful basketball team began play.

Then Abell arrived in 2018, fresh off a string of coaching successes in Virginia at the high school and Division 3 level. Since then, Davidson has compiled a 41-23 record and has won the Pioneer Football League championship twice.

And there were three FCS playoff berths — an unheard-of thing in the BA (Before Abell) days.

To be fair, Davidson has enjoyed the good times before. From 1998 to 2000, the Wildcats had 8-2, 8-3 and 10-0 seasons. But the success has been sustained now for more than half a decade.

Being the target

“We enjoy having teams aim for us,” said running back Mari Adams, a 5-11, 210-pound junior running back who played at Crest High in Cleveland County. “If nobody wants to beat you, it means you’re not doing something right.”

Abell has built a winning program with a punishing ground game and a defense that tends to make the big play when needed.

Adams is a big part of that ground game. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season and led the Pioneer League in rushing touchdowns, with 15.

A key part of the defense is another Charlotte-area product, sophomore defensive end Julian Rawlins, who played at Hough High.

“The expectations are there for another good season, but I think this team is a bit different,” Adams said. “We seem closer. I think that closeness will help us handle adversity better.”

Rawlins, who led Davidson last season in tackles for loss (10.5), sacks (6.5) and quarterback hurries (11), said any edge the Wildcats have will be important.

“Coach reminds us that we can win any game,” he said. “But a lot of those games might be close.”

Davidson finished third in the conference a year ago, losing its final two Pioneer games after a 6-0 start.

Different set of rules

The Wildcats play by a different set of rules.

“There is nobody like us in our league,” Abell said. “Standing our ground is important.”

Davidson has few transfers and no graduate players on its team. The academic standards are extremely demanding, as is the classwork for players during the season.

“I wanted a demanding curriculum,” said Rawlins, who is following a pre-med course of study. “This is exactly why I came here.”

“We try to find people who can work in the framework that we have here,” Abell said. “And we’ve been able to do that.”

Abell acknowledged that expectations from Davidson fans have changed.

“Our followers expect that we’ll succeed,” he said. “And we expect the same thing.”

But, he added, Davidson fans seem to appreciate the program’s success, and all the challenges that Wildcat football faces.

“We’ve built a great relationship in our community,” Abell said. “Davidson followers are very proud of our guys. They support them.”

Winning, he added, makes it all better.

Football will be a little different this year at Davidson. The old football stadium is being renovated into a track and field facility. It has been replaced by a new state-of-the-art 6,000-seat stadium at the north side of campus. Adjoining the stadium is a new training facility that Davidson officials say is the best in the conference.

“They let us practice here in the spring,” Rawlins said. “The first time we practiced here, I was smiling from ear to ear.”

Adams added, “The new stadium makes things even better.”