How Newberry College football is preparing for bounce-back season

After several seasons at or near the top of South Atlantic Conference standings under coach Todd Knight, Newberry took a step back last season.

The team finished the campaign with a 4-7 overall record and was 3-6 in SAC play.

Although he wasn’t pleased, Knight understood what went wrong and has taken steps to make sure his squad returns to the top of league standings.

“We definitely took a step back,” Knight said of Newberry’s 2023 campaign. “I’m the kind of guy that’s used to winning. In my opinion, at our level, recruiting kind of cycles. We had a huge senior class two seasons ago.

“When they rotated out, we lost a lot of really good players. We had to go out and find that older kid and place them with the veterans we had and just reload. That’s what everybody is doing nowadays.”

In addition to high school recruiting, the Wolves utilized the portal to fortify its roster and bring in 12 transfers, most of which were athletes the team recruited out of high school.

“I think we’re going to find the happy medium between half and half — high school kids and portal kids,” Knight said of his plan moving forward. “Most of the portal kids were high school guys we’d talked to or recruited and kind of fit for us this time.”

Knight also added two coaches to his staff who appear to have made an impact.

“I’m real happy with the new offense line coach, Randy Floars,” Knight said. “He’s a Wingate guy, did a good job over there. He was with us during spring ball. He brings some youthful energy to the position. We’re glad to have him here.”

“Coach Floars is a very cool guy, a lot of knowledge there,” said senior offensive lineman Damari Joyner, a preseason all-conference selection. “You can tell he knows what he’s talking about. Up front, basically everyone is returning so we’ve got a pretty good group. We have a lot of chemistry playing with each other.”

Dre Harris, the new quarterbacks coach, is familiar to everyone at Newberry.

“We brought one of our guys back into the fold,” Knight said. “Dre Harris is a guy that was two-time all-conference, has a great collection of rings playing overseas. When he walks into the room, he’s got instant street cred. I love having him back around the program.”

Despite its record, there is reason to believe the offense could be strong with the return of Joyner and preseason all-conference running back Dwayne Wright.

“Dwayne Wright has been a staple for us,” said Knight. “He is a big, powerful kid. He has the ability to run over you or run around you. He is a great combination of size and speed. ... This is his junior year. He’s coming from Fort Dorchester, which is a good program. He’s the returning MVP from last season.

“Joyner is a very athletic offensive tackle. He plays guard. We bounce him around a lot. He’s a big kid, but he’s an athletic big kid. He’s preseason all-conference coming back for his senior year.”

Knight also likes his top two quarterbacks, Reed Charpia and Izayah Whiteside. He believes both can make an impact with their arms or legs. Because of that he treated them in a unique fashion during the spring, allowing them to be hit or tackled.

“We did something different in spring ball that I’ve never done since being here,” said Knight. “During the spring we made the quarterback live. We’ve always tried to take care of them.

“I called them and said, ‘Look, guys, I’m not trying to beat you up. None of you have taken a snap on game day for us. I really need to know if we can make a play when the bullets are flying.’ They really proved something to us.”

The Wolves will get an opportunity to find out what kind of team they are early as they open with power Valdosta State.

“There is a huge chip on our shoulder,” Wright said. “There’s a big target on our backs. We’ve got to prove we belong. We’ve got to work harder than the previous years, even going back to the ’20,’21 and’22 seasons.

“We’re really ready to work harder than we have before.”

2024 Newberry College football season

Three players to watch

▪ Running back Damari Joyner: SAC Piedmont Division preseason all-conference selection had 902 rushing yards in 2023 to go with sixth scores

▪ Offensive lineman Dwayne Wright: Three-year starter at offensive guard and divisional all-conference selection

▪ Linebacker Jalen Stradford: Returning defensive leader had 36 tackles, a sack and an interception a year ago

Three key games

▪ Sept. 7 vs. Valdosta State: Wolves open season with a stiff out-of-conference test against a traditional power.

▪ Oct. 5 vs. Mars Hill: Lions finished 8-2 last year and won a share of the SAC’s Mountain Division title.

▪ Oct. 12 at Lenoir-Rhyne: The Bears won the SAC title last year and are the preseason favorites to win it again.