Davidson’s football team is keeping all options open during pandemic
It is certainly not business as usual for Davidson’s football program this spring. But Wildcats coach Scott Abell thinks he’s well suited to handle the disruption the coronavirus continues to have on his team and society at large.
“It’s not wildly uncomfortable for me,” said Abell, who has turned around the Wildcats program after coming from Division III Washington & Lee (Va.) in 2018. “Coming from a DIII program, we didn’t have spring practice anyway. Sixty percent of our roster is gone all summer anyway because they’ve got internships somewhere. Last summer, we had 25 players on campus during the summer out of a 100-man roster.”
Abell is not downplaying the severe impact the coronavirus is having at Davidson, whose campus continues to be closed and hasn’t yet announced whether or when it will reopen in the fall. But this is a time of year when things begin to slow down anyway for the Wildcats, who went 8-4 last season, the most victories by a Davidson team since 2000.
The Wildcats only got in one session of spring practice in March before all sports activities were called off for the semester. With 12 starters returning, Abell said he wasn’t concerned that losing the spring would stop any momentum from that eight-victory season.
“I’ve thought about that a lot, and I kind of came to the conclusion that it might have been a good thing for us, because the confidence is so high in our program right now,” Abell said. “We’ve really worked at that. A couple of years ago, it might have been very different. But we’re thankful now that we’ve established ourselves. So I don’t feel like it’s slowed us down.”
With no decision yet on the reopening of school — much less when preseason camp would open — Abell and his staff (along with athletics director Chris Clunie) are considering all options.
“We’ll prepare for August camp as normal,” Abell said. “But as announcements come, we’ll make adjustments and have the next plan ready. What will it look like if we have a shorter camp? We’re using some of this extra time to answer these questions before we actually have to answer them.
“It’s like preparing for a game, and making sure you know what happens if the defense loads 11 (players) in the box on you. You’ve got to be ready with a solution you’ve already thought through.”
Davidson notes
▪ The Wildcats signed 24 players for their 2020 recruiting class, including identical twins Elijah and Jordan Burrell of Tulare (California) Western High. Elijah Burrell comes to Davidson as a quarterback, Jordan as a defensive back.
▪ Senior running back Wesley Dugger is already Davidson’s leading career rusher with 3,440 yards. Dugger ran for 1,068 yards and a Wildcats and Pioneer Football League record 22 touchdowns last season.
▪ Former Davidson basketball standout Jon Axel Gudmundsson has signed with Edge Sports International agency.
▪ As the number of players entering the NCAA’s basketball transfer portal continues to grow (reportedly more than 500 now), one school continues to be absent: Davidson. The last player to transfer out of the Wildcats program was Joe Aase, who left after the 2013-14 season for Minnesota State.