Scott Abell has rebuilt Davidson football. With a conference title, the pressure is on

In case you missed it, there was a spring college football season and Davidson was pretty good.

In fact, the Wildcats won their first conference championship in 52 years and landed a berth in the FCS playoffs.

Now the NCAA’s FCS division is returning to its typical fall schedule, and Davidson is picked to win the Pioneer Football League once again.

The Wildcats’ goal, they say, is not let all this success distract them.

After all, this is heady territory for a football program that averaged 2.3 victories per season from 2008 through 2017.

Scott Abell arrived as head coach for the 2018 season, and things haven’t been the same since. Davidson went 6-5 in his first season, then 8-4 in 2019. In the spring 2021 season, the Wildcats went 5-2, knocked off nationally ranked San Diego, and won the Pioneer Football League.

“Was I surprised that it happened that quickly?” Abell said. “Maybe a little bit. But not really. We had been building toward that. We know what kind of program we have.”

Now the Wildcats have to go out and repeat.

Four of their spring victories were by a touchdown or less, and they know they’ll be the target of every opponent this fall.

“We talk every day about how we got to where we are,” Abell said . “It was our work ethic, our commitment to one another, and our trust. We can’t lose sight of that.”

Abell said he knows it’s a challenge to keep up the hard work, after what happened in the spring.

“We’ve worked to make sure our players understand that.”

On paper, Davidson looks the part of a conference favorite. They are talented and have more depth than in recent memory.

One big question is at quarterback. Tyler Phelps, who completed 57% of his passes with a 137 quarterback efficiency rating in the spring, has graduated.

“It’s the big question for our fan base,” Abell said of the starting quarterback battle.

Louis Colosimo, a senior from Sarasota, Fla., was the backup in the spring and has seen action in 12 of the Wildcats’ last 18 games. But Abell said Elijah Burrell, a sophomore from Tulare, Calif., “is a good talent and will push Louis.”

Can’t-miss game

▪ San Diego, Sept. 25

San Diego was king of the Pioneer Football League until dethroned in the spring by Davidson. The two teams meet in Week 3 at Richardson Stadium in Davidson in a game that likely will decide the league title.

A successful season is …

Why not? How about a repeat Pioneer championship and another trip to the FCS playoffs? The Wildcats have most of their key players back from the spring season and are the preseason conference favorites.

Davidson’s top players to watch

Davidson football schedule

This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 7:00 AM.