From West Virginia, new Providence Day RB Ian Cline makes Chargers more dangerous

There is no question that Providence Day has talent all over its roster.

Ranked No. 1 in The Charlotte Observer’s Sweet 16, the N.C. top 10 private school and Carolinas Top 25, the Chargers have put up more than 40 points in all three games they have played. A lot of those points are coming on passing touchdowns from quarterback Jadyn Davis, the state’s reigning Mr. Football.

But, this season, the Chargers also have a consistent running game to balance with Davis’ passing. That balance has helped Providence Day climb to as high as No. 21 in the national polls.

Meet running back, Ian Cline.

Cline, a junior, played the previous two years at Greenbrier East High School in Lewisburg, West Virginia. He rushed for just shy of 3,000 yards there.

In a short amount of time, Cline has made quite an impression on his new head coach, Chad Grier.

“(Cline) is tough as nails,” Grier said. “He is smart, he is a great student, and a really great kid. He is strong, he is fast and he has all the parts. The biggest thing for him is just maturing, which I thought he has done. The more he plays in our system and our scheme he will know more about where his blocks are coming from and how to set them up.”

Grier said that having Cline is even more important for his team with Aidan Gallos, another running back for the Chargers, being out with an injury. A third Chargers back, Brody Barnhardt, an N.C. State recruit, is primarily a defensive back who returns punts and kickoffs.

“With Gallos out, we need (Cline),” Grier said. “Brody can only do so much. So, with (Cline) taking the workload and being the main back, and then when we can get Gallos healthy, that is two really good backs. Then with Brody in there too, everyone knows about our weapons on the edge, but we can really run the ball too.”

To Grier’s point, Cline ran for three touchdowns on national television in last week’s 42-7 win against Charlotte Catholic.

“My line did everything,” Cline said. “Without those holes, I can’t do anything. They get me through the line and I try to make moves in the secondary.”

The Chargers are 3-0 on the season with wins against South Carolina power Northwestern, Asheville, and Charlotte Catholic. Despite being undefeated and seeming to have found an early-season groove, Cline said the Chargers are far from overconfident.

“We’ve got to stay level-headed,” Cline said. “We are 3-0 right now with a big win over a really good Charlotte Catholic team, but I think we really just need to stay level-headed, keep grinding and work on our schemes and stuff.”

Cline has quickly fit in with the Chargers this season, and it’s pretty apparent that his teammates have welcomed him with open arms.

As Cline was doing an interview for this story, Davis — the team’s Michigan commit at QB —walked by and yelled: “Best running back in Charlotte.”

Cline, however, thinks he’s got a lot to do to get better, even coming off a three-score night against a perennial state championship contender.

“There were some mistakes out there,” Cline said. “We had a couple of dropped balls and some missed blocks. I had a couple of missed blocks and missed reads. But, if we start cleaning up the little things and play the game we are supposed to, we can beat anybody we want to.”