Team Preview - Ardrey Kell Knights

As we get closer to the start of the season, we will be taking a look at team previews from across the Charlotte Metro Area. We have a lot of talented players here in the city, and every year there are new faces that will become the star of their teams on Friday Nights. We'll take a look at them, as well as the overall team prospects for the upcoming year!   The Knights are the reigning So Meck Conference champions from last season, and Head Coach Greg Jachym has done a good job in his tenure of always having his teams ready to play good football and being consistently competitive no matter who the opponent may be. Last year had a disappointing ending as the Knights lost at home in the 2nd Round of the playoffs. This season, the Knights have a good bit of talent returning but there is a question mark at one key position. Let's take a look at this year's team.   Jack Curtis was one of the best quarterbacks in school history, so the big question is who is going to step into those big shoes? There are a couple of options, however, whoever earns the job will need support from the whole team. A big piece returning is Brooks Stankavage, who did not play last season due to injury. He can play running back and receiver and he is a true athlete and a playmaker with the ball in his hands. Ethan Presutty at Wide Receiver is probably one of the best players who doesn't get enough press - he runs excellent routes and catches anything thrown in his direction. He has committed to Old Dominion and should do a great job there. He will be the #1 pass receiving threat this season for the Knights.   There are also some good-looking offensive linemen up front in Doron Gundersheim, Abdul Chickha, and Brandon Stoner - who as a 2025 prospect with great size, I am really excited for his future and to see how he develops moving forward. On the defensive line, there are some players I definitely like, led by Khyler Watson, who is an excellent defensive end that can kick inside and play defensive tackle in some sets as well. Khyler at 6'3 and 235 pounds has garnered a good bit of recruiting interest. He has offers from Army, Navy, Presbyterian currently and lots of interest from local ACC schools. A player I enjoyed watching the film on is Defensive Tackle Anthony Sutton - his quickness off the ball in the interior was impressive. Opposite Khyler is another good-looking player in Xavier Esquillien. As teams slide their protection to Khyler, he can be the beneficiary of facing single coverage in the pass rush game, and he has the tools to take advantage.   Linebacker James Stepp is a hard-nosed aggressive player at the linebacker level that Ardrey Kell always seems to have, and he will always find a way to be around the football. The secondary is led by two very impressive players in Joshua Switzer and [player_tooltip player_id='1092828' first='Chancellor' last='Bryant']. Switzer is a Strong Safety and the absolute quarterback of the defense. He is an impressive player and has offers from Marshall and Navy among others. Switzer excels in open field tackling and is not scared at all to put a big hit on someone to set the tone for the Knights defense. Bryant is a 2024 player who plays corner and safety and has blazing speed to run with any receiver in man coverage. His ball skills are really good - especially at safety. He tracks the ball well and catches like a receiver, I think he can be a really good player on the next level as he continues to develop.   Special Teams at Ardrey Kell are definitely special with some good players here. Shane French kicks and punts for the Knights, and I enjoyed watching his passion for his duties, he trains relentlessly and should be a weapon this season. Long Snapper Jack Mowrey is absolutely one of the best in the Southeast - he has offers from Virginia Tech and Liberty, and will most likely pick up more as his season gets going.   Looking at the Knights schedule, their opening game against Providence has become a rivalry where these two schools just don't plain like each other. It is a non-conference matchup, however, these schools used to play in the same conference before realignment 2 years ago. The matchup against Marvin Ridge is another local rival area matchup that has become an annual game as well. I expect the Knights to compete for the conference championship once again, and how far they ultimately go will depend on how fast the new quarterback can get going and develop as the season goes along.

As we get closer to the start of the season, we will be taking a look at team previews from across the Charlotte Metro Area. We have a lot of talented players here in the city, and every year there are new faces that will become the star of their teams on Friday Nights. We'll take a look at them, as well as the overall team prospects for the upcoming year!