2024 Preview: North Augusta Yellow Jackets

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After finishing 7-4 and falling to Greenwood in the first round of the playoffs in 2023, North Augusta is looking to take the next step and go further in 2024.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We've had a really good summer. The guys have bought into the weight room and the speed, agility and conditioning of things. Now it's finishing up the summer and getting ready to start to put all of our offensive and defensive schemes in and continuing to get better each and every day and our coaching staff and our players have bought into that and have done a tremendous job,” North Augusta head coach Richard Bush said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Yellow Jackets return seven starters from an offense that averaged 31.7 points per game, including their leading rusher in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='402503' first='Michael' last='Doe']</strong> who rushed for 1,212 yards and 15 touchdowns. There will be some youth up front on the offensive line with only two starters returning in <strong>Ethan Fitzgerald </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1251916' first='Malcolm' last='Gaston'].</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On defense, six starters return including three in the secondary with <strong>Ty Burke, [player_tooltip player_id='617719' first='Donte' last='Bell'], Riley Howell</strong> all back for their senior seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Augusta opens the 2024 season on the road against Thomson (GA) on August 23.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>STARS SET TO SHINE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1031336' first='Corey' last='Tillman']</strong> QB, 2025 – Tillman (pictured above) returns for his senior season after tossing for 1,376 yards and 14 touchdowns and completing 65% of his passes. He currently has offers from UNC Charlotte and Georgia Southern.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Improvements heading into 2024: “What we've been working on is getting well conditioned, working on our skill players and a lot of drills and stuff like that, keeping us ready for the upcoming season especially in the heat.”</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1013040' first='Connor' last='Brown'] </strong>WR, 2025 – The leading receiver for the Yellow Jackets returns after a 2023 campaign that saw him haul in 39 receptions for 476 yards and four touchdowns. He currently has offers from Limestone and a preferred walk-on offer from UNC Charlotte.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Improvements heading into 2024: “We've been working on a lot of speed and agility, make sure that we're shifty and be able to make plays after we get the ball. We've been working a lot on routes and how to get to run them against different coverages and really just working as a team to get to know everybody better.”</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Alex Powell</strong> LB, 2025 – Powell returns for his senior campaign after finishing with 35 tackles in 2023. Bush calls him physical and fast, who can play sideline to sideline.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Improvements heading into 2024: “We've been in the weight room a lot to get stronger, we've been getting faster, more conditioned and we've just been getting tough. Our mentality has been getting better.”</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>KEY LOSS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Beans Hunt </strong>RB – Hunt rushed for 314 yards and two touchdowns, while catching 27 balls for 288 yards and three touchdowns during his senior campaign.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>FILM REVIEW</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1254097' first='Deandre' last='Baskett'] </strong>DL, 2025 – The Region IV-4A Defensive Player of the Year returns for the Yellow Jackets after a 2023 campaign where he wreaked havoc on opposing offenses. He had 66 tackles, 8 sacks and 17 tackles for a loss. He has a motor that is always running and he comes at full speed. With his size and speed, he's tough to block and keep out of the backfield.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16726500/656f86f0f327b61384fae3fe' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003ern","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66a4efe275019"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>THREE POTENTIAL RISING STARS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Derrick Thurmond</strong> LB, 2027 and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592679' first='Zeddius' last='Tillman']</strong> LB, 2027 – Tillman and Thurmond are two sophomores that will be able to work their way into the rotation defensively in 2024.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='1214944' first='Davion' last='Mckinnis']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2406","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"North Augusta","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66a4efe276780"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The Silver Bluff transfer will be a nice addition to the Yellow Jacket defensive line. He can plug holes well where runs are designed to go and can get into the backfield quickly as he's able to diagnose plays.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/18548133/65b5a51cab9d8106f08c2292' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003ern","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66a4efe2767ac"} /--> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->