2024 Preview: Union County Yellow Jackets

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Growth, consistency and energy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Those are the three themes that new Union County head coach Quinnon Esom has been focusing on as he takes over the helm of the Yellow Jacket program that has struggled in recent years, including a 1-9 record in 2023.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But optimism is high that the Yellow Jackets will turn things around in 2024.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“This senior class has been 4-26 so they've never had any kind of winning success of any kind in football during these past years but these seniors are hungry so I'm looking forward to seeing how they control that road because this is their team. I'm just here to facilitate and help them grow however way possible. I'm a player's coach first. Whatever they need is what I'll do for them,” Esom said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Starting linebacker <strong>Joe Knox</strong> feels great about the progression of the team through their summer conditioning program.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We've really worked on coming together as a team. Being able to work together, learning this new game we've got with the new coaches, learning the coaches and how to maximize our potential this year,” Knox said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Yellow Jackets return a good nucleus of starters back from last year on offense. <strong>Cade Coker</strong> and <strong>Ashton Stewart </strong>will accompany Brandon at wide receiver. <strong>Jaylon Voiselle</strong> and <strong>Brandon White</strong> will be a duo on the offensive line while <strong>Jakevious Jennings</strong> will anchor things at running back.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On defense, there will be a trio back at linebacker, headlined by <strong>Nathan Koepke </strong>and <strong>Reid McDade</strong>. Esom says there will be a lot of new faces on that side of the ball so growing up and developing those guys will be key.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ben Fowler </strong>will be back at kicker, who Esom says kicked a 70-yard field goal recently.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Union County will open the 2024 season on the road against Newberry on August 23.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>STARS SET TO SHINE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Josh Brandon</strong> WR, 2025 – Brandon (pictured above) is the heartbeat of the offense, according to Esom. He has been working on his releases, running better routes and getting in football shape for the upcoming year. Esom says he is the best 50-50 catcher in the state and can run whatever route you need him to. He went to camp at Gardner Webb over the summer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Brandon on expectations in 2024: “I feel like we'll have a better record than we did last year. We're doing way better and I know we're going to get out there and work hard and be better than we used to be.”</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quan Jeter</strong> CB/WR, 2025 – Jeter has been spending his offseason in the weight room, working on his craft. He received an offer from Gardner-Webb this summer. Standing at 6-foot-3 and 170 pounds, Esom says he is athletic and versatile in the scheme of what they do.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Joe Knox </strong>LB, 2025 – Knox is called by Esom the leader of the defense and the captain who gets everyone lined up before the play begins. Esom added that he has a nose for the football and can tell you the play before it gets started. He has been to camp at Lenoir Rhyne, Limestone, Newberry and Anderson.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>FILM REVIEW</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quay Brannon </strong>QB, 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brannon will be the starting quarterback for the Yellow Jackets in 2024. He has a solid arm and he will put it to where only his guy can go up and get it. He also showed an ability to attack the middle of the field with routes to where he can find his receiver in stride and be able to let them go make plays. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17955636/66030cc97c437d039f00db55' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66970faad1a8d"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>THREE POTENTIAL RISING STARS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Marr Harris</strong>, CB/WR, 2025 – Harris can play on offense and defense. Esom says he's a freak of nature type kid that can move around and do what he needs to do in any situation.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592645' first='Jaylon' last='Davis']</strong> DL, 2026 – Davis is transitioning from the offensive line at the guard position to the defensive line. We expect that transition to go well as he stands at 6-foot-1 and 290 pounds.</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":"Dreshawn Mills","_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":"2496","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Union County ","_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":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66970faad38e5"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700"><span id="docs-internal-guid-85adbf40-7fff-1e06-1953-0d81459fb045"><span style="font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;background-color: transparent;vertical-align: baseline">Mills was a starter last year on defense. Esom expects him to play an exemplary role for the Yellow Jackets in 2024 as far as being one of the hard hitters on defense at his outside linebacker position and he will play running back on offense. When we turned on his film, he was solid in coming up against the run and excelled at chopping down the ball carrier at the point of attack.</span></span></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/18229559/6601c4e70316c7636b067bc1' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003ern","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66970faad3933"} /--> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->