2025 Preview: Blacksburg Wildcats

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blacksburg head coach Josh Batchler believes his team underachieved in 2024, finishing with a 2-8 record and falling to Chesnee in the season finale.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now as the Wildcats turn the page to 2025 and the season opener against Ware Shoals on August 22, and while there will be a lot of youth and while they are unproven, there is a lot of potential in 2025, and the focus is on getting better.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“It's a daily grind and we have to focus on us every single day. (We) have to come to work, we have to get coached, we have to buy into the small things and understand that everything matters. That's kind of what we focused on is just the process and understanding hey, the scoreboard will take care of itself, but we've got to fix us. We've had great buy-in in the weight room. We've run about 50 kids in the summer, which is good for us at a 2A high school with 400 kids. You know, so just continue to buy and continue to work, continue to get after it every day,” Batchler said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The offense will need to replace everyone at the skill positions from 2024. Expect the Wildcats to line up in the spread often. Batchler is most excited about the returners back up front on both lines of scrimmage, beginning with junior <strong>Lane Rising </strong>and <strong>Quincy Printup</strong>, who will also flip over to the defensive line as well. <strong>Carter Oglesby </strong>will also anchor things defensively at linebacker.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>STARS SET TO SHINE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hart Crawford</strong> OL, 2026 – Crawford is one of the returners up front for the Wildcats. He has good size for the position and can move opposing linemen around, particularly in the run game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Improvements heading into 2025: “Just getting bigger and stronger and more motivated in the weight room and skill wise on the field.”</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chanzell Bonner </strong>LB, 2026 – Bonner is a middle linebacker that can line up standing up or like a down lineman, but his impact is felt the same way. He diagnoses plays quickly and brings the heat to the ball carrier when he comes. He takes great pursuit angles and can make tackles in space.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603786' first='Trevon' last='Clark']</strong> QB/DE, 2027 – Clark (pictured above) will step in at quarterback for the Wildcats as Batchler says he is probably one of their best athletes who can run the football. He played on the defensive line in 2024.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Clark on improvements heading into 2025: “Being patient. Relying on my teammates to get the job done and being accountable.”</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Batchler on Clark's move to quarterback: “We felt like putting our best athlete at quarterback and letting him touch the ball every snap was going to be beneficial for us. So that's what we're planning to do.”</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gage Lee </strong>RB/LB, 2028 – Lee is a young guy who played JV football in 2024, and Batchler expects his role to expand in 2025 and play on both sides of the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Batchler on Lee: “Gage is a real strong kid. He's wide open. He flies around, really likes contact, really likes the weight room. That's been huge to see.”</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>KEY LOSSES</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Josh Sims </strong>QB – The Wildcats will look to replace the production of a 2,000-yard passer for the past two seasons. Sims was athletic and could make plays on the run as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ziyon Harris </strong>WR – Harris was a go to target for Sims at quarterback, with his speed and playmaking ability. He is now playing basketball at Newberry College.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>FILM REVIEW</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1394007' first='Ethan' last='Farris'] </strong>LB, 2026 – Farris will be another leader up front on defense for the Wildcats. He attacks the line of scrimmage well and is difficult for opposing linemen to keep up with because of his quickness. He can also cover out in space and make plays on the ball – he returned an interception for a touchdown last year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17675788/674dc524aa0c9298c944a4b9' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6866ceb0e8f95"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>UP AND COMING POTENTIAL</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jacob Gattling </strong>and <strong>Xavier Padron</strong> WR/DB, 2028 – Both guys saw time on the JV squad last year, and they will play a more vital role in 2025 as the Wildcats look to fill vacancies at the skill positions.</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":1703040,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Ryley Burton","_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":"Blacksburg","_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-6866ceb0eabe4"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Burton (pictured) returns for his senior year at Blacksburg and he will be counted on as one of the leaders. He is disruptive from his linebacker position and comes at full speed when blitzing the quarterback and applying pressure, and we expect that to continue in 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Improvements heading into 2025: “Just live in the weight room, get better and keep people accountable.”</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/22574238/67112908cb120363c53ba913' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6866ceb0eac1c"} /--> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->